Celebrate Halloween Animal Crossing-style
Games fill trick-or-treat void during a pandemic scarier than a hobgoblin
Samantha Blackmon and her 12-year-old daughter love Halloween. They craft elaborate costumes together.
Situated in Indiana, a COVID-19 hot spot, Blackmon needed a creative substitute for trick-or-treating.
The answer? Spend it in Animal Crossing, Nintendo's ultra-popular simulation game.
“We were feeling a little down because we weren't going to have that opportunity this year,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon's neighbourhood hasn't cancelled Halloween, she says, but many are “in denial about how much the virus has spread.” Because she feels people aren't taking precautions, she's deciding to stay home with her daughter and boot up the Nintendo Switch instead.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a popular destination as a proxy for cancelled events during the pandemic. In September, Nintendo added a collection of spooky-themed content to the game, all in preparation for a big event on Halloween night.
Players dressed their characters in costumes, crafted spooky items to decorate their spaces and gathered candy leading up to Oct. 31. On Halloween, users can trick-or-treat at their virtual villagers' homes to gather more sugary goods that can be swapped for rewards.
Blackmon and her daughter have been playing Animal Crossing since the game released in March. Sometimes, Blackmon's 80-yearold mother joins them.
Every Saturday, Blackmon and her daughter stream co-op games together on Blackmon's Twitch channel, with her daughter remaining off-screen as Blackmon's not comfortable having her on camera due to her age.
On Halloween they're planning a trick-or-treating event with parents and children they know personally — all of which will be streamed this weekend.
Even those without kids are joining in on the Animal Crossing Halloween fun. Emiliy Marino, 39, from Long Beach, Calif., is offering her island as a space where her friends' children can come enjoy a Halloween when they can't experience real trick-or-treating.
On the evening of Halloween, she's joining her friends for virtual trick-or-treating across several islands in the game.
For Neha Joshi, 35, and her husband Gautam, 36, in San Francisco, Animal Crossing has been an essential tether to family.
Halloween is often spent with their nieces who live down the street but because their father works in an ICU, Neha and Gautam feel safer staying home. This year, they're meeting up in Animal Crossing with other relatives.
The couple is already stocking up on virtual candy and decorating their islands in anticipation for trick-or-treating.