HALLOWEEN COSTUME DIYS, MSU LIBRARY AND SURPLUS STORE OFFER RESOURCES
By Alyssa Perera aperera@statenews.com
With many students stuck on campus without a car, it can be easy to turn to ordering Halloween costumes online. Outside sources seem like the obvious choice, but there is an option right below students’ noses: the MSU Library and Surplus Store. Online shopping means dealing with shipping and it can quickly become very pricey as students sometimes want multiple pieces for multiple
costumes. Meanwhile, thri ing clothes or getting fabric from the Surplus Store is o en a very cheap option, with most pieces being under $10. Students could get yards of fabric and work from there, they can transform an existing article of clothing into something new or use it as is. ey can also dig into their own closets to nd things they no longer wear and turn that into a costume piece.
Making a costume is easier than students would think with the help of sewing machines in the main library and the surplus store. Tucked away
on the west side of the main library’s second $oor is the Hollander Makerspace, home of 3D printing, Cricut and more. For sewing speci cally, there are sewing machines, mending kits, other sewing tools and thread available for use either at the makerspace or for lending.
ese materials are free, with the exception of late fees that will incur if the lent product is not brought back in its allotted 21 days. e Makerspace welcomes walk-ins, or students can make a reservation through the Makerspace’s website to guarantee that the item they’re looking for will be available.
e space has both mechanical and computerized sewing machines. Computerized machines may be more di cult for beginners to use, but every machine lent out comes with an instruction manual.
“Almost all of your sewing [for costumes] is going to be a straight stitch or a zigzag,” Makerspace Coordinator Jamie Moriarty said. “So in that regard, if you just want something basic, the Elnas [Elna 340 sewing machines] are pretty much able to handle anything, and pretty easy and straightforward to use.”
Sewing can be di cult, so hand mending is also an option, as mending kits are also available for use and lending.
Another way that the Makerspace can be utilized for costumes is through the 3D printer. Students send in the design that they want through the Make At State website, and then they will receive a price for the print, which they can approve or decline. e prints can take up to two to three weeks, depending on how busy the space is.
“We have had people print things like masks and costume parts here,” Primary Student Supervisor at the Makerspace Alex Seddon said. “[I] de nitely have seen people do costuming that way. And I’ve never seen this happen in the Makerspace, but we have the vacuum former, which is like an old school way– the stormtrooper armor from Star Wars was all made on a vacuum former. But that requires a consultation before getting in. [It’s] pretty advanced, but it is available if somebody ever has that idea, maybe for next Halloween to have something vacuum formed.”
Vacuum forming, a way of shaping plastic
through heat and a vacuum, can be an e cient way of making costume pieces as it takes a few minutes for one copy of something. erefore making multiple copies, maybe for a group costume, would be easier on a vacuum former than the 3D printer. Makerspace also hosts events and workshops throughout the year. ey have Intro to Sewing classes multiple times a year, and they will be hosting a Clothing Repair-A- on on October 24, just in time for any last-minute costume adjustments. e MSU Surplus Store and its creative reuse branch, Spartan Upcycle, can also aid costume making with their weekly Upcycle Friday events from 11-3 p.m., where they repurpose materials to make guided cra s. ey are encouraging students to come to the space and work on their costumes using the supplies at the space, like sewing machines, hand sewing, fabric glue, tape, cardboard and more.
“Since we have [Upcycle Fridays] multiple times, we’re hoping people have enough time to put [costumes] together,” Surplus Store and Recycling Center Education Coordinator Katie Deska Radigan said. We also are able to open up our workshop space if there’s interest and requests for that. So as people are like me and they crunch for their costume, if that comes up, then they can ask about that. We’ll see what we can do.”
e store hopes to o er up a clothing swap at each Upcycle Friday this month to help students nd costume pieces. ese swaps allow students to bring clothes they no longer want and trade for items that the store had or that other people brought.
“We have fabric [and] a bunch of other supplies,” Deska Radigan said. “We’re putting out a call for more from the public, we’re taking donations from the public at the Surplus Store Monday through Friday for things that students can use to make costumes. So clothes, accessories, Halloween costumes that they can reinvent. Cra ing basics, like elastic, pipe cleaners, Velcro, buttons, zippers, stu like that. And so we’re hoping that’ll really help to replenish us through the month.”
Students wondering what supplies the Surplus Store has or what times they can work on their costume can email recycleatmsu.edu for more information.
Illustration by Tate Rudisill.
INVESTIGATE THE UNKNOWN
By Amy Cho acho@statenews.com
When it comes to all things paranormal, like ghosts, spirits and haunted buildings, Halloweentime is usually what people are reminded of.
For co-founders of Ghost Contact Paranormal, a paranormal investigations team based in Lansing, Ben Strongwolf Rodriguez and Beth Rodriguez, paranormal investigations and occurrences aren’t just limited to the fall.
The couple started their team as a hobby in 2019, after becoming interested in paranormal investigation show, “Ghost Hunters”, a few years prior. However, their interest in the paranormal didn’t stem from just the show.
For Rodriguez, her own paranormal experiences sparked questions regarding the existence of the supernatural.
One of Rodriguez’s frst encounters with the paranormal was on a trip to Key West, Florida.
Rodriguez said she and her friend were taking pictures around town, and one happened to be of a stairwell they thought looked unique.
“...We were looking at our pictures later, on our camera, (and) I immediately picked up that there was some kind of fgure standing at the top of the stairs that we didn’t see when we were taking the picture,” Rodriguez said. “(It) kind of shocked the heck out of me, and kind of scared her half to death too.”
Strongwolf Rodriguez started out as a skeptic, his mind changed after his own encounter. On a walk in the River Bend Natural Area in Holt, Strongwolf Rodriguez was testing out a new camera. He was very familiar with the trail, as he and his mother had walked on it for many years prior.
On this trail, the murder of Jeanette Kirby occurred in 1986, going unsolved for years. Strongwolf Rodriguez said while flming on his camera, he decided to take out his K2 meter, an
Beth Rodriguez, 41, and Benjamin Strongwolf Rodriguez, 44, co-founders and paranormal investigators with Ghost Contact Paranormal Investigations, pose with their “Paranormal Investigation Unit” car outside their home in Holt, MI, on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. The married couple began investigating in 2020 after a paranormal encounter in a nearby park and becoming avid watchers of the reality television show “Ghost Hunters.” Along with their four-member team, they now conduct investigations across the Midwest and the country. They hope to grow their social media presence and eventually have their own reality television show. Photo by Ari Saperstein.
electromagnetic feld (EMF) detector that helps reveal paranormal activity.
“...I go, ‘Jeanette, is there a spirit out here?’ Nothing, didn’t expect to see anything, hear anything, and I really didn’t feel anything,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said.
Upon seeing no results, Strongwolf Rodriguez headed back home to review the footage to observe the visual and audio quality.
“The moment I asked that, you can hear a female voice come through my camera, and go, ‘Yeah’,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said. “And literally, right where I’m sitting, I fell out of my chair, like, ‘Okay, this shocked me’. And then (a) few hours after that, Beth comes home, and I’m like, ‘Beth, you gotta hear this’.
The team’s paranormal investigations originally started in public places they could fnd through research. But now, they conduct paranormal investigations in both private and public residences, sometimes getting
invited to larger buildings for investigations.
“Just because something’s paranormal does not mean it’s haunted, (it) just means it’s doing something that’s not normal, it’s paranormal.”
John Harris
Owner of Voodoo’s World of Oddtiques and Otherside Paranormal & Mortuary Science Museum
“I created a page on Google for Ghost Contact Paranormal, and oh my God, people started calling me left and right,” Srongwolf Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez particularly likes getting to go to private residences for investigations.
“It’s a really good feeling when we’re able to give people a peace of mind that, you know, they’re okay in their home and they’re not crazy,” Rodriguez said.
Once at the site, the members gather together and run through their plan, including where to set up cameras and the do’s and don’ts, especially when they have guests come along.
“We want to make sure that they’re respecting people’s homes, you know, because at the end of the day, we’re going into people’s homes or businesses, and we need to respect their property,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said.
Building owners or hosts give walking tours of the property, while the team jots down notes. On the walk through they determine what rooms need attention, “just feeling the place out.”
The investigation itself takes a few hours, including equipment set up, which Strongwolf Rodriguez is in charge of. Some of the equipment they use includes REM pods, which are proximity sensors that spirits can set off, to the Ovilus 5, a word generator that catches certain words from spirits. The team also uses a BooBuddy, a stuffed teddy bear that speaks and lights up, aiming to draw out child spirits.
They determine where to set up equipment based on info gathered during the walk through. They also use their feelings to determine areas to look at, Strongwold Rodriguez said the members usually notice changes in the energy around them.
“I can pick up on some pretty heavy energy, and I’m pretty sure a lot of us can over the course of investigating,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said. The feeling that the team members rely on, Strongwolf Rodriguez said, is “like an extra sense”. It’s something that the members picked up on after years of experience.
“I could take you to a location that’s super haunted, and you may not get any activity visibly, but you have that personal experience where you go into an area where (you’re like), ‘Okay, this is heavy’. You can feel it,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said.
During investigations, the team members look out for a variety of different factors that point to paranormal activity, temperature changes and smells being just a few.
“...Every now and again, when we were walking through, we can get a faint scent of cologne. One of the guys on our team mentioned, I think, like an Old Spice sort of cologne, something that an older person would use,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said. “And so we’d mentioned that, and the homeowner goes, ‘That’s exactly the scent that he is known for, that he used’. (We were like), ‘Okay, we just smelled that upstairs’.”
Temperature changes can usually be detected on thermal imaging cameras. Strongwolf
Rodriguez described how spirits draw energy from the air around. When drawing energy from the air, Strongwolf Rodriguez said it creates cold pockets and also manipulates the EMF.
“Especially the really, really heavy, dark presences, you know, go into a room and it may be 10 degrees colder than the other room beside you. And then, you know, ‘Okay, there might be a spirit in here, and it may be getting ready to do something’,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said.
For the safety of the members during the investigations, there are some protective measures that the individuals adhere to.
Rodriguez personally carries crystals and different types of stones to protect her, as well as sage.
“If we’re starting to feel some negative energy, we also carry sage with us too, and we’ll smudge and sage ourselves afterwards, especially if the environment feels negative at all… (and) some of us will pray, too,” Rodriguez said.
Additionally, Rodriguez said, mediums are also members of the team that help with protection. One of these mediums is Jennifer Dachler.
“I believe in, like, the archangels and stuff, so I will call upon them to protect the team,” Dachtler said. “And I, you know, will help the other mediums for sensing things, and I haven’t got there yet, but like, you know, communing with the spirits and stuff too, that’s still what I’m learning and growing as to get to that point.”
One goal that the team tries to achieve during their investigations is to confrm what is true and what needs to be debunked.
“...So we can try to be like, you know, think, ‘Okay, did this really happen? Or are there electrical boxes around here that’s making the equipment go off?’,” Rodriguez said.
The process to debunk consists of multiple steps. First, Strongwolf Rodriguez said he reviews all of the footage, which “takes almost a month,” and writes down everything he sees. Then, he tries to determine if it was paranormal
activity or not.
“And then after that, our second step is to go through, ‘Okay, what could have caused this? How can we debunk this? What’s going on here?’
And then if we can’t write it off as anything, (like) ‘Oh, I thought somebody was coming in, somebody walking around’...then we call it paranormal,” Strongwolf Rodriguez said.
Lastly, he recruits another opinion to either confrm or deny paranormal activity.
Just a short drive away, another business that’s all about the paranormal resides in REO Town Marketplace in Lansing.
John and Jenifer Harris, owners of Voodoo’s World of Oddtiques and Otherside Paranormal & Mortuary Science Museum, keep in touch with Strongwolf Rodriguez and Rodriguez.
The Harris’s Voodoo’s World of Oddtiques is an antique store flled with oddities, guests are encouraged to explore different kinds of souvenirs. The Otherside Paranormal & Mortuary Science Museum displays mortuary science relics, along with items that were investigated for paranormal activity.
For both John and Jenifer Harris, the interest in horror-themed entertainment and the paranormal started during childhood.
“I’ve always been interested in dark, scary things, you know, just growing up as a kid, even into adulthood,” John Harris said.
Running both businesses means selling and displaying lots of unique and odd items, that some might deem “weird”.
“It’s kind of fun to have those things that people think are weird, and then they think you’re weird, and then I think that’s wonderful,” Jenifer Harris said.
The decorations were items that the Harris’s didn’t have room to put in their house, and the objects in the shop consist of exploring and “looking at the strangest places to fnd strange and weird things”. The museum items were found similarly and show “years” of collecting.
Despite their dedicate collecting, the Harris’s remain skeptics.
“...We tell people as skeptics, so that basically what that means is we don’t believe everything’s a ghost, not everything’s haunted, so we tell them the difference of things that are paranormal,” John Harris said. “Just because something’s paranormal does not mean it’s haunted, (it) just means it’s doing something that’s not normal, it’s paranormal. So again, we’re educating them on that.”
The Harris’s accept items that were given to them by individuals who suspect them of having some sort of paranormal activity. Even Ghost Contact Paranormal is one of their past donors. However, the Harris’s reinvestigate every item before putting it up on display.
To reinvestigate, the Harris’s follow a process. First, they document any claims the individuals have expressed. Next, the Harris’s place the items in the museum, and don’t bring them up at all, unless guests prompt the conversation.
“...When you come in to go through the museum and you pick up on that particular item and you start asking me about it, like, you know, ‘I’m feeling something from this object’, I want to hear those things because now I’m going to document what you felt on that item,” John Harris said. “And then when somebody else comes a week later and they have the same feeling, you did, (like) ‘Okay, now I got two people that had the same exact experience’, so that starts the investigation.”
However, the museum itself doesn’t harbor any jump scares and isn’t a haunted attraction.
“We’re not in there to, you know, tell people things that aren’t true, we just can’t do that,” John Harris said.
The Harris’s main aim to provide an unforgettable experience.
“My goal is, one, knowledge. They’re learning. It’s a guided tour, which makes it different,” Jenifer Harris. “So you’re getting the stories of the items, but you get to make that decision because again, seeing is believing. So if you’re in there and you have an experience while you’re in there, great, you know. So that’s kind of the goal, (which) is for people to have an experience when they come here, and in there, importantly, because there are things in there that people could feel stuff from.”
In the future, Jenifer Harris said the museum will be expanded to provide an even stronger experience for guests.
“So it is going to almost double in size, which is going to make the experience a little bit even more,” Jenifer Harris said. “Right now, all the energies like in this small space, so we’re going to be able to spread it out a little bit.”
So the question remains, does the paranormal exist or not? Rodriguez and Strongwolf Rodriguez are full believers of the other side, but the Harris’s are skeptics, not believing any claims unless it happens to them.
Others are convinced that the paranormal doesn’t exist at all… but could it?
Human remains on display at the Otherside Paranormal & Mortuary Science Museum on Washington Ave, Lansing, MI, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. They use these remains to show and educate the community on the afterlife. Photo by Ari Saperstein.
OPINION: Perceiving Performative Men
By Isabell Ku iku@statenews.com
In a sea of men sporting basketball shorts and ill-ftting t-shirts, there is a growing handful of men opting for tastefully selected jorts (always thrifted!) and knitted vests. Performative men, as TikTok users have aptly dubbed, have begun to infltrate the streets.
What is a performative man, you ask? A man with taste, perhaps? Unfortunately, it’s more complicated than that. The term now means being a feminist without action, style without personal touch, and hobbies that aren’t traditionally touted by the patriarchy. Each of these pillars are historically methods of resistance against the status quo, yet today, they’ve been drained of meaning and have subsequently been appropriated by cool-boy wannabes.
The real question that lies behind the curated looks and iced matchas: is it all real or just pretend?
For years, being well-dressed and wellread was the peak of self-actualization. It was considered admirable for men to put on a look that refected his personality while sat at a café with feminist literature. But that’s all changed now that it’s hit the internet algorithms. What were once charming personal traits have become part of a culture fueled by the very real desire to be viewed positively and, perhaps at a deeper level, wanted.
It’s no crime to want to be liked. Everyone wants to belong somewhere. In the end, life is
further disadvantage men from fulflling the basic need for community and intimacy.
If men want to be wanted, the key is to follow this so-called performance with real action. If you put the right energy out into the world, chances are, you’ll fnd the right people orbiting closer. Whether it’s caring about how you speak to another person, to how well you care for yourself, people are drawn to kindness and sincerity when much of it has been lost with the infux of generative AI and social media.
What irks people the most when spotting a performative man isn’t that he’s wearing wire earphones or loafers from G.H. Bass. It’s that it’s all carbon copied from the internet. Does he actually enjoy wearing these items? Does he actually like an iced matcha? Or are they all simply chosen to be “not like other guys?”
As for the men who actually enjoy reading on the bus or are eco and ethically conscious when
consume them with true intent and might even learn a thing or two in the process. While I call on all men to challenge societal expectations and the patriarchy, it’s worth remembering that they’re just as human. There shouldn’t be boxes to check in order to become the “ideal guy.” More often than not, people appreciate when other people are genuine. It’s a message heard time and time again, but truly, people simply want others to embrace individuality and sincerity.
In this race to be the most desired in a society that chooses and changes its opinion in a blink of an eye, maybe it is how content you are that matters more. The only question that remains is how you’re supposed to stand out when singularity is dying and personal styles have become entire cultures. Maybe it all comes down to caring more about others. Not in the way you’re perceived by others, but in wanting
a performance, as some TikTokers have begun to note as of late. Everyone is performing in some way, shape or form. Anyone can choose to be anything and anyone. It’s a choice that’s made again and again over the course of everyone’s lifetime.
It’s not always easy, but the old adage does go “fake it till you make it.” So as much as performative men are reviled, it’s not entirely their fault. In an age where TikTok trends and internet fads are encouraged, however, perhaps it’s time to choose sincerity.
The freedom to choose who you want to be is dangerously alluring. And in a society that says in order to be “man enough” you should, among endless other things, be sporty, not cry, and be independent, men feel like they aren’t enough. These requirements are unrealistic and only serve to make them feel worse when
Photo illustration by Tate Rudisill.
DEBUNKING THE MYTH BEHIND MSU’S MOST “HAUNTED” HALL
By Victoria Winfield vwinfield@statenews.com
Many Michigan State University students have heard rumors about Mary Mayo Hall. One of North Neighborhood’s dormitories, Mayo Hall, is shrouded in notoriety and has earned the reputation of being both known and feared by many frst-year students and alumni alike.
Resting along the campus edge on Michigan Avenue, Mary Mayo’s collegiate, ivy-adorned halls welcome hundreds of students every August. For many students, the rumors about Mary Mayo Hall preceded their frst time setting foot inside.
The rumors, gruesome in nature, surround death, suicide, satanic rituals, and sealed foors all within the walls of an MSU dorm. How true are these rumors, and what is the real history behind one of MSU’s most notorious haunts?
HISTORY
Mary Mayo Hall was built in 1931 as the frst all-women’s dorm on MSU’s campus. Its namesake, Mary Mayo, was an advocate for women’s education and pushed for the frst women’s courses to be taught at MSU, then Michigan Agriculture College. In 1896, Mayo was successful, and a women’s course was added at MSU that offered women degree options outside of agriculture.
Mayo’s contribution to MSU is not to be understated; the first women’s building, Morrill Hall of Agriculture, was to be named after her, but it was not until the construction of the frst all-women’s dormitory that she was given her recognition.
Contrary to popular rumors about
her death, Mary Mayo passed away from sickness in 1903 and never got to step foot in the dormitory that bears her name.
RUMORS
Although Mary Mayo passed away before the construction of the dormitory, a common rumor that circulates is that she passed away in the hall and haunts it to this day. In fact, that rumor is so prolifc that students often attribute any odd occurrences to her spirit.
Marketing junior Lindsay Farrall lived in Mayo Hall her frst year and spoke of the rumors that circulate in the hall and their impact on students.
“I was aware moving into the dorm that it was ‘haunted,’ and that there were ghost stories, and it was supposed to be the most ‘haunted’ dorm on campus,” Farrall said. “The lore of the building carries so much information; you can’t really talk about Mary Mayo Hall without talking about the ghost of Mary Mayo herself haunting the building.”
Although the rumor surrounding Mayo’s untimely death within the dorm has been debunked, her ghost is most attributed to the odd occurrences within the dorm.
“I personally have never experienced any paranormal activities (while) living there, but defnitely her presence was still very powerful,” Farrall said. “In the main hall of Mayo, there is above the freplace a picture of her, and people would be like ‘Oh my gosh, her eyes follow you, be careful of that picture’.”
The portrait of Mayo that hangs in the study lounge near the entrance to the hall is unsettling at best. The black and white image carries an ominous presence due to its lack of color that intensifes Mayo’s features, perhaps to the point of exaggeration.
On top of rumors haunting the minds
of residents, several Mayo residents spoke about recent odd occurrences within the hall. Some of the reports, such as elevators that don’t open when arriving at a foor, or loud clanks from the radiator, could be explained easily. However, other occurrences leave the mind searching for an answer that is unlikely to be found.
Film studies freshman Journey Brodie currently resides in Mayo Hall and spoke of unusual occurrences within her dorm that she could not explain.
“The main thing I noticed is that our lights turn off, (although) it’s not motion-censored.
We asked the other people who live here, and their lights aren’t motion-censored,” Brodie said. “Even if we get up and try to turn them back on, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s just random.”
Brodie also noted an issue that was not unique to just her dorm, that being her dresser drawers’ affnity for opening at random times. Some residents attributed this phenomenon to uneven clothing distribution and old dorm decor, while others felt this was Mary Mayo playing tricks on them.
“My drawers, I can’t really tell if they’re sensitive, but sometimes when I close them, they just open back up, and it’s just very random,” Brodie said. “Other people have been going through the same things... if anything happens, we just blame Mary, the lights, the drawers, the elevator, it’s all her.”
Another occurrence students cannot seem to explain is that of doors opening at odd times.
International relations junior Riya Jacob spoke about her experience living in Mayo Hall during her frst year at MSU.
“During the winter, we wouldn’t have any of the windows open or anything, but my closet door would sometimes shut, which was weird
to me,” Jacob said. “Sometimes the occasional door rattle, which I could say was Mary Mayo or it was students trying to prank me, either way it was a little unsettling.”
Jacob maintained that she personally did not feel like her experience was a ghost but acknowledged that unexplainable events do occur.
“I feel like a lot of stories that I’ve heard are pretty similar to mine... a door being not fully closed, or something closing on its own or opening on its own,” Jacob said. “The rumor with the combination of unexplainable things, it’s kind of hard not to believe that it could be haunted.”
Another rumor that plagues Mary Mayo Hall is that of the 4th foor, or “The Red Room”. The rumor alleges that students in the 70s performed satanic rituals in the 4th-foor attic of Mary Mayo Hall and that a young woman committed suicide on the foor.
While it is true that a 4th-foor attic space does exist, and it is sealed with a key card scanner, it is extremely unlikely that it was sealed due to satanic rituals tainting the space.
There is no record of either event having occurred in the hall, and it is much more likely that it was sealed off because the foor houses important units for air conditioning and heating. The foor is also accessible to facilities workers within Mary Mayo Hall, which explains the occasional shadows visible from the exterior windows and footsteps above the heads of 3rd-foor residents.
The rumors surrounding Mary Mayo Hall tend to obscure the actual history of the hall and the pioneering woman it was named after. Although the rumors surrounding rituals, suicides, and untimely demise have been debunked, their impact on the minds of MSU students lives on.
A photograph of a painting of Mary Mayo, circa 1865. Picture courtesy of the Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections.
Mayo Hall Entrance in East Lansing, Michigan on Sept 30, 2025. Photo by Cooper Schwartz.
