The English Club hosted their annual event Poe in the Pit on Wed. Oct. 29.  The event has been a tradition a Millikin for several years now and tries to take place as closely to Halloween as possible.

The event is open to the whole campus. The only requirements are your love for the macabre and Edgar Allan Poe which go hand in hand.  The event, which used to be hosted in the cemetery behind KFAC, has been hosted in the pit in front of the library and the Honors Student Lounge next to the pit for several years now.

“Poe in the Pit is the event that keeps English Club on the grid. We are successful within our department, but Poe in the Pit is our chance to reach out to the rest of the student body and offer something they are interested in and excited about,” Brittany Mytnik, English Club and Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society President said when asked why the event was important or special, “A lot of people enjoy Halloween, so the more events happening on campus leading up to the holiday the better. Our event is a part of the way Millikin celebrates Halloween.”

The night began with a reception that had all kinds of spooky deserts and refreshments and it gave the students the opportunity to catch up with one another. Students aren’t the only ones to take celebration in the macabre Halloween spirit and Poe appreciation as the event was attended by several English Department faculty members including, Dr. O’Conner, Dr. Magagna, Professor Crow, and Dr. Cook.

“Edgar Allan Poe is such a prolific writer that we have come to culturally associate with Halloween.” Mytnik said. “His work contains elements that effectively create a spooky Halloween atmosphere: suspenseful plots, dark and unsettling imagery, deranged protagonists, murder, unexplainable and fantastical events, nightmarish scenes, etc. And all this is told with a stylistic language, rhythm, and syntax that propel the text forward with a sense of urgency. Poe is a familiar name, and understandably so. The substantial turn out that we see at this event each year is evidence of how compelling Poe’s work is. English Club is glad to celebrate literature that people connect with and help contribute to the spirit of Halloween at Millikin.”

Once a crowd too large to be held in the Honors Lounge, students and faculty went outside for the traditional readings of some of Poe’s spooky works. Brittany Mytnik, senior, started the night by reading Poe’s most famous work, The Raven, Ryle Frey read The Tell Tale Heart, Miranda Little read Lenore, many other students stepped up to read, Morgan Ewald read the poem Annabelle Lee and other stories such as The Black Cat were also read.

The evening also hosted a costume contest, the costumes included Madeline from the popular children’s books worn by Erynn Williams, Lauren Taylor as Steampunk Girl, Sabrina Leblanc was Batman, another contestant came dressed a character from the Sia music video “Chandelier,” and Morgan Ewald went dressed as a “Death Eater” from the Harry Potter series. Overall, Erynn Williams’ Madeline costume won first place.  The night ended itself with some games in the Honors Lounge hosted by students who weren’t quite yet ready to give up on the night’s frivolity.

Overall the night turned out to be a good time. There was food, games, readings, and a celebration of the Macabre at one the English Departments dearest events. If you love Poe, Halloween, and the macabre, next year keep your eyes open for the event information around Halloween 2015.