Yesterday, the student association ESN Groningen held a Halloween party at the Drie Gezusters. The result was a scary crowd of monsters, mostly with a beer in hand.

‘Trick or treat’ is how the students greeted each other. It was clear that the costume shops of Groningen had been raided, with the crowd of students dressed up in the guise of devils, Super Mario or the Joker. Even the Pope seemed to have been lured from Rome for some dancing on the bar in the pub.

Monsters

The monsters were very enthusiastic, although the party didn’t really reflect how Halloween is celebrated in their homeland. Karen (19), from the US, mentioned that people wear different costumes there: ‘In the United States it’s not really a rule to be dressed up all scary. The celebration is more about basically wearing a costume, it doesn’t necessarily have to be creepy.’

But this didn’t keep people from having a party. When Dutch students were asked why they were celebrating the day although it isn’t part of Dutch culture, student Mark answered: ‘Just because we can!’