Halloween at Boston College splits the student body into two camps: the ones crafting last-minute costumes out of Amazon Prime deliveries and eyeliner, and the ones who’d rather not wake up with glitter in their hair and a vague sense of regret.
If you fall in the latter group, there’s another way to spend Oct. 31. This year, skip the sticky floors and start romanticizing solitude.
The Pumpkin Pilgrimage
Every fall, Tatte Bakery & Café becomes a pilgrimage site for the seasonally inclined.
Order a pumpkin tart or a latte that tastes like nostalgia, then claim a corner seat by the window. Watch the swirl of scarves and falling leaves outside. There’s something almost sacred about choosing stillness while everyone else rushes past—it’s the closest Chestnut Hill gets to a monastery.
The Cinematic Chill
Back in your dorm, queue up something moody instead of gory. Think Coraline, The Others, or Practical Magic—films that lean more toward atmosphere than adrenaline.
Turn off the overhead light and let the glow of your laptop screen cast soften the room. This night is less about the jump scares and more about letting the world shrink into one soft, cinematic room.
The Late Night Indulgence
There’s a particular satisfaction in walking into the Rat at 10 p.m. and knowing exactly why you’re there. Mozzarella sticks, maybe. Or the cookie that feels like it’s calling your name.
BC’s dining halls become oddly poetic after hours—half empty, humming, filled with the quiet shuffle of students who chose carbs over chaos.
The Dorm Sanctuary
Although candles aren’t allowed in BC dorms, there are plenty of ways you can improvise. A lamp on its lowest setting, an open window, a playlist that sounds like how October feels. The hum of the heater, the soft buzz of someone’s distant laughter—it’s all texture. Halloween doesn’t have to be loud to feel alive.
This Halloween, dress up as the person you’ve been too busy to be—the calm one, the cozy one, the one who knows that sometimes the sweetest kind of trick-or-treating is simply treating yourself.
