Halloween is upon us once again. Though this year is different than any we’ve had in the past. This year the world is in the grips of the coronavirus, where even the act of spending time around strangers can be potentially deadly. So activities that are centered on interacting with strangers, say a holiday that’s built around ringing strangers’ doorbells, are necessarily going to be affected by the strange times we are in.

I noticed this just walking around Carson City looking at Halloween decorations this year. Houses that normally are decorated every year are downsizing this year, or foregoing decorations all together. The Governor’s Mansion, which usually has the most elaborate decorations in town, is extremely sparse in its decorating. Overall it points to this being a subdued and somber Halloween. The Governor’s Mansion, in fact, is not doing its annual trick-or-treat party at all. Normally there is music, dancers, and a large crowd of people waiting to get their photo taken with the governor. This year there is none of that, because deliberately attracting large crowds is extraordinarily dangerous and foolhardy this year.

Trick-or-treating will still happen, I’m sure, though I’m expecting quite a few families will decide to take the year off, both from going out and from handing out candy. But there will still be those who will celebrate Halloween out of habit, or out of defiance, or because they feel like they are doing things differently enough to minimize the risk. So like many celebrations this year, it will still be done, it will just be done smaller.

Not all houses have skipped the decorating this year. Take a look through this photo gallery for houses that still are doing Halloween decorations around town.