It’s finally the night everyone has been waiting for all October long, and Rebel Nation is overflowing with holiday spirit in the most ghoulish of ways.
Halloween has come to Oxford, and from Hernando to the Square, festivities are everywhere. At every turn, haunted houses, hayrides, zombies and mad scientists will be lurking around the town. As night falls and the witching hour begins, Oxford will come alive with the undead for one night of Halloween fun. Put on your costumes, Rebels, and be ready for a few tricks and some treats.
Just a quick walk from campus, Oxford City Hall will be putting on a Haunted House for trick-or-treaters on the Square. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., zombies will be taking over, and employees said they could not be more excited.
According to City Hall employee Beth Baggett, everyone is welcome to test their courage and enter the zombie-ridden offices of the haunted City Hall.
The Haunted House is free to enter, but canned food will be accepted to donate to The Pantry, which serves residents of Oxford who need assistance with food. Right now, The Pantry is most in need of canned soups, fruit, meat and peanut butter, said Deborah Bone, The Pantry’s manager for the month of November.
Just a little further down on North Lamar, beware of Haunted Fire Station Number One and lots of candy. Starting at 5:30 p.m., Oxford’s fire station will transform into the hub of horror for the eighth Halloween in a row.
“We started out with some smoke machines, a hand on a stick and a couple guys in masks,” said event organizer D.J. Chinault. “Now people come screaming, running out the side door.”
Though all ages are welcome at the Haunted Fire Station, Chinault said it is usually the younger kids who are the bravest.
“We’re really looking forward to getting people in here and scaring them,” she said.
This year Haunted Fire Station Number One will be participating in Fire Fighter’s Fill-the-Boot for Muscular Dystrophy and will be accepting donations.
There is absolutely no reason to be bored this Halloween night, not when there is Spooky Physics night happening right on campus. The university physics and astronomy department is again this year having a night of mad science.
Visitors can expect demonstrations on electricity and magnetism, a real superconductor, optical illusions made with mirrors and a bed of nails, said Marco Cavaglia, associate professor.
At the spooky event, objects will be frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature below -300 degree Fahrenheit, and the mad scientists will cook up some liquid nitrogen ice cream.
“Professors, staff and students, both graduate and undergraduate, from the Department of Physics and Astronomy organize the event and do the demonstrations,” Cavagila said. “And we’ll have a costume contest for children.”
Spooky Physics Night begins at 7 p.m. in Lewis Hall and is open to all ages.
And last but certainly not least, those who prefer a more action-packed, horror-movie Halloween can enjoy the terrific terrors out at Cedar Hill Farm, including Zombie paintball.
“We put black lights in the woods, and people are dressed up as zombies with florescent paint on,” said Robert Foster, who designed the course. “Everything glows.”
Cedar Hill Farms has offered the apocalyptic paintball course all month but expects a pretty good crowd tonight, too.
Besides Zombie paintball, there are Halloween activities galore at Cedar Hill Farms, including a Trail of Terror and the frightening Senseturbia, designed to scare you literally senseless.
“Anyone who does Sensturbia must go through blindfolded,” Foster said. “It’s pretty cool.”
For those who prefer treats over tricks, there is a non-haunted hayride available too, as well as bonfires and activities for younger children.
There will be police officers on North and South Lamar, as well as surrounding neighborhoods, to help with traffic and ensure the safety of any pedestrians. The Oxford Police Department encourages anyone walking Friday night to keep to the sidewalks, and if sidewalks are unavailable, pedestrians are encouraged to stay on the edge of the road and walk facing oncoming traffic.
The city of Oxford would like to remind parents that masks are visually obstructive and that face paint is a decent alternative. Parents of kids wearing masks are encouraged to maintain close supervision to make sure kids don’t wander into any heavy traffic that is expected to accompany festivities this weekend.
Chaning Green contributed to this article.
