Oct. 30, 2013
BOO! Did that scare you? It’s that time of year when all things creepy are around every corner. Haunted houses, frightening costumes and screamfest movie marathons are the order of the day in October.
I’m a big fan of Halloween—I always have been. I remember as a kid trudging around the neighborhood with a pillowcase for hours until I could barely carry it from the weight of the candy. And, as much as it scared me, the house with the elaborate graveyard and other spooky decorations was always a favorite.
As a teenager, I was a big fan of horror movies. Most of them were just silly, but I will admit I still get a shiver up my spine when I hear the theme music from the original “Halloween” movie. And I will never be a fan of clowns. Or closed-in spaces. Or especially closed in spaces with clowns.
What scares you? Maybe rodents? Maybe creepy, crawly things? If that’s the case, you might not want to read about an MSU research story that came out this past week. It features a crazy video of a grasshopper mouse attacking and killing a scorpion. Yes, that’s right—a deadly scorpion. It’s honestly like something out of a 1950’s movie description, “Mighty mice voraciously kill and consume their prey with ease. When stung, the mice briefly lick their paws and move in again for the kill.”
Sounds a little like a horror movie, but in reality, it is fascinating research that could someday result in the development of analgesic medications for humans.
Are bones the thing that give you the heebie jeebies? Well then, you might not want to read mortuary archeology student Katy Meyers’ STUDENT VIEW: Bones Don’t Lie.
Katy isn’t afraid of bones in the least. She’ll happily dig in (see what I did there?) to learn as much as she can about history and society from remains long ago buried.
Zombies make you cower under your covers at night? Then Glen Stutzky’s course, "Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse," probably wouldn’t have been the class for you. It might sound silly to have a college class involving zombies, but it really was just an interesting way to examine the how and why humans behave as they do during disasters and catastrophes.
Maybe true crime stories make you nervous. If so, you might not want to talk with Geri Alumit Zeldes, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and award-winning documentary filmmaker and scholar.
Geri’s recent film, “The U.S. v. Narciso, Perez & the Press” investigates how two Filipina women were convicted in the 1970s of poisoning patients in the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor. In the FACULTY VOICE: Documenting “newness” she talks about working on that project.
If, like me, you’re not a fan of clowns, then you might want to stay away from the Department of Theatre’s Haunted Aud: Carnage. The fundraiser for student initiatives runs from 8 to 11 p.m. tonight and 8 p.m. to midnight on Halloween at the MSU Auditorium.
Whatever your fears might be—don’t let them get the best of you. Face them head on and show them you’re the boss. That’s what Spartans do. (Unless they're clowns...in that case, run away!)
Spartans Will.
Lisa Mulcrone
Editor, MSUToday
Photo of Beaumont Tower by Derrick L. Turner