Come to fright night at the library

Spinetingling chills in a spooky space between the racks

‘Boys and girls of every age, wouldn’t you like to see something strange?” Tim Burton’s classic film, The Nightmare Before Christmas kicks off with a sentence that perfectly represents the Halloween Spirit.

The opportunity to see people at their strangest is one of the things that makes me love Halloween. As a teen growing up in a tiny town, Halloween was my favourite time of the year. How deep will they get into character? How intense will their face paint be? How long did it take to mix up all that fake blood?

Halloween Night was never boring, with free lollies, dressing up, parties with friends and families, and the memorable prank on Uncle Rob one year, followed by facing the consequences every year until I moved away for university. From the families who would go all out, causing you to stop and consider if the lollies would be worth the scare, to the ones who forgot it was Halloween and would hand over fruit or crackers apologetically. Then there was the freedom of roaming the town with friends, discovering stores that would offer free goodies just for being dressed up or for solving a riddle, then finding classmates from school, laughing while oohing and ahhing at each. The only negative was having to wait an entire year to do it all again!

But this year, my Ghouls of Levin, you don’t have to wait for Halloween night to get dressed up and get a good scare, because Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-po¯ is resurrecting The Haunted Library experience. On Saturday, October 28, from 6pm till 10pm, we’ll be replacing our colourful uniforms with old rags and transforming the library from light and lively, to dark and haunting.

You can purchase your tickets online at eventfinder.co.nz. Door sales will be available, however, tickets are limited, so make sure not to miss out! The Youth Space will be opening their doors at 6pm for frightful tours through the dim library for families and young children. Then, from 8-10pm, the terror begins as tours for 12+ will take place in the pitch black library. Alternatively, doll enthusiasts can sneak into the Mahi Space to explore their dollhouse and capture the night with photos.

Beware, these dolls are not for play — they might just keep you from leaving . . .

So practice your best shrieks and

blow the cobwebs off your runners because, whether you join us on October 28 or not, we will be seeing you.