Legends behind the veil
A deeper look into a memorable Halloween experience
CMU freshman Taylor Hendrick screams at participants of Legends in the Dark, Friday, Oct. 28, on CMU's Campus. (CM-Life | Nico Mendoza)
Around 30 volunteers listened to their roles and duties before they set off on a practice tour across campus for the annual 29th Legends of the Dark at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 in front of the Bovee University Center.
Legends of the Dark, a retelling of scary on-campus stories that happened in the distant past, are reenacted in a spooky and fun way of events is an annual event organized by Student Activities and Involvement. The tradition was started in 1995 by student Allison Batdorf, and has returned every year due to its continuous success.
At the beginning of the practice tour in the Student Activities and Involvement Center, huddled around the meeting room in grey and brown round tables, volunteers talked, laughed, and listened as preparations and some initial issues were handled.
Protocols were reviewed as walkie talkies and earpieces were discussed. Costumes, makeup and cloaks for volunteers were not yet given out, but it was made known they're being used for the event, and the scripts for the stories themselves were handled out. A new "narrator" and a new "girlfriend" were also named as the group readied themselves to act out their roles.
Volunteers were is separated into three main roles to perform: the narrator, the person who at the scene of the event tells the story behind it, the scarer, who actually reenacts the scene and the guide who leads the group of people to and from scenes.
Hadlee Rinn, the coordinator for SAI and organizer of the event, led the group out of the lower level of the UC. They embark on a brisk, chilly tour around north campus to the scenes and sites where they will perform their roles.
The volunteers started at scene one of the tour, which starts outside the back of the Powers Hall. A volunteer playing as the “safari guide,” would lead a group of spectators to the first scene, where they would see the transformation of the tour from a quote, “Date night to hate night.”
This scene, where an actor would be grabbed and dragged away on the cold ground in a play by volunteers, will be the start of a total of 10 scenes across the north side of campus.
Volunteers then followed Rinn to scene two as they excitedly discussed their roles, the murders behind part of the stories that they are playing, the “Merrill Ghost,” as they next went towards Warriner Hall to a place called "the Pit," the entrance to a series of old tunnels underneath Central Michigan University's campus that have long been sealed off.
The scenes and the practice tour stretched across Powers Hall to the R.O.T.C Army building. The group briefly stopped in front of halls and buildings to be introduced to the scenes and the backgrounds that inspired the stories.
The practice tour came to an end with a ring-around back to the UC where, when the actual tours end, there will be apple cider and doughnuts for those who came out to witness the spooky stories.
Rinn, a graduate student overseeing Legends of the Dark for the first time, spoke of revamped costumes for this year, new scripts for next year, and the energy she felt with her group of volunteers.
Rinn said that this group feels "really good," as she looks forward to this year's performance. She said this wouldn't have happened at all if volunteers like those at the practice hadn't stepped up.
"The Student Involvement Center doesn't have enough staff to do all this," she said. "(Without volunteers) This wouldn't be possible."
