Halloween is a time for creative self-expression that creates lifetime memories.

Sloan Campi here, trying to think about anything more nail-biting than the upcoming election on Nov. 5. Not much luck there. But Halloween offers a welcome respite in the form of some fun.

I look at Halloween as the official start to the holiday season. The holidays being collective, of course. But I have to hand it to those who pick the spooky season as their favorite out of the final months of the year—they really know how to have fun. The exclamation point is made through costumes, decorations and traditions. And part of that fun is because Halloween traditions are malleable; there’s no one way to celebrate it. To most, it’s up to everyone’s creativity and imagination to come up with something to do. 

At its core, Halloween is about self-expression. Earlier this month, I got to meet up with a man who takes Halloween very seriously—dedicating five to six months to creating the costume for a final reveal at an exclusive, invitation-only Halloween party. Jorge Andrade’s reveal last weekend at his small Carmel-by-the-Sea apartment certainly did not disappoint. As he will tell you, it was like a fashion show of the most eclectic and obscure sort. But above all, it was memorable. Just as quickly as October came along with the highly anticipated Halloween parties, it is now leaving, but the memories remain.

Memories are the anchor to why Halloween is so special to so many, particularly to those attracted to the supernatural. While most costumes are not survivable, neither are humans and here’s where honoring the dead latches on. My colleague, Erik Chalhoub, got to experience and write about the haunted history of several places on Cannery Row and the welcoming tour guide was eager to tell the stories. Even though some may not always believe the stories of ghosts haunting Cannery Row or Monterey’s Old Town, his sources say that people are always intrigued by the possibility of them. 

How we choose to remember events, people and histories in each of our lives is important to the stories we get to tell later. Even if the memories are different—or even terrifying—the stories add spice (not just the pumpkin kind) to our lives. Moving on from Halloween, we’ll take the memories with us that can serve as reminders, warnings or pleasantries. 

As we get into the Nov. 5 election, perhaps we can begin to think about the future in the same way. What story do we want to be able to tell later about the memories yet to be unfolded?