Welcome to Nighthawks — a biweekly series where writer Sam Brule travels to noteworthy nightlife epicenters across New York City to observe and report about the night, atmosphere, and people of the weekend. Tonight, we’re perched in Manhattan’s Union Square to see ghosts, goblins, and all other characters using Halloween weekend as a chance to be someone new for a night.
In New York City, life has slowly been returning to its regular order after the recent Halloween festivities. The depravity of that weekend stuck to the city like a sunburn, slowly peeling off as the ordinary rhythm took its rightful place again. The mosaic of the night remains stubbornly in my memory, however, I now watch those that paraded the streets as fictional characters walk the same routes costumed as working professionals and students this time.
On Saturday, Oct. 26, Union Square was bursting with people, so many it made me wonder if outdoor public spaces should have maximum capacities. The air surrounding the park was chilled modestly, in a way that didn’t draw much attention to itself. The trees encasing the commotion appeared to be hanging onto the last bits of life as their leaves had almost entirely turned amber and migrated downward. Nonetheless, the park was vibrant with personalities that evening.
“What business does a finance bro have dressing up as Chappell Roan?” I quickly looked at the subway entrance and saw none other than Charli XCX discussing the matter. “Literally. Her music is not for him,” said Bruno Mars.
If that was the real Charli XCX and Bruno Mars, their makeup team and PR people did a pretty spotty job getting them ready for Halloween weekend. Bruno’s hairline leaked a trail of white tacky glue, and Charli’s shirt was a good couple shades of green away from the Brat album cover. And surely they’d have wilder things to talk about than finance bros. But Halloween isn’t about who can replicate a certain character’s look more accurately. Instead, it’s about exercising the ability to step outside of your regular personality for a night and step into a new character to showcase the otherwise hidden parts of yourself. In a city like NYC, that’s taken to the extreme.
The best spot to see all the unique costumes of NYC’s Halloween weekend is Union Square. The Financial District isn’t very lively as it lacks a lot of clubs. And trendy neighborhoods like Dimes Square often fall prey to herd mentality, where costumes follow whatever is trending. Union Square, however, is the perfect combination of everything. It’s above a busy public transportation hub that brings partygoers all over the city. Many of whom spilled out onto the streets above where the costumes of the night were on full display.
I got off the L train at 9:47 p.m. after nearly being trampled by the hordes of costumed people flooding into Manhattan. Those who might usually speed walk around the city were now stuck shuffling their feet behind crowds of vampires, fairies, and clowns. The atmosphere underground was thick with heat and loud with anticipation, but the brisk fall air teetering at the tops of the staircases made it all worth it.
Finally breaking free from the stampede of nightlife commuters, I sat on the steps at Union Square facing 14th Street. I first noticed a younger man dressed as Beetlejuice, standing while conversing with friends. “I can’t believe I have to work tomorrow,” he said to break an awkward silence. Out of all possible characters, Beetlejuice would probably be the last one to worry about having work tomorrow.
Unlike Beetlejuice, this man was actually nervous. He peppered his friends with questions about where they were going and who would be there. Every time he reached into his pocket for his phone, he made sure to wipe his hands of any accumulated sweat. I wondered if he was able to find comfort in becoming some-thing else for the night.
After some time spent stressing over the evening’s outcome, Beetlejuice eventually left for a party with his friends. He did seem reluctant, but it seems the white, tattered face paint gave him a sense of anonymity in the night. He might’ve been nervous, but Beetlejuice wasn’t — and so he was confident for the night.
About 15 feet away from Beetlejuice and his friends, was a group that seemed much older and more collected. They were waiting for a friend to join them before heading to a new location. Likely going to a different spot, the difference between the attitudes of the groups reinforced the assumption I made that Union Square would show me the best of all neighborhoods.
This group was wearing coordinated costumes. They were all M&M’s: red, orange, blue, yellow, and two green. Between the green M&M’s, one wore a green shirt with a white long sleeve underneath and white jeans; the other wore a green dress, white gloves, and white mid-length boots. After thinking about it for a second, I realized they were dressed as the before and after of the green M&M transformation. One was dressed as the old version and the other dressed as the new green M&M — which was criticized on Twitter in 2022 by public figures like Tucker Carlson for not being ‘sexy’ enough. (It’s an M&M.)
People don’t typically have secret desires to be M&M’s on the inside, but maybe this playful nod to the weird outcry that followed the M&M redesign was just a chance for people to lean into their want to be taken less seriously.
New York City is an intense city, and it demands a lot from the people who live there. Plenty of people living in it thrive in that kind of environment, but at some point, people need a break. Despite the differences between Beetlejuice and the nearby M&M’s, there was a lot in common between them. They were all out on the streets looking for a break from the reality of life in the Big Apple.
The groups of costumes blended together beautifully as the wearers wove between one another. Foxes brushed shoulders with inflatable dinosaurs in an almost choreographed manner. The gray walkways glowed under an on-brand orange light, which was a perfect backdrop for the marching feet that trampled the ground.
Halloween is a truly unique holiday. No other holiday celebrated this widely in New York allows people of all ages to parade the streets in such explicit and metaphorical expressions of their inner selves. The celebrations were sure to last much longer into the night, but after nearly an hour and a half, I was ready to head home.
I made my way toward the subway as the vampires next to me struggled to reapply fake blood to the corners of their mouths. The dried red goo streaming to their necks showed that they really didn’t need more, but they seemed dedicated to emptying the tube by tonight. As I descended the stairs underground, the lively stomping above me turned into nothing more than a muffled roar.
At that moment, a connective feeling was hanging back in the air above the subway. Almost every other day of the year, all that really brings New Yorkers together in a place like Union Square is that they are on their way somewhere else. However, tonight they shared a common interest in the act of being someone else for the night. Beneath the surface of the masquerade was the need for liberation, self-expression, and being the sexy green M&M.