This Halloween week, Kenyon provided both tricks and treats for the student body. From spooky stories and trivia to movies and scary nature hikes, students were able to join in on a variety of boo-tiful activities in celebration.

To kick off the Halloween highlight reel, many student writing organizations held reading events and even contests to get in the Halloween spirit. HIKA Magazine published their annual spooky story contest, open to anyone interested in submitting a piece. In an email to the student body, HIKA implored students to “Think of scary things, like ghosts, or this picture of a goose with shoes on.” While their S’mores and Spooky Stories bonfire at the Brown Family Environmental Center (BFEC) was unfortunately on a rainy day, HIKA had a wonderful time reading so many original student pieces. “The winner, which was called The Scariest of All, was especially great since it was both well written and genuinely scary,” Junior Editor Cecelia O’Sullivan ’26 wrote to the Collegian.

On Sunday, another organization, Persimmons Literary Magazine, hosted a bewitching Halloween reading on the third floor of Ascension. It’s unclear whether the location of the event was intended to be a spooky site, but few things seem to compare to Ascension on a close-to-Halloween night. Participants were encouraged to read any scary pieces, both original and stories that stood out to them.

Nature lovers and environmental enthusiasts also joined in on the Halloween fun. On Friday, the BFEC student managers organized a haunted hike on the pine grove trail. Spots were limited, so students had to jump on the ominous opportunity fast to get the chance to walk through the haunted forest. In a more lighthearted tone, the Kenyon College Outdoors Club treated students to pumpkin carving and cider. “Good music, great weather, pretty leaves, and nice people made for a really relaxing fall themed event that seemed to really enrich a lot of people’s weekend,” Vice President Kate Ford ’25 wrote to the Collegian.

If people brushed up on their Halloween trivia, they may have liked Village Inn Trick or Triv. “I love going to [Trivia] because it’s just a really exciting dynamic, but the themes are the best part. Everyone did a little costume parade for extra points,” Isabella Tuch ’25 wrote to the Collegian. Chalmers Library staff also jumped in on the trivia theme. On Halloween night, trick or trivia was open to everyone, with a special reward: After the game, the staff offered a showing of the ever so creepy and supernatural, “Little Shop of Horrors.”

For students looking for a social event, the Kenyon Buffs and Social Board had options. On Friday night, the Buffs threw an “all-campus” party called Nightmare on Chase Ave: Buff Bash. “It was a lot of fun helping to organize it…decorating it and making it look spooky,” Orion Kristel ’26 wrote to the Collegian. The event was hosted at the Ganter and students attended with their Halloween costumes, makeup and spirit. 

A week prior, the Social Board hosted House of Horrors in the basement of Old Kenyon Residence Hall. The premise was a campus tour gone wrong, and featured all of the zombies, gore and even a little bit of dancing that one could ask for. “My favorite part was the creation process…we worked so hard on it and to see the final product and the first run through was just so exciting because it was nice to know all our hard work really paid off,” Social Board promotions chair Grace Guiley ’26 wrote to the Collegian.

One of the final activities of Halloween was Epsilon Delta Mu’s annual Dog Parade. Costumed pups lined up with their families on Middle Path and strutted their paws to perfection. All in all, this Halloween had plenty of spooks, scares and fun for all of Kenyon.