Ghouls, goblins invade Castle

Amidst a swirl of autumn leaves and a steady stream of excited children dressed as ghosts and goblins, Shelly Waldman, the co-coordinator of the Castle's Haunted House, looked flustered. "Over here! Over here!" the College junior called, gesturing wildly. Waldman had her hands full Friday afternoon organizing the dozens of West Philadelphia children who were eager to see the result of two full days of decorating and weeks of fund-raising at the Castle. "Things like this aren't going to change the world, but the kids are having fun for a day," Waldman said of the pre-Halloween festivities. First-year education graduate student Bridget Dugan, the Castle program director, said although the event may not have lasting effects, it still serves an important community function. "Although we're committed to systematic change and making a long-term difference in people's lives, this kind of thing is important as well," she said. Waldman invited all campus groups involved in helping local children to participate, including Penn Pals and the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project. And for many of these students, Friday was only one of many service activities that will keep University students involved with the West Philadelphia community. "This is the beginning of a lot of good things to come," said Melissa Rosenthal, a College junior and Pan-hellenic Civic Chairperson. "We have a food drive planned for November as well." She said over 300 kids participated in the haunted house, trick-or-treating and other Halloween activities planned by several fraternities and all nine sororities -- the program's biggest turn-out ever. It was so popular, in fact, that parents were requesting extending the event until Monday, event organizers said. Volunteer response was unheralded as well. Between 75 and 100 students helped throughout the day, and it took twenty people two nights to create the Castle's spooky affect alone, Rosenthal said. And if the number of shrieks and clutched hands were any indication, the hard work clearly paid off. The children were led around the house into the decorated rooms, each done in a different theme. Miscellaneous goblins milled around and lurked behind doors, adding to the eerie effect. "It's a lot scarier this year," said one of the children, Kamia Spencer, who was dressed as a black cat. "They changed it around." After touring the Castle, children were escorted to University fraternity and sorority houses to go trick-or-treating in the afternoon. Alpha Chi Rho fraternity entertained the kids with bobbing for apples, while Delta Delta Delta sorority played a game of musical chairs. And according to Wharton freshman and tutor Jodi Kimelstein, the Halloween festivities appealed to kids of all ages. "I think I had more fun than the kids did," she joked.