Written by Addie Marzinske | Archived Nov. 10, 2020

Haunted Halls has been a long-standing tradition here at UMD. But this Halloween, as haunted halls comes to an end, a new tradition of Boo M D will be started.

Kathrine Lindow, the Communications Associate for Housing & Residence Life/Dining services, said that Boo M D would be taking the place of Haunted Halls which had been UMD tradition over the last two decades.

“Boo M D is going to be in the Kirby Ballroom and it’s going to kind of be an extension of what Haunted Halls was,” said Lindow. “There’s going to be a booth set up where kids and community members can come in to play games, to get candy, prizes, and treats.”

Boo M D will be taking place in the Kirby Ballroom on Oct. 30 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

According to Lindow, Boo M D will be in the style of trick or treating by setting up the booths in such a way that the kids can walk through the Ballroom from one point to the other all while collecting candy on their way through.

“It’s a little bit more of an extension on Haunted Halls where we can get everybody at UMD involved instead of just our residence halls students,” said Lindow.

This year, the candy, prize, and game booths will be created by and put on by student organizations and groups.

“In the past, our apartment students had wanted to be a part of it, but we really couldn’t navigate what that would look like, so this way everybody in housing has the chance to be a part of it,” said Lindow.

Freshman Sara Guymon is the President of UMD’s tennis club. She and the rest of the tennis club will be one of the many groups volunteering at Boo M D.

“We’re a really close-knit group of friends,” said Guymon. “I think that volunteering shows the community that even though we’re a new club, we’re still a part of something bigger.”

Guymon said that volunteering is a requirement for clubs, and that it looks really good when representing UMD. Guymon says volunteering also provides the club with a great team bonding opportunity.

“We’re really looking forward to having this team event where we all do something that is different than what we’ve ever done,” said Guymon. “We’re excited to spend time with the kids so I think this will be really fun.”

The change from Haunted Halls comes after feedback from families and community members who have participated in the event in previous years.

“I think it’s a little chaotic, Haunted Halls,” said Lindow. “There were some buildings that we weren’t able to offer tours in or that some people just can’t go through because they’re not as accessible and you can get lost very quickly. We’ve got so many buildings that if you take one wrong turn you can get completely lost and have no idea how to get back out, and that was just kind of a decision we made after receiving all the different feedback.”

Lindow said that moving away from the Haunted Halls allows UMD’s Halloween celebrations to be more accessible to families within the community as well as to students on and off campus.

“It makes it a lot more accessible having it in the Kirby Ballroom,” said Lindow. “It’s right off of the Bus Hub so parents and families don’t necessarily have to drive to campus.”

You can expect most of the same things that were part of Haunted Halls, just in a more consolidated area. There will still be candy to be collected, prizes to be won, and even face-painting.

“We’re doing a traditional Halloween-type theme,” said Lindow. “We want traditional Halloween colors, but nothing too spooky because we want it to still be accessible to kids.”

To learn more about the event, check out UMD’s Campus and Community news.

A spooky change for UMD’s long-standing tradition