The campus was abuzz this weekend with a multitude of spirited Halloween festivities. Groups and organizations at the College of William and Mary worked together, not only for a good time, but also to raise money for charitable organizations.
One such event was Brown After Sundown: Haunted House for Charity, hosted by Brown Hall. Brown raised many eyebrows with its accumulation of multiple “Of The Month” awards from the National Residence Hall Honorary in September.
Brown’s hall council decided that for the month of October, it would help the United Nations’ Childrens’ Fund, and thus the idea for the haunted house was born. Residents of Brown spent time planning and setting up to create a spooky atmosphere.
“At first the planning was difficult because there were a lot of factors that needed to be taken into consideration, including the quality of the scariness as well as the safety of the patrons,” Brown Hall Council Co-President Blace Houle ’14 said. “And then it got even more difficult because we were told exactly what needed to be done to meet certain safety requirements, and that list was very long.”
After some last-minute readjustment to the plot and structure of the haunted house, the spooky event was ready to scare screaming students. The event reported high attendance, and the small freshman hall collected close to $300 to benefit UNICEF.
“I think everyone enjoyed it quite a bit,” Houle said. “And it made money, so it was basically a win-win.”
Even the actors, who were all residents of Brown, enjoyed their haunted house behind-the-scenes experience. Donned in dresses and suits, zombie-esque face paint, and large amounts of corn-syrupy fake blood, they ambitiously took on their roles as murder victims of a formal dance in the 1920s.
“I enjoyed looking creepy and scaring people — probably a bit too much,” Eric Wityk ’14, who dressed as a serial killer, said.
Another Halloween-themed event took place in the neighborhood of Brown Hall, just a short walk into Colonial Williamsburg. Activities at the William Randolph Lodging included painting mini pumpkins, carving big pumpkins, watching “Hocus Pocus” and enjoying autumn treats.
The William Randolph Lodging, also known as the CW house, is home to two seniors given the task of strengthening the bond between the College and CW. The seniors who are selected by a committee of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation representatives and administrators of the College. Addie Alexander ’11 and Grace McGlade ’11 host events in this quaint location, and they wanted students to enjoy the beautiful fall weather in CW at their Halloween event.
“Especially living in the spirited colonial area, Addie and I thought it would be very fitting to celebrate one of our oldest holidays,” McGlade said. “We thought it would be nice to have a fun Halloween activity open to all students, something that many people used to do when they were younger.”
The Student Assembly ran its annual “Spooktacular” Friday in the Sunken Garden. Live music accompanied a petting zoo with goats, sheep and rabbits, and guests were encouraged to release some Halloween excitment in the moon bounce.
The William and Mary Revolutionary War Reenacting College Company, also set a spooky scene on campus, offering ghost tours to groups of students in Phi Beta Kappa Hall, the Wren Building, St. George Tucker Hall and the President’s House. With the help of some creepy ghosts lurking around outskirts of the group tour guides Sara Rock ’14 and Hannah Kitchen ’14, told the crowd haunting tales and legends of the buildings’ pasts.
“It was a good way to get into the Halloween spirit while incorporating William and Mary’s history,” Kitchen said. “Plus, how often do you get to dress up in colonial gear and pretend to be a zombie colonist?”
So although only children 12 and under can trick or treat in the City of Williasburg by the confines of law, this weekend definitely proved that there’s more to do on Halloween than just beg for candy — but that certainly doesn’t stop us from eating it anyway.`