IU offers eerie events

With Halloween just around the corner, IU student and faculty groups are gearing up for philanthropies, fun and a good old scare.\nLambda Chi Alpha and Delta Zeta are holding their annual haunted house tonight and Saturday to benefit the Bloomington chapter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters.\nThe chapters are putting on the haunted house at Lambda Chi, 1210 E. Third St.\n"The entire house is being transformed into a haunted house," said junior Brian Houlihan, philanthropy chairman for Lambda Chi. "Many of the scenes require a lot of building, and we're even converting one room into an evil carnival."\nWhile Houlihan said preparation has taken them several months, he is excited to see the hard work pay off.\n"We feel that the house this year is the best it's ever been, and we expect a huge turnout," he said. \nResidents and students alike are invited to the haunted house, although Houlihan warned the festivities might be a bit too scary for the youngsters.\nOn the less-spooky side, other greek groups like the Interfraternity Council, IU Panhellenic Association, Multicultural Greek Council and the Order of Omega are putting on Safe Halloween later in the week. The event is in its fourth year.\n"The first year we had about 400 kids, the second we had over 1,200, and last year we had about 2,200," said junior Ryon Wolski, philanthropy chair for IFC. "It's been increasingly growing, and we're really excited about the turnout."\nSafe Halloween, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, will give kids a chance to trick-or-treat with their parents up and down North Jordan Avenue and the extension at different chapters.\nOrange Halloween bags, sponsored by T.I.S. Bookstore, will be provided to families at "home base," which is at the parking lot of St. Paul Catholic Center, 1413 E. 17th St.\nOther organizations will also be putting on programs for Halloween.\nThe IU Organ Department and the Bloomington Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is putting on "Pipes Spooktacular," a concert of live, scary music for Halloween.\nThe concert, set for 9 p.m. Oct. 31, is free for all students and residents who attend.\n"This concert has been going on for two years, and we went from about 30 people the first year to a standing-room crowd of about 200 last year," said Vince Carr, co-coordinator of the event.\nThe concert will feature spooky music, including Toccata Fugue in D minor, and all are welcome to come dressed in costume.\nWhile IU departments are preparing for their Halloween plans, residence halls are planning dances, contests and much more to celebrate.\nMcNutt Quad will hold a Halloween costume contest and pizza party Friday in the McNutt Formal Lounge. Sponsored by the McNutt Student Government, contestants will be judged on "freakiest, coolest and most creative costumes" by McNutt President Joe Reid, a resident assistant and a custodian from the building.\nAcross the street, Foster Quad will show movies for students starting at 7 p.m. Thursday. The movies will be projected onto Foster-Harper, and students are encouraged to bring a blanket and some lawn chairs to enjoy the movies. Free pizza and drinks will be provided.\nAshton Quad will hold "Fright Night" Wednesday in the Barnes Lounge of Ashton-Stempel. The party runs from 8 to 11 p.m., and activities include a costume contest, pumpkin carving contest (pre-carved and speed-carve), a mummy wrap using industrial sized toilet-paper, a piñata and a candy corn guess contest. "Scary Movie" also will be shown at midnight.\nAshton President Kyle Campbell said he's excited for the turnout.\n"Last year we recorded about 150 students, and this year we see no reason why we shouldn't have more," he said. "The word is out and people are fired up about the program."\nAdmission is $1, which goes to Middle Way House, or two canned goods that will be donated to the Ashton food drive.\nTeter Quad will hold its annual "Teter Treat," a program where children from Bloomington can play games, win prizes and trick-or-treat through the hallways.\nRunning from 6 to 8 p.m. on Halloween, there will be a hall decorating contest for the kids to enjoy as they travel to the dorm rooms.\nRead Center also will participate in Halloween festivities. Residents will play classic Halloween horror movies Wednesday, open their doors for kids to come and trick-or-treat Thursday, and on Halloween they will put on a haunted house in the Read basement from 7 to 10 p.m. Donations are welcome.\nWith all the activities coming up next week, students and residents should have plenty to do for a "spooktacular" Halloween.\n-- Contact staff writer Rachel Ward at raward@indiana.edu.