Zombies, girls and taking it too far
Michal Elseth
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Opinion
On Halloween night, several people dressed like zombies stalked everyone walking up and down the hill by the Grewcock Student Union. Two others dressed all in black and stood in the shadows between Benzing Hall and Mauck Residence.
The "zombies" followed people up and down the hill, which isn't a big deal. It's Halloween, they were dressed up, and the idea itself is pretty funny. But they got way too close and creepy for comfort's sake. One "zombie" even crawled toward a girl walking alone up the hill on the dark. Another woman, not even a Hillsdale College student, was walking her dog when the zombies followed her. She was so freaked out by the stalkers that she ran away with her dog in tow.
I'm all for Halloween fun, really. I love inventing costumes and watching creepy movies. But crawling around on the ground at people and following strangers until they run away? If you want that badly to scare people, go work at a haunted house.
I understand that the idea of dressing up, hiding, and scaring people sounds good. But when your fun is at other people's expense, it's time to reconsider your plan of action.
Everyone I heard from about the "zombies" and the men in black were girls who had been walking alone or with one other equally creeped out girl, in the dark, with no idea who these people were. None of them appreciated the scare. It's one thing for people to dress up and stand there looking creepy- that's bad enough, though, if you're a girl walking alone in the dark. But when someone comes after you, it's not funny anymore, no matter why they're doing it.
Don't just take my word for it. I asked other people what they thought, and I got a similar response. Junior Liv Wolcott said she wouldn't want anything crawling at her in the dark, even on Halloween, no matter who it was. My roommate said if the "zombieman" had crawled any closer, she would have been strongly tempted to kick him in the face. Senior Joy Yoder and another of my suite mates walked back together and both of them were completely creeped out by the zombies and men in black.
The "zombies" followed people up and down the hill, which isn't a big deal. It's Halloween, they were dressed up, and the idea itself is pretty funny. But they got way too close and creepy for comfort's sake. One "zombie" even crawled toward a girl walking alone up the hill on the dark. Another woman, not even a Hillsdale College student, was walking her dog when the zombies followed her. She was so freaked out by the stalkers that she ran away with her dog in tow.
I'm all for Halloween fun, really. I love inventing costumes and watching creepy movies. But crawling around on the ground at people and following strangers until they run away? If you want that badly to scare people, go work at a haunted house.
I understand that the idea of dressing up, hiding, and scaring people sounds good. But when your fun is at other people's expense, it's time to reconsider your plan of action.
Everyone I heard from about the "zombies" and the men in black were girls who had been walking alone or with one other equally creeped out girl, in the dark, with no idea who these people were. None of them appreciated the scare. It's one thing for people to dress up and stand there looking creepy- that's bad enough, though, if you're a girl walking alone in the dark. But when someone comes after you, it's not funny anymore, no matter why they're doing it.
Don't just take my word for it. I asked other people what they thought, and I got a similar response. Junior Liv Wolcott said she wouldn't want anything crawling at her in the dark, even on Halloween, no matter who it was. My roommate said if the "zombieman" had crawled any closer, she would have been strongly tempted to kick him in the face. Senior Joy Yoder and another of my suite mates walked back together and both of them were completely creeped out by the zombies and men in black.
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