Lindsey Wilson University 'Safe Halloween' Attracts more than 1,100 Area Residents

On their way to filling their bags with candy, trick-or-treaters greeted by famous and infamous characters from the stage and screen.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (11/01/2025) — Lindsey Wilson University student Peyton Allen '27 didn't have much free time during the last month.

That's because the human services and counseling major from Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated most of her free time decorating her corner of Phillips Hall for the university's annual "Safe Halloween."

On Friday, Oct. 31, 1,120 area children and family members made their way through four Lindsey Wilson residence halls during the university's 31st "Safe Halloween," according to Lindsey Wilson Director of Student Activities Stephanie Blackwood.

The costumed guests -- which often included children and family members -- filled their bags with candy while encountering beloved, feared and loathed characters from the stage and screen.

Allen's area of Phillips Hall was decorated in the theme of the 2012 Disney animated comedy Wreck-It Ralph. Allen dressed as the film's character Vanellope von Schweetz.

To prepare the hallway for trick-or-treaters, Allen and fellow residents started work in late September, spending as many as 20 hours a week on their hallway's design. Allen said the work was worth it when she handed out candy to children during Friday night's "Safe Halloween."

"All those little faces -- I just love them," said Allen, who is a human services and counseling major from Louisville, Kentucky.

Playing the role of Ralph was Houston Cloud '27 of Lancaster, Kentucky.

"They asked me to help, so I decided to do it," said Cloud, a business administration major and resident adviser in Harold J. Smith Hall.

Cloud said he worked on the Wreck-It Ralph decorations several times until midnight.

"It's all worth it, especially when the kids realize who we are. They really love that," he said. "Their excitement makes the hard work worth it, and staying up until midnight to work on it."

Making it work

Coordinating trick-or-treat tours for the more than 1,110 guests was Blackwood. Working with 10 Lindsey Wilson students who served as tour guides on the 20-minute confectionery collection through the residence halls, Blackwood ensured that the event ran with precision when it started from the university's Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center.

"I like to see how much the kids enjoy this," said Whitley Gibson '27 of Edmonton, Kentucky, who served her first year as a "Safe Halloween" tour guide.

Children and family members who toured the residence halls said they enjoyed the decorations in the residence halls almost as much as receiving the store-bought, packaged candy.

"It's really good. It's a safe event, and the kids don't have to worry about anything," said Bob Creamer of Columbia, who brought his three sons, ages 9 through 12, to "Safe Halloween" for the first time.

Movies and plays

In addition to Wreck-It Ralph, Phillips Hall residents decorated the residence hall's hallways based on the stories Snow White, How to Train Your Dragon, Inside Out and Once Upon a Time.

Freshmen Anna Kate Alexander of Glasgow, Kentucky, Jenesis Bowling of Taylorsville, Kentucky, and Dakota Tyler of Louisville, Kentucky, welcomed trick-or-treaters in the Once Upon a Time hallway.

Tyler said the children who passed through their hallway were "adorable."

"I work at a preschool, and I love anything with little kids," said Tyler, a pre-nursing major. "They just have my heart."

Alexander said the experience was good professional preparation for her, because she hopes to become an elementary school teacher after she graduates from Lindsey Wilson in 2029.

"It's cool to see the future, the type of kids I will be working with one day," she said.

Memorial Hall also adopted a Disney theme, the 2016 animated film Moana. Women's Resident Director Madyson Jones '24 of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, said she and her residents started work in early October to transform their hallways into an animated Polynesia.

"They really put in a great team effort," said Jones, who is a graduate student in the university's counseling program.

"Safe Halloween" was especially meaningful to Memorial Hall resident Elisa Sanabria '28.

"As a kid I never really got to celebrate it," said Sanabria, a criminal justice major from Russellville, Kentucky. "Now I like to be able to do something nice for the kids."

King of screams

Keefe Hall paid tribute to the hit Broadway musical and film Wicked, and Horton Hall was reserved for those guests who were brave enough to face a cabal of wicked characters. Horton Hall is the only residence hall that doesn't distribute candy, but it's unlikely visitors would have stood still long enough to accept sweet treats from the hall's ghoulish residents.

After wandering a hallway crowded with maniacs, psychopaths and deranged characters, trick-or-treaters who made it to the end of Horton Hall were confronted by Michael Myers from Kentuckian John Carpenter's Halloween movie franchise.

Men's Resident Director Tristan Petit '24 said has played the nearly immortal Michael Myers with eerie authority for the last "three or four years."

"Someone recommended it to me one year, and I just rolled with it because I scared the most people," said Petit.

Petit, who is mild-mannered when not wearing his menacing character's mask, said he's frightened scores of trick-or-treaters over the years. He said the key to eliciting the maximum amount of screams and shrieks is taking a minimalist approach.

"I start off quiet, and then I just walk to them to scare them and then the screams begin," he said. "My highest amount was about 40 screams in one group."

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