Theatre students present the Haunted FAC

Shrieks were heard echoing through the halls of the Fine Arts Center last weekend as 32 theatre arts majors revealed the untold past of Castleton State College.

            They told how corpses were ripped from their graves and tunnels were dug to transport the lifeless bodies across Castleton State College leaving many to believe the campus is haunted by these undead souls.

            In 1969 Castleton State College was strictly a nursing school, and these bodies were used as medical equipment due to the expense of proper cadavers.

            “They dug up bodies from the cemetery to practice on,” said Meghan Hakey, one of the Haunted Fine Arts Center tour guides.

            “That’s why nursing students are cursed with the work load,” said fellow guide Ben Villa with a smirk on his face.

            After months of preparation, the Alpha Psi Omega Theatre Honors Society hosted its annual haunted FAC tours on Oct. 26=27.

            “This year is much different,” said senior Austyn Bevins, adding that aspects of the tour found to be successful in previous years, have been consistently improved upon.

            Hakey and Villa led unsuspecting visitors into the Casella Theatre where countless creepy voices were heard through the darkness:

            “I see you.”

            “Come play with me, please.”

            “I don’t want to be alone.”

            “Please don’t go, it’s scary in here.”

            “You can’t leave, no, no, don’t leave.”

            These voices only enhanced Hakey’s story involving the children of a previous technical instructor.

            “That catwalk right there,” said Hakey pointing upwards, “well there’s a hole in one of the catwalks and one of his children actually fell.”

            After escaping the ghosts of this child and footsteps pattering behind them, guests were lead by Villa through a mock tunnel representing the pathway Castleton once used to transport bodies. 

            “This is the hall of fame, the famous hall of haunted. This is the tunnel. Guess where we get to go,” said Villa intensifying the moment for his guests.

            The other side of the tunnel revealed other unpublished true stories that haunt the Fine Arts Center.  

            One aspect of the tour that has been eliminated in recent years involves the art house behind the theatre.

            “It was bought by the college for the art students. It used to be a daycare facility and when the kids were up in the attic, there was a nanny on the bottom floor making lunch for the kids and a fire caught and went up through the stair case, and killed all the kids. They were unable to use the art house,” said Hakey with a flashlight reflecting on her face.

            Prior to this removal, tours were led through the art house. And one year, it provided a surprise for presenters.

            “Wow that girl you had in the art house was fantastic, so scary,” said a previous attendee of the haunted FAC

            Hakey then explained, however, that there was no little girl involved in the tour.

            “We had an unexpected visitor in the tour,” she said.

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