Witchy words; wicked ways. Clark goes all in on Halloween stories

Dana Commons is sure to be spooky Tuesday evening as members of the Clark community take the stage to read scary tales guaranteed to keep you up at night.

“Oh Horror! A Night of Spooky Storytelling,” hosted by the Alice Coonley Higgins Institute for Arts and Humanities, will take place in the Higgins Lounge on October 29 from 7  to 8:30 p.m. The evening will be both creepy and crawly, featuring candy, things that go bump in the night, and performances by, among others, theatre professor Gino DiIorio and Jennifer Plante, associate dean of the college, curriculum administration and academic integrity, and director of The Writing Center.

Higgins Institute coordinator Gloria Potts, who organized the event, promises the performances will be absolutely haunting.

“The Higgins Institute opened this event to the Clark community for submissions this year because we wanted to provide an outlet for creativity and fear,” Potts says. “It might feel strange and unusual to open yourself to fear, but maybe we all need to be a little strange and unusual.”

“Oh! Horror!” is a reimagining of a Higgins tradition that brings Clarkies together to experience the terrors of Halloween.

DiIorio is thrilled to be making a return appearance so that he can share an eerie tale of his own.

“You get Halloween candy, hot apple cider, and spooky stories,” he says. “What could be better?” He is similarly excited about being able to perform with the evening’s other special faculty guest. “Reading with Jennifer Plante will be a hoot!”

The event will include both recognizable tales and entirely new Clarkie imaginings. The Higgins Institute invites the campus community to “join us for the fun…if you dare.”