October: Halloween All Month Long

October at college in Vermont is incredible for so many reasons.

The foliage is beautiful and the coffee is pumpkin:

Pumpkin Spice Macchiatos at DD are my fave

So many colors!

But mostly, it's because we celebrate Halloween...all month long:

Even the professors go all out!
(Taken at Prof. Peter Harrigan's home)

Actual Halloween is a week away and I've already done so many spooky activities! Earlier this month the cast of The Crucible (this semester's Mainstage production that I'll talk about more in a future post) went down to Salem, MA to learn more about the witch trials that we're recreating! We packed as much as we could into a short 24 hours, and it was awesome! (See Pat's post and Sarah's post for more!)

First, we had a candlelight tour given by the town historian! He was so knowledgeable and taught us so much about the actual story of the witch trials. We got to learn a lot more about our characters, and Salem is very cool at night. 

Plus, the beard was a nice touch

The next morning we went to the historical home of Judge Corwin of the trials, ironically called The Witch House. Although it was not home to any witches, it's full of historical artifacts and information actually pertaining to the trials (unlike much of Salem which is non-historically spooky).

We also went to the House of the Seven Gables, which although was not related to the Witch Trials, was related to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, which was supposedly influenced Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Also, Nathaniel Hawthorne is a descendant of Judge Hathorne from the Witch Trials!

The last stop of the day was the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, which was actually Salem back in the time of the trials. It was a beautifully sobering end to the day, as we finished up at the Rebecca Nurse memorial toward the back of the property.

But of course, there was plenty of silliness scattered throughout the day, such as band pictures for Old Dog & The Saltine, "the premiere seventeenth century bluegrass pentet."

Also, this weekend was the Annual Drama Club Haunted House! This year, the theme was a twisted art exhibit. It was super spooky and an incredibly fun time. (Note: I didn't actually take these pictures, they're lovingly stolen from friends.)

October is coming to a close, and the weather is getting cooler, but it's been a fun, though short, fall!

Questions, comments, concerns, cat videos? Email me at cholloway@mail.smcvt.edu, get social (links above)

ADORABLE ANIMALS: