Yes, Maharishi University of Management ranks high in the student safety, health, and happiness categories, but once a year things get a little spooky in the basement of the Art Department building.
Maharishi University of Management’s Halloween ball has been an annual occurrence since the campus opened in 1974. However, it wasn’t until 2006 that the parties seemed to take on a life of their own. That’s the year that Maharishi University of Management (MUM) Media and Communications student Jared Brown started working for Student Activities. He developed MUM’s Halloween event from a quaintly themed dance party into a haunted Halloween experience.
Jared Brown, Sleep State Sunderland
The first theme he chose was designed around the idea of a haunted house and called “mystery manor.” Past themes include “Fairy Tales Gone Wrong,” “Twisted Toy Chest: Kathryn’s Playroom” (a theme about a demented little girl with an affinity for fire and circus toys), and “Sleep State Sunderland” (having to do with the dream world and the nightmare realm).
2011 Halloween Ball Poster
This year’s party is themed Urban Legends: The Revenge of Eleanor Craine. Here’s the story that Jared wrote to fuel this year’s theme and décor. Sorry to spoil the fun, but it is purely fiction (or is it?):
“Beware the curse of Eleanor Craine,
she was the maker of many gowns.
One touch of her bracelet will drive you insane,
… to seek revenge for her wrongful drown.”
The founding members of Fairfield, in 1682, suffer from mass witch hysteria after a local girl, Mary Sanderson, disappears. Needing someone to blame, the townspeople accuse the town outsider and seamstress of being a witch. After a 6-hour trial, Eleanor Craine (the accused) is found guilty of witchcraft by a jury of her peers and swears revenge. As punishment for her crime she is thrown into the reservoir and drowned. Her soul ends up taking residence in a bracelet she wore. Soon after the drowning, Mary is found wandering in the woods, having lost her way.
Two days later Mary walks on the shore of the reservoir and finds the bracelet. The bracelet then has a long line of owners (including Mary) that either go insane or missing. The very last incident occurs in 1929. This time the owner of the bracelet is an antique dealer named Charles Torrance. Charles goes insane and 23 people disappear in a hotel during a masquerade ball. This is the biggest catastrophe the town has ever seen. The bracelet goes missing right before Charles is caught and sent to an asylum. The bracelet was never seen again, but the Rimbougher Hotel, where all the people disappeared, is said to be haunted by the souls of those that vanished.
The party is this Saturday October 29th and is open to the public. DJ Reevo will be supplying the sounds. Prices are as follows:
General Admission-$5
Invincible America Course participants-$3
Students w/out costume-$2
Students/Staff/Faculty w/ costume-FREE
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Anna Bruen is a MUM alumnus who graduated with a degree in Sustainable Living. Anna is the resident blogger here at MUM. To learn more about Anna take a look at her introduction post. |
