Halloween is right around the corner, so here at the Archives & Special Collections we thought it would be a good idea to dive in and see what the ghosts of students past did for this spooky holiday.
In 1979, some students in Alpha Psi Omega, an honorary dramatic fraternity, offered their services for Halloween makeup to raise money to put on one-act plays directed by students in the drama department. Students could throw on a costume, get their makeup done, then head on over to the Halloween Dance in the Great Hall. The dance even promoted a pumpkin contest with a $25 first place prize and if you were really feeling brave, on Halloween night students in the Langlow House (1218 N. Alder) put on a yearly haunted house!
In a Trail issue from 1988, students dedicated three pages of the issue to provide ideas on what to be for Halloween as well as more information about the Langlow Haunted House. Langlow, the Honors Program house, was bought by the University in 1962 from the Langlow family. Originally the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house, it was later given to the Honors Program and for many years it was turned into a haunted house for those brave enough to enter the building. The haunted house theme in 1988 was “A Nightmare on Alder Street.” It cost students $1 to enter and all the proceeds went to Oxfam, an international hunger relief organization. This haunted house was just one of the ways that students who lived in the house worked to “be a part of the community.”
The Archives & Special Collections has drop-in hours on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM or is open by appointment
By Rowan Coates