Walking in the neighborhoods of Utah in late October, many would expect to see more Halloween decorations than there actually are. Has Halloween been decreasing in popularity? Students at Skyline high school seem to think so.

Halloween is a great time of year for all ages, especially kids. But post pandemic, the Halloween spirit seems to have changed or at least evolved. Some have observed an uprising of Trunk-or-Treats, which is where people gather (most commonly) in a parking lot and decorate their cars, giving out free candy. 

“It’s been taken over by trunk or treating,” Senior Sam Simos states, and he’s not alone with this opinion. 

It’s a popular view on social media such as Tik Tok, with videos discussing disliking trunk-or-treating garnering hundreds of thousands of likes. Simos feels that not enough people are doing Halloween the “traditional” way.

 “I think every kid should trick-or-treat every year,” Simos adds.

In addition, the elaborate decorations of past years for some families are simply “just too much trouble,” Sophomore Atigun Mull states. His family, along with others, just put out pumpkins.

Mull says the amount of decorations has gone down in his neighborhood. He attributes it to the demographic of his neighborhood, saying that “all the kids are growing up.” 

The decision to decorate also seems to be influenced by others. Sophomore Grant Gardener echoed the trend of minimal effort put into his Halloween decorations. When asked what would make him more likely to decorate next year, he responded, “If all of my friends decorated.” The lack of neighborhood pressure seems to make others less likely to participate.

While Halloween is not going away, it appears to be evolving. Whether it’s the convenience of trunk-or-treating or the general decrease in effort, the classic image of the spooky street scenes appears to be changing.