Scary movies, pumpkin carving, and creative costumes begin to appear toward the end of October, announcing the arrival of one of the most popular holidays. Halloween is the time of year when people  participate in ghoulish activities such as haunted houses, corn mazes, and costume parties. Included in Halloween festivities comes perhaps its most famous pastime: trick-or-treating.

Going around the neighborhood to receive their favorite treats is something that sparks excitement and eagerness in children, but is the excitement and joy of trick-or-treating exclusive to just kids? For children, there are many benefits to trick-or-treating: free candy, bonding time with family and friends, and a chance to show off their costumes.

Trick-or-treating can be seen as childish and people often place an age limit on the activity.

“I trick-or-treat because it’s a tradition in my family and we’ve been going for years,” said Mercy freshman Emily Susitko. “I don’t think you’re too old [in high school] because. . . you can hang out with friends or you can be with your family, so it doesn’t really matter how old you are.”

However, senior Colleen Hadley feels as though trick-or-treating is not an activity for high schoolers.

“I think [the last time I went] was probably eighth grade,” stated Hadley. “In my neighborhood, no one really goes [trick-or-treating] after that, [and] even eighth grade is considered old. . . [because trick-or-treating] is way too child-like.”

Even though Hadley does not run from house to house in pursuit of candy, she still looks forward to trick-or-treating time.

“For some families, [trick-or-treating] can be. . . a bonding time,” Hadley said. “But for my family, we bond when we give out the candy to the younger kids.”