The Journal

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Laila Wessel Senior Jessica Callaway (right) begins the caramel apple-making process, freshman Matthew Juergens (middle) covers his in toppings and senior Josh King finishes the remnants of his apple. The caramel apple-making activity Oct. 25 in the University Center was part of Campus Activities' Shocktoberfest.

Marilyn Monroe, Joan of Arc and Frida were among the dead who made an appearance on campus this week. Their corpses abandoned their coffins and headed to the University Center Sunnen Lounge to attend a Death Day Party, celebrating the day they died with other living dead. The Oct. 29 event, sponsored by Potterheads Anonymous, was part of Webster University's second annual Shocktoberfest Halloween celebration and was attended by about 25 students.

Death Day, a fictional celebration of the day one dies in the second Harry Potter novel, was only one of the book's scenes that was recreated for the event. Death Day attendees feasted on chocolate-covered frogs and cauldron cakes, foods eaten by the book's characters. The room, decorated with dark and distressed crepe paper, was lit by floating candles. A slide show of headless people, gravestones and spooky images was accompanied by metal clangs played in the background.

Graduate student Bob Beyer, a management major, didn't stay for the entire event, which lasted more than two hours, but said he had only stopped by to pass the time and to enjoy the free food.

"Now that I'm in college, I feel like I shouldn't take candy from little kids," said freshman Emma Longworth-Mills, an
undecided major.

The celebration and food moved to a bonfire on the Quad, where attendees sat on hay bales and made s'mores as they waited for a professional storyteller, known as The Walking Stick Man because of the walking stick he carries with him.

The living dead and individuals who tried to make them go away were the theme of several of the Walking Stick Man's stories, including "Sleepwalker," which was written by the storyteller. The crowd and passersby were also regaled with "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs and other stories that warned against accepting odd gifts from strangers as well as the consequences of not investigating

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