Halloween in Athens, Most haunted city in Ohio, and big time party school

[The Straight Story]

Halloween in Athens

Ohio U -- not Ohio State -- is the place to be
Posted: Wednesday November 1, 2006 11:19AM; Updated: Wednesday November 1, 2006 12:52PM
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By Mark Shugar

It is safe to say that the most tedious part of attending Ohio University is constantly having to remind potential employers and unknowing relatives that we are Bobcats here in Athens, Ohio, and are not to be confused with some nuts from a certain state school an hour north in Columbus.

Ohio State is OSU, Ohio University is OU -- see, the "S" is silent.

But thankfully this is the time of year when there is no confusion between Bobcats and Buckeyes. Halloween is in the air, and even Playboy knows that the best party in the state of Ohio is not at the state school, it is here at the original Ohio University.

So just how does Halloween go down in Athens?

It has been estimated since the mid- to late-1970s that anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 people per year show up for the festivities on Oct. 31 in Athens. Add those to the undergraduates -- about 17,000 students -- and cram that into a city with a general population of about 22,000, and you are looking at a geographic area doubling in population for a weekend.

Athens, which has earned the nickname "The most haunted city in Ohio," is the perfect setting for a Halloween party. The city is home to an abandoned mental hospital right off campus; dorm rooms thought to be haunted by ghosts; and Mount Nebo, the highest peak in Athens County, which is said to be an old Indian burial ground.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/sioncampus/11/01/halloween.ohiou/index.html

I know, I know, Halloween is over. But hell, they throw christmas stuff in the stores in October, so I am just getting psyched up for next Halloween :)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Straight Story!

How interesting this is!

The whole town? Wow........I'll bet they have fun!

The live ones........and the dead ones too.....:scared:

[The Straight Story]

2. Hi Peggy!

Saw your photo thread earlier, great job as usual.

Here is a fun one I took not too long ago :)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Glad you liked my thread!

This pic of yours is really something else......

A mad jumble!

I love it!

:hug:

[Auggie]

4. I'm concerned stories/posts like these are eventually going to ruin things

and this celebaration will become too big -- and troublesome -- for the city to handle. Athens is a small town with limited resources. Unless you're from there -- and NOT Columbus -- it's best to let the locals celebrate on their own and save your pent-up party demands for elsewhere.

[LaurenG]

5. ??

that was a dis-invite if I ever heard one. It leaves a "mean", "authoritarian" feeling just lingering. Maybe Athens should do the dis-inviting instead.

[Auggie]

6. Actually, the Athens City Council discussed ending the celebration

earlier this year. More posts like this one and you'll start to get people coming from out-of-state, and from other countries, who do not always care about the best interests of the local population and students. It can get out-of-hand quickly.

I was an O.U. student who attended the first sacntioned Halloween celebration in the late '70s. I love a good party -- there are just bozos out there that feel it's their duty to ruin them.

[Kerrytravelers]

7. Yep. I'm jumping on a plane from Los Angeles. Can't wait.

Just want to fuck your town up! Yee-haw.

Let's go streaking! I'm a naked guy for Halloween!


Think that might ruin all the fun?




Glad New Orleans doesn't feel this way about Mardi Gras.











(Disclaimer- that's not me in the photo.)

[Auggie]

10. Nine people were shot in San Francisco's Castro Street Celebration

Tuesday night, and another suffered severe head injuries, in gang violence.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/03/BAGLUM4QMH28.DTL

Why tempt fate? I'm just saying the Athens party should really be for locals.

And your response make no sense at all.

[Kerrytravelers]

11. Your snippiness to the OP makes no sense at all.

And, people getting shot in San Francisco has what to do with a party in Ohio? :shrug:

I hardly think someone talking about a local event here at Du is really going to cause a sudden tidal wave of "intruders" into what is apparently a "locals only" Halloween party. What did you think? Suddenly all of DU would plan a huge Halloween Meet-up and crash the party?

:eyes:

[xmas74]

12. Too late for that.

Athens has been featured in books and travel shows about the supernatural and the paranormal for years now. Paranormal attractions are growing and people are realizing that there is money to be made in advertising your local hauntings.

Smartest thing the city can do is hire more security and place a higher tax on local lodging and dining out restaurants, along w/ charging for parking at certain times of the year.

My town has a higher than average lodging tax for a town of its size in my state (it's about the same size as Athens) and we don't have a huge party to worry about. We're just a college town w/ a military installation nearby. A higher lodging tax allows us to expand our police force and to maintain our local roads.

[JackBeck]

8. My husband went to this school.

And he has shared some funny Halloween stories.

[LadyoftheRabbits]

9. Yeah...

everyone here at OSU leaves to go there for Halloween parties. :P