With Halloween coming up, I was inspired to write about masquerade balls for this week’s blog post. When I think about masquerade balls, I think about two things: Gossip Girl and my high school’s Halloween masquerade ball last year. The latter was as good as a Halloween dance at a STEM boarding school could be. It ended up being shut down by our residence hall advisor, but that’s a story for another day. The Gossip Girl episode was memorable for its own reasons, on par with the show’s predictable penchant for unpredictable plot twists and conflicts.

That Gossip Girl ball conveyed all the ideas surrounding masquerade balls perfectly. Hidden identities, mix-ups, and an air of romance sucked me in more than any other episode did, and The Pierces playing in the background were the cherry on top. In general, masquerade balls carry that sense of seductive mystery. Ball-attendees give into the night’s curiosities and give up their normal identities, becoming whoever they want to become.

So what makes the idea of masquerade balls so intriguing? Most people would probably say it’s simply the idea of being able to take on any identity, the chance to leave the real world behind and join a new world where anything’s possible, just for a night. Based on the arguments conveyed in his text “The Uncanny,” neurologist Sigmund Freud might say that the answer lies behind the underlying notions of witchcraft and magic. He may also argue that the intrigue is due to an anachronistic fear that developed in a time when humans were less “developed.”

Whatever the reasoning, it is hard to deny the alluring nature that comes with the unknown of masquerade balls. The timeless grandeur and atmosphere of mystery, characterized by the hidden eyes and extravagant outfits, draw in both its participants and its outside viewers in an incomparable way. That sentence itself describes Gossip Girl: a look into New York’s elite and the unimaginable lives they live. The masquerafe ball was simply another way for the characters to immerse themselves in their lifestyle and avoid the troubles of daily life, masking themselves to live a parallel life in a parallel world, all the while having the eyes of Gossip Girl, a double herself, watching their every step.