Best and worst of
Halloween movies
By Thomas LeClair
Film Critic
tjll9l @psu.edu
With Halloween rapidly
approaching I at the enter
tainment corner am provid
ing a list of some of the
best and worst (and trust
me, there’s plenty of that)
Hollywood has to offer to
pay homage to the scariest
day of the year.
I am contractually obligat
ed to present my e-mail
address with each seg
ment I do, please DO NOT
HARRASS ME if you get
scared from one of the ten
worst films (OR IF YOU
GET INSULTED BY THE
FACT GIGLI IS NOT ON
THE LIST). See you in
your dreams MWAH HA
HA HA.
To trick or treat, that is the
PSH students celebrate
Halloween
By Jim Dougherty Jr., Staff
Reporter
The sound of rustling leaves
surrounds you as you walk to
class. The smell of hot chocolate
intrigues you while you feel the
crisp autumn air. The taste of
caramel apples and pumpkin pie
fills your mouth, feeding that
craving for something sweet.
The sight of Friday night football
excites you as you relax after a
busy week of school.
It’s that time of year again. The
time when you can start to tell
where everyone on campus orig
inates. True Pennsylvanians can
be seen still wearing t-shirts,
even when the temperature
drops into the 40s or 50s.
Californians and those from
southern states are noticeable
by their heavy sweats and heavy
coats. Fall has finally arrived and
you know what that means. The
Red Sox are finally going to the
World Series again, and better
yet, Halloween is near.
The idea of Halloween originat
ed in the United States after Irish
immigrants brought the custom
with them in the 1840 s, during
Fall Fest brightens the day at PSH
PSH student Coleen Broderick decorates a pumpkin
during this year’s Fallfest. Pumpkin decorating was one
of many activites free to students.
By Kelly Nagurny
Assistant Editor
kxnl63@psu.edu
Rain, cold and dreary clouds
did not keep this year’s Fallfest
from being a success.
Students enjoyed festive activ
ities, food and entertainment
inside the Olmsted lobby and
Gallery Lounge as rain fell on
Fallfest’s originally planned
location in the Vartan Plaza.
“It’s a shame that it rained on
our parade,” said SGA President
Rodney Horton. “But it’s our
party and we’ll cry if we want to.”
Clearly, they did not want to.
Instead of letting the rain get
them down, students participat
ed in festivities such as pumpkin
decorating and guessing the
weight of a large pumpkin.
A highlight of this year’s Fallfest
was the pumpkin-judging con
test. Various campus organiza
tions submitted decorated
pumpkins for students to judge.
Many of the pumpkins reflected
the individual tastes and charac
teristics of the student organiza
tions that made them. The
International Student Services’
pumpkin was decorated like the
Earth, while the Capital Times
pumpkin read the latest issue of
the newspaper. Featuring a con
dom as a nose, the Student
Health Services’ pumpkin was
made out of various kinds of
contraceptives. Finally,
Recreation/Athletics contributed
a pumpkin complete with a PSU
swim cap and goggles.
Students were also treated to
complimentary food in the
Entertainment
the midst of the Irish Potato
Famine. Favorite pranks of the
time included the tipping of out
houses and unhinging fence
gates. Today, common pranks
include toilet papering, egging,
and smashing pumpkins (the
prank, not the band).
One of the most common prac
tices of Halloween is trick-or
treating. Trick-or-treating comes
from a 9th century custom called
“souling”. On November 2, All
Souls' Day, Christians would
walk from town to town while
begging for “soul cakes”, or as I
like to think of it, “ancient soul
food.” The amount of soul cakes
a person received determined
the amount of prayers they
would say for the dead relatives
of those who gave them soul
cakes. Today, most trick-or
treaters receive candy, unless
you lived in the dentist-filled
neighborhood I lived in. Then
you would receive a lecture on
why candy is bad for you and
receive a toothbrush for the time
you spent listening to the den
tists instead of getting more
candy.
Each year, Halloween cos
tumes become more creative.
Just take freshman Aurora
Gangloff, a Health and Human
Gallery Lounge. The buffet fea
tured hot dogs, pumpkin cook
ies, caramel apples, apple
streudel bars and hot chocolate.
As students enjoyed Fallfest
activities, No Show Ponies, a
Harrisburg band, treated the
crowd to upbeat rock tunes in
the lobby.
While students guessed how
many candy corns were in a jar,
members of SGA passed out
free candy.
A large crowd gathered as rep
resentatives of campus organi
zations and clubs sat down in
preparation for the pie-eating
contest. The contestants sport
ed “I Love Pie” t-shirts, and stu
dents cheered as the contest
ants dove into their chocolate
creme and pumpkin pies. As
some contestants began to drop
out unable to finish their pies,
Chi Gamma lota’s Andrew Dale
and the Capital Times’ Tom
LeClair were nearly tied.
However, Dale managed to fin
ish his pie first, winning the con
test.
Fallfest was sponsored and
organized by the Student
Government and Association
and the Entertainment Council.
It was also made possible by the
student activity fee.
Fallfest gives students a
chance to relax a little during the
busy mid-semester said Horton.
“It acknowledges the change in
season and lets us have fun.”
For more information on how to
get involved with campus activi
ties such as Fallfest, contact the
SGA in Olmsted E-136 or call
(717) 948-6137
Development major, for exam
ple. Gagloff plans to dress up as
Malibu Barbie for her 18th time
trick-or-treating. “I’ve been trick
or treating since I was born,” said
Gangloff, whose favorite
Halloween movies are the
Leprechaun movies. She hopes
to receive many Snickers bars in
her bag, so that she can freeze
them to make her favorite snack.
Although many college students
are reluctant to go trick-or-treat
ing for fear of being “too old”,
many recall their most creative
Halloween costumes. Sherri
Espenshade, a freshman DUS
major and avid Reese's Peanut
Butter Cup lover, recalled when
she dressed as chewed bubble
gum. “I wore pink pants, a pink
shirt, and duct taped a shoe to
my head. I went around, put my
finger on people and told them
‘l’m stuck on you.’”
Dan Berger, a senior
Accounting major and Krackel
bar aficionado, recalled when he
dressed as Robin Hood. “I had a
bow and some arrows, but by the
end of my trick-or-treating, I was
out of arrows. It’s an unsolved
mystery,” he said. Berger pro
vided some earth-shattering
advice in saying “toilet paper is
good-for many reasons,” and
Harrisburg band No Show Ponies provided entertain
ment for students as they enjoyed Fall Fest activities.
Andrew Dale, winner of the pie-eating contest, nears
the finish line. Dale competed in the contest as a repre
sentative of Chia Gamma lota.
“Protection Pete” was a pumpkin submitted to the
pumpking-judging contest by Student Health Services
Pete was made of different kinds of contraceptives.
The Capital Times
question
continued on to highly recom
mending Stir of Echoes, for a
scary movie.
Others who do not participate in
trick-or-treating find better use of
their time, but still join in the
Halloween festivities. “I like
dressing up and scaring people.
I have a fifty-fifty success rate.
Hopefully, I can improve on that
this year,” said Michelle Ripka, a
junior Criminal Justice major.
This year, Ripka will be handing
out candy instead of trick-or
treating.
George Young, Residence Life
Coordinator, claimed that he is
not a trick-or-treater. On being
asked why he liked Halloween,
Young said, “I like seeing the lit
tle kids dressed up and having
fun. Seeing the tradition passed
down through generations is a
beautiful thing.”
Whether you trick-or-treat or
not, Halloween is a time for fun
and enjoyment for all ages.
Whether you go to hay rides or
haunted houses, be sure to cele
brate Halloween the right way
this year. A number of parties are
being held on campus. Be sure
to be safe and not eat too much
candy. You have to save room
for the next big holiday,
Thanksgiving. Until then, have a
great time and share your cand.
Photos by Kelly Nagurny