WKU News

It’s Homecoming weekend and WKU is leaning into Halloween with this year’s theme Nightmare on Normal Street.

WKU’s Amy Bingham has the spooky details in this week’s View from the Hill.

The parade, the tailgate, the game Saturday against North Texas, all the traditional Homecoming activities will be held this weekend. But an added bonus is a Halloween event on Sunday that will bring WKU ghost stories to a new generation.

“Western has a long history of ghost stories and unexplainable events that happen on campus.”

Retired WKU employee Tamela Smith has been telling WKU ghost stories for nearly 20 years.

“I gave my first tour back in 2004 when we had a similar, it was around Halloween as well and we had a similar theme for homecoming and so I’m like OK, do y'all want me to do a tour and that’s kind of how it got started.”

“He turns around but there’s nobody there.”

Now she’s training Student Alumni Ambassadors to tell the stories in a kid friendly way.

“Just picking out a few of the more interesting or entertaining stories cause it is fun in October when the colors are changing for autumn, the leaves are changing, it’s fun to talk about these things.”

The Spirit Makes the Monster is a community Halloween event planned for Sunday at the Eva and Jim Martens Alumni Center.

“She’s actually training some of our Student Alumni Ambassadors on how to give the ghost tour and they are going to be using kind of her blueprint to offer those tours during Spirit Makes the Monster.”

Marcum says the campus community always embraces the homecoming theme and Nightmare on Normal Street is no different.

“You could fight it and try to separate yourself from it or you can try to lean into it for once and make the most of it so that’s what we’re trying to do this year.”

“Van Meter Auditorium has the longest most haunting history and most well known.  I’ve got stories from the early 1960s in that building.”

“The hauntings occur all throughout the building”

Smith, who is now writing a book about the eerie events on campus, is making sure the stories live on for future generations.

“It’s a great opportunity to share the stories, share some of the history and to keep these oral traditions going.”

“I find it very exciting.”

The Spirit Makes the Monster, sponsored by the Student Alumni Ambassadors, will start at 4:30 Sunday at the Martens Alumni Center.

WKU takes on North Texas Saturday afternoon at 2:30.

For a full listing of WKU Homecoming events, visit alumni.wku.edu/homecoming