Trick-or-treating is baked into the identity of Halloween. Substituting another event for it seems crazy, but Trunk-or-treat has staked its claim as an alternative that preserves the holidays spirit.

When junior computer information systems major Aiden Gager participated in ULM’s 2024 trunk-or-treat, he realized that the environment may have been lacking compared to trick-or-treating.

“While I do believe that trunk-or-treat is a great alternative… it does miss the part of Halloween of going door to door and seeing all of the spooky decorations,” Gager said.

Communities design trunk-or-treating as a safer and more convinent alternative to trick-or-treating. While restricting the scale from neighborhood wide to a parking lot or street does allow for easier supervision and control, it takes away the adventure around the neighborhood and finding unique or elaborate houses.

Trick-or-treating with my family helped create so many memories for me as a child. When I was seven, my family and I found a home that was converted to a haunted house. I vividly remember us approaching the house and seeing some kids too scared to go in before eventually being convinced.

While the setting of trunk-or-treat may differ greatly from trick-or-treat, the nature of it remaining rooted in community and family is what matters. Though an entire neighborhood is not involved, trunk-or-treat brings families from a potentially larger area rather than a single neighborhood.

Biology professor Amanda Thompson describes her personal experiences with trunk-or-treats as a mother.

“Anything that lets me see her face light up and a new experience is definitely worth it. You live your life constantly through their eyes when it comes to their experiences,” Thompson said. “It’s always been a positive thing for me and my husband to experience those things as our daughter comes into a new phase of life.”

Although exploring the neighborhood is a big part of trick-or-treating, it is not its core. Both options offer so much more. These events allow for the creation of valuable memories, so trunk-or-treat should not be defined as an alternative, but as its own tradition.

These moments with family are what makes Halloween special. Thinking back on that haunted house I entered, I only remember the time spent with family before going in.