On Halloween, Monday, Oct. 31, GHC will be hosting afternoon “Haunted Humanities” events in the Paulding, Cartersville and Floyd libraries from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Marietta campus on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The main event in the Floyd campus library will be a Spooky Short Stories Contest at 2 p.m. Students will have 20 minutes to write a two-sentence horror story based on an inkblot prompt. English Professor Frank Minor will give the best writer a $10 gift card. 

Next, there will be an Open Mic where students are able to share a story or read a Halloween-themed poem. Students are welcome to wear costumes, and there will be refreshments provided throughout each event.

There will be a workshop on horror writing and a Two-Sentence Horror Story Contest in the Cartersville campus library at 2 p.m. It will be hosted by Assistant English Professor and Creative Writing Club Supervisor Shannan Harrington. She, along with Creative Writing Club members and librarians, will judge each story and pick winners to receive prizes, which have not yet been determined. 

“I love discussing the different elements of creative writing, and thriller/horror is such a fun and challenging genre with unique characteristics,” Harrington said. “I hope attendees find it useful, and I’m also really looking forward to reading the two-sentence horror stories that our students write. Some I’ve read in the past still haunt me to this day.”

Pizza, drinks and candy will be provided to attendees and costumes are encouraged.

Local horror novelist Andy Davidson will host a reading and book signing of his latest novel, “The Hollow Kind,” at 2 p.m. in the Paulding campus Learning Commons. There will also be trick-or-treating activities, a costume contest and a “ghost hunt.” Assistant English Professor Danny Bellinger is credited for hosting the Paulding event. 

Events in the Marietta campus library will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 27. There will be an Open Mic Night where students are encouraged to share spooky poetry, essays and songs. Assistant English Professor Mackleen Desravines is hosting the event. 

According to Floyd campus Library Associate, Tamantha Hargett, there will be “a display of horror and true crime books set up for the month of October” throughout the events at all campuses. Students are invited to read in the library or check out books to continue at home. 

“Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I have had a blast preparing for this event,” Hargett said.

The idea for “Haunted Humanities” began as a collaboration between the GHC Humanities department and the campus libraries as a way to bring more students into the library and promote the Creative Writing Club and the upcoming Highlands Writer’s Conference.

“We wanted to give students across all of our campuses the chance to engage with their English faculty outside of the classroom to complete spooky-themed activities and grow their love for Humanities and our fabulous faculty,” Professor of Library and Information Science and Cartersville Librarian, Caroline Evergreen, said. “At each activity, there will be a prize as well as food and beverages provided by the Creative Writing Club.”