Whether it’s spooky or funny, autumnal or oddball, many Wildcats prepare for Halloween by decorating. 

Spanish teacher Sabrina Ficano-Petricca decorates her home with everything from decorative towels to moving statues in her family room. Her basement is strewn with twinkling bat lights, orange lights, and a variety of skulls and witches and spiders.

“Every year in September my husband, kids, and me cannot wait to get the decorations out. My kids take a special joy in buying a new decoration every year at Home Depot. This year we bought a 7-foot swamp scarecrow and my six-year-old son Romeo has completely memorized the Home Depot commercials for it,” Ficano-Petricca said.

Halloween is special for Ficano-Petricca because it is her children’s favorite holiday.

“They cannot wait every year to decide what they will dress up as for Halloween and to go to events around the community and at school,” Ficano-Petricca said. “We also have a small family Halloween party where we make a special Italian ‘ruotolo’ as well as a whole spread of Halloween-themed treats!”

Halloween has always been a family-oriented holiday for Ficano-Petricca.

“My favorite Halloween memories when I was a kid were going over to my grandparents’ house to show off our costumes that my mother was able to sew by hand,” Ficano-Petricca said. “Even today she still handmakes all of my kids’ Halloween costumes, especially the ones that cannot be bought in the store. It makes Halloween truly special and a family event.”

Ficano-Petricca decorates her home for other holidays, specifically Christmas (her favorite holiday), Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, and Easter, although Halloween and Christmas are the most elaborate decorations by far. Ficano-Petricca celebrates Hallowen in her classroom as well.

“We play an open market candy swap game for students to learn new, fun Halloween words in Spanish and get to eat a lot of candy and have a lot of laughs along the way,” Ficano-Petricca said. “I dress up as a giant banana, and surprise everyone as the host of the game!”

Junior Nat Hearsch’s family decorates for Halloween in a unique way. Their decorations are split into four sections: pirates, the undead zoo, the carnival, and the graveyard. Many of the Hearsch family’s decorations are hand built.

“We always build a lot of things so it takes a while to get there,” Hearsch said. “We just built a merry go round for the yard. That took a while. It takes up a lot of space in our house, but it’s a good time and I like it.”

Hearsch’s family decorates for other holidays, but Halloween takes precedence.

“It’s (Halloween) really significant to my mom,” Hearsch said. “I think we just started owning a lot of  Halloween decorations. Our friends down the street have a Halloween party, and then we just combined.”

One of Hearsch’s favorite Halloween memories is setting up the decorations with friends.

“I like doing the building. Sometimes we’ll get my friends to come over and I’ll force them to set up because the pirate ship takes forever,” Hearsch said. “Usually we just watch movies and I eat Panda Express and it’s really good.”

Counselor Katie Keszei decorated her office with aesthetically pleasing orange and brown decor and mild lighting for fall, her favorite season.

“I love going all out with decorations,” Keszei said. “I just love the warm colors and how it makes me feel. It’s fun, it’s warm, it’s cool- but it’s something for everyone too. I feel like sometimes Christmas can be for one specific person or religion, whereas fall is a season and it’s for everybody.”

Keszei’s favorite fall memories from childhood are trick or treating and jumping into leaf piles. Her favorite costume was a couple’s costume with her husband.

“One Halloween, my husband and I dressed up as the dude from Castaway and I was the volleyball, Wilson,” Keszei said. “That was a huge hit.”

Keszei plans on decorating for the winter season as well.

“I love Christmas, that’s probably my favorite holiday to decorate for. Christmas is just so pretty,” Keszei said. “I ordered a Christmas tree that I’m going to decorate and put in the corner when the winter season comes.”

Overall, Keszei likes decorating to make students feel more comfortable when they meet with her. 

“I love making my office a warm, welcoming environment,” Keszei said.

You can see Hearsch’s decorations at 26562 Glenwood Drive, or stop by Keszei’s office in Student Services. Happy Halloween, Wildcats!