A scary, popular tradition
Pfeiffer Ghost Night is a Halloween tradition at NCC, which normally takes place in the theatre at Barbara Pfeiffer Memorial Hall. The Company, a student organization, hosts this event as well as a variety of events, including drag shows and K-Pop Dance Jams.
Typically, on Halloween night, the Pfeiffer Stage is empty, aside from a row of chairs set at center stage. The Company welcomes its guests and ushers them into the seats to anxiously await the start of the night. Guests commonly arrive in costume since the event usually takes place on Halloween.
The storytellers enter the stage and take their seats in front of the captive audience. Most of these storytellers are current theater students or alumni who have experienced paranormal happenings within Pfeiffer Hall. Fellow storytellers and audience members alike throw in their own additions as stories are being told.
Red-Eyes, Yellow Boots and the Man in White are a few of the well-known stories among students. A tour of allegedly haunted spots in the building usually takes place after the storytelling.
The Company adjusts to the pandemic
Since the COVID-19 pandemic still strongly impacts the U.S., The Company made adjustments to the tradition. On Oct. 17, The Company produced its Pfeiffer Ghost Night via Zoom. The event lasted from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Company encouraged their audience to have as much fun as possible, saying, “Come dressed in spooky Halloween costumes, makeup or clothes! Let’s make the most of this super fun event being online!”
To create even more hauntingly good fun, The Company announced the addition of a “spooky trivia game to win prizes and goodie bags.” The questions centered around the classic ghost stories and the history of Pfeiffer Hall. The President of The Company McKenna Kreiling, ’23, asked winners to contact her to receive their prizes.
Around 8:30 p.m., the ghost stories began. Tales old and new were shared by a variety of storytellers.
Dance professor Cindy Hartigan, ’02, served as a knowledgeable source of the original stories.
An infamous legend
One of the stories Hartigan told is referred to as “The Water Fountain Story.” This story came from one of Hartigan’s professors while she was at NCC. This professor had stayed in Pfeiffer later at night to finish some paperwork. He heard the water fountain down the hall running multiple times.
This felt suspicious to him, so he wandered out of his office to see who was there. A young girl in an old white dress was standing there. She stared at him. He asked who she was, thinking that she may have been another professor’s child, as that was common.
The girl ran downstairs to a room that was formerly used as the scene shop. The professor chased her, fearing that she would get hurt by the equipment. When the professor arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he saw her facedown in a pool of blood. The professor quickly realized this was a mirage. He knew he would have heard something. He returned to the room later and there was no trace of her.
A more recent haunting
During the event, Kreiling shared multiple stories, which The Company has kept on record for future use. One story was a recent submission from Sam Koppitz, ’22.
Koppitz was practicing a song in a Pfeiffer practice room. He was sitting at the piano, centered on the bench. He assured that he was not sitting on the edge of his seat. Suddenly, the piano bench was pulled out from under him and dragged to about a foot and a half behind him. Kreiling relayed that Koppitz gathered his belongings and left the practice room.
The Company
For more information on The Company, visit their Facebook and Instagram pages. Kreiling will also take questions at mlkreiling@noctrl.edu.
