By Raffaela Kenny-Cincotta, News Staff

Jack-o-lanterns, costumes and creepy cobwebs line the streets of the city this week. Due to the fact that it is a holiday designed for children, Halloween always gives me a twinge of nostalgia for Oct. 31’s gone by. I remember running down the sidewalks of suburbia as a child: dressed to kill, leaves crunching underfoot. I remember being 14, “too cool” for Halloween, but still secretly going trick-or-treating with my younger neighbors. I remember my last Halloween before college, spent curled up on the couch with a new family puppy. These were all special days, devoid of any real spookiness but emotionally significant nonetheless.

Experiencing Halloween in Boston, however, is a far more terrifying adventure. In the suburbs, pumpkins with ghoulish grins were on every porch and entranceway. In Boston, these jack-o-lanterns are alive! And attempting to be sexy! They have names like Tiffany or Sydney and they think that the colors orange and black really bring out their eyes … and boobs.

A Boston Halloween is a cruel evening full of unexpected twists and turns. It brings out the cruelty in others, as well. Suddenly friends decide to throw lavish parties on the day, despite the fact that it falls in the middle of the week and you have a job to wake up for in the morning. But next thing you know, you too have fallen under the holiday’s spell and you’re running around the city at 3 a.m. on a Thursday dressed in a questionable sexy hobo outfit.

And the candy, oh god, let’s not even get into the horrors of Halloween candy. Halloween candy is like a phantom: simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. You specifically didn’t buy any this year knowing the dangers it presents, but somehow on the days leading up to that fateful 31st your sugar consumption skyrockets. The entire city is jeopardized by an annual sugar rush, simultaneously increasing energy and procrastination.

So be careful out there this All Hallow’s Eve, fellow travelers. You never know what sexy, sugary danger lies around the next corner.

Spotlight Playlist: What to Play at Your Halloween Party:

1. “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett

2. “Streets of 2043” by Power Glove

2. “This is Halloween” from “Nightmare Before Christmas” soundtrack

3. “Blvck Mvgic (Kill the Noise Pt. 2)” by Kill The Noise

4. “Halloween Mix 2012” by R.L. Grime feat. R.L. Stine