Column: Meet 2020's scariest Halloween costume

It’s safe to say that my favorite holiday has always been Halloween. I loved trick-or-treating on my street when I was in grade school. I loved carving pumpkins to make big, orange jack-o'-lanterns, which I would later smash to pieces because of my destructive 12-year-old boy brain. I loved taking inventory of my candy on a spreadsheet so I could detect thievery by my sibling and parents. 

However, none of that can compare to my love of Halloween costumes.

Not to toot my own spooky horn, but I am the king of Halloween costumes. Over the years I’ve been Steve Urkel from “Family Matters,” a line dancer from “Soul Train” and (my favorite to date) Ed from “Good Burger,” just to name a few.

When picking my costume, I usually go for a musical icon or a lighthearted television or movie character. But I find my favorite costumes that I see in my neighborhood or on Franklin Street are elaborately made and truly frightening.

I’m not talking about someone who simply tosses a sheet over their head and shouts, “Boo!” I mean the ones that are dripping in fake blood, have spent hours in the makeup chair and look like something that you might have dreamt up in your worst nightmare. 

Now, I love a good scare as much as the next person, but I feel like some of y’all are going a little too far this year with your scary costumes. I can’t believe some of you are even considering donning such an alarming costume: a non-voter.

We all know 2020 has been a horror and suspense-filled movie in and of itself, but the moment that some are deciding not to vote is the moment that this rated-R flick became too much for even the biggest horror buff to bear.

Unfortunately, for some, the horror-stricken reality that this year and this election has brought and continues to bring is more terrifying than any writer, special effects designer or make-up artist could ever create.

I’ve realized while driving home on rural backroads that traditional haunted houses with jump scares and ghouls are being replaced with a certain candidate’s campaign yard sign with Confederate and American flags ironically and simultaneously flying high above.

The harsh fact is that this election will be the determining factor of how this country will look in the near future. So many things are on the line this year for so many people: the environment, immigration statuses, women’s reproductive rights, the economy, basic human rights.

There is still time to not be the worst costume on the block. In-person early voting is going on right now across the state where not only can you vote, but you can also register if you still need to. Early voting closes on Halloween in North Carolina, and Election Day is soon after, on Nov. 3.

Once Halloween passes and Election Day comes and goes, don’t have a dumbfounded look on your face if your preferred candidate doesn’t win when you could — and should — have voted. You, sadly, will have to sulk around in that gut-wrenching costume for the next four years.

@trev_stev

opinion@dailytarheel.com