As Columbia celebrates Halloween week, students had an opportunity to learn about the university and get a little spooked by the history of spirits on campus.
University ambassadors held the ninth annual campus ghost tours, where students walked through campus while being told various stories about the history of the university and the ghosts that come with it.
"I wanted to get scared by ghosts," said Sarah Parker, first-year political science student. "I wanted to see a ghost."
The tour started off in McKissick Museum with a little history about the building and a ghost story about the museum's namesake, J. Rion McKissick. For attendees, walking around campus at night added a layer of eeriness, especially when hearing about the ghosts that may haunt it. Stories included hearing footsteps and voices, seeing apparitions and even interacting with ghosts.
"I thought it was awesome. It was very different, especially the stories, and just to think about the actual history of the college and like what if this college is really haunted," Daishanna Pearson, third-year public health student, said.
Shelby Gillis, second-year graduate student, brought her University 101 class and Close Family Emerging Leaders Program students to the tour. She described the tour as "a good mix of fun and spooky." For Gillis and her students, most of the jump scares on the tour ended up being more funny than scary, letting the tour group have a little Halloween fun without scaring the pants off of them.
Although she didn't stumble upon any spirits, Parker said that didn't deter her faith in the supernatural.
"Well, I didn't really see a ghost," she said, "but I believe they're out there."