Halloween falls on a Friday this year, meaning that The Pitt News desks don’t have production and are finally able to show their true colors — determined, of course, by what each desk hands out to trick or treaters and the ambiance they curate for the night via lawn decor. 

News 

The news desk wants everyone to be as prepared as possible at all times. With this guiding principle in mind, their choice of goodies to hand out is naturally Narcan — though one lucky trick or treater gets a king-size Twix bar as well. Their home is tastefully decorated, with standard spider webs, faux grave yards and carved Jack-o’-lanterns placed around the front yard. An elusive cat named Luna can be seen slinking around the yard, clearly judging which costumes are her favorite.  

Opinions 

King-size bags of M&Ms were the obvious choice for the opinions desk when they decided what treats to hand out. A widely-held favorite, each bag is distinctive with its own combination of colored chocolates — truly representative of the opinions desk’s work. The desk’s front lawn is decked out with giant Halloween decorations, and as trick or treaters walk to the front door, it becomes clear the house doesn’t skimp on candy. 

Sports 

The sports desk knew that they had to keep their trick or treaters fueled for their long journey through the neighborhood. They hand out big bags of Skittles to their visitors, sneaking two to those dressed as Pittsburgh athletes. Those who trick or treat at the sports desk home are greeted with massive spiders arranged to be playing a game of football and a screen showing a rerun of Super Bowl XLIII — the last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl. 

Culture 

The culture desk simply couldn’t decide whether to trick or to treat this year, so they didn’t. As trick or treaters approach the front door, they see two choices in front of them — a bowl with bags of Nerds Gummy Clusters or a bowl with individually wrapped brownies sporting an earthy smell. A sign above the brownie states ‘Try if you dare,’ and those who do report feeling very relaxed for the rest of their evening. Naturally, the home features an artistic take on Halloween decor — decorations are set up to represent a museum exhibit featuring the historic ways Pittsburgh has celebrated the holiday through art, music and entertainment. 

Visuals

The visuals desk knew they had to hand out something that represents their essence as a desk, so they decide on curated goodie bags with candy, stickers, a pumpkin slinky and a skeleton pencil. Just as the visuals desk does a little bit of everything for their fellow desks, the bag has a little bit of everything, catering towards all trick or treaters who stop by. Of course, the desk drew all of their Halloween decorations, with the main attraction being a cut-out feature for trick or treaters to pop their heads through and pretend they themselves are the head and assistant visuals desk editors. 

Layout 

For the layout desk, candy LEGOs are the way to go this Halloween. Trick or treaters stop for a moment to build creations with the candy, noticing how the lawn is organized to perfection while doing so. Many comment on how wonderfully placed each skeleton, pumpkin and headstone is, noting how the organization truly allows for an optimal viewing experience. 

Copy

The copy desk sticks to what they do best — cleaning up after others. As trick or treaters approach the copy desk home, they are greeted by a massive bowl of toothbrushes and a sign encouraging them to take two. Looking around at the fake graveyard, many trick or treaters pay their respects to the Oxford comma, MLA style and colons —  in that order. 

EIC/ME

Trick or treaters decide that the editor in chief and managing editor have the scariest home this year by far. As they approach a solitary bowl of candy packed with king-sized sweets, many feel the temptation to take two. These feelings of greed are quickly replaced with pure Halloween fear when they notice a camera pointed directly at them and a red dot trained between their eyes. Many trick or treaters spend the rest of their evening debating about if it was real while the EIC and ME giggle at the camera’s footage, sipping their mugs of tea.