Diggs

By Liz Wagner
Collegian Staff
October 31, 2007

While some people living in the St. Miguel Townhouses believe that tossing a pumpkin on the front porch and hanging up a “Happy Halloween!” poster counts as decorations, the inhabitants of E4 had no qualms with going all-out this holiday season.

The boys living in the house are seniors biology major Jon Andrews, chemistry/biochemistry major Mike Dao, history/philosophy major Anthony Decollo, history major Joe Zolofra and management/finance major Ruel Fernandes pulled out all the stops on their downstairs living room.

Upon entering the house, you are greeted by a life–size female ghost that is attached to the wall, her hair draping down and covering her ghoulish face. A holographic picture of a woman that morphs into an angry corpse hangs from a closet door. Several angry, neon skulls also are littered around the house, prepared to terrify any who enter it.

Cobwebs that glow from a black light in the corner are suspended across the ceiling, along with strings of mini plastic jack-o-lanterns. Orange Christmas lights hang from every doorway and across the windows. Several gravestones are taped to the walls that bear name of the house’s inhabitants. A goblin in a cage hangs down from the ceiling next to the television.

“It wasn’t actually that expensive to decorate,” Andrews said. “We went to one of those Halloween stores, and everything was a lot of money. But then we went to a Rite Aid and got the same exact stuff for a lot less.”

Fake claw marks are scratched down the side of another closet door, and cauldrons filled with glowing water made from highlighters (a trick Andrews found on YouTube) sit on a table near the black light. A lone pumpkin sits on the kitchen table, the only sign of a traditional Halloween decoration.

During a Halloween party over the weekend, the boys turned themselves into decorations as well. At the party Dao was costumed as an EMT (which was actually his work uniform), Fernandes was a nightmare, Andrews was a car crash victim and Deocollo was King Richard the Lionhearted.

The next time a holiday rolls around, take a page out of these guys’ books and put a little effort in the season.

wagnere1@lasalle.edu