The American Heritage Center (AHC) is hosting a Halloween celebration this Thursday, October 30th. In partnership with The University of Wyoming’s Center of Global Studies (CGS), the AHC will put on a night of festive activities and experiences. The director of CGS, Caroline McCracken-Flesher, said the focus is on storytelling.
“We have stories going on in lots of different spaces all at the same time. And you’ll be directed to a starting point and work your way around through the stories. So you’ll hear all sorts of different cultures,” McCracken-Flesher said.
One of the story tellers is a visiting Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Sondos Bannouri. She will be telling spooky stories from Tunisia.
Global Goosebumps marks the fourth time that the AHC has hosted a Halloween celebration. The goal of the event is to bring together the Laramie community and celebrate its international heritage.
The event held its first rendition following COVID. 2021’s Spooky Scotland focused on the festive traditions of Scotland, such as carving turnips instead of pumpkins. In 2022 and 2023, the event focused on Latin American and Hispanic traditions, such as Dia de Los Muertos. The American Heritage center showcased ofrendas (altars) and papeles picados (colorful banners of cut paper.) It skipped a celebration last year. This year, McCracken-Flesher said they’re taking a global approach.
McCracken-Flesher and the CGS hope to showcase the variety of cultural heritage in Laramie.
“Those who come will be meeting people who have A), a story to tell, a scary story, but B), a culture to share…please do engage and ask questions and learn all the richness that’s all around us,” she said.
When asked why the event was held at the AHC, McCracken-Flesher emphasized the importance of cultural heritage. While oral stories will be told at Global Goosebumps, archives tell stories of their own.
“People send whole boxes of interesting documents to the American Heritage Center, and once upon a time, or once in a while, they find something unexpected, and very Halloweeny,” she said.
Global Goosebumps will offer more than spooky stories. The American Heritage Art Museum is in the same building as the AHC. Participants will also be able to enjoy the exhibits.
“There’s an opportunity for people who need to get away from the scary stuff to go look at some lovely paintings,” said McCracken-Flesher.
A celebration of strangeness is unique to Halloween. Global Goosebumps aims to embrace and showcase this strangeness. When asked why people should come to the event, McCracken-Flesher urged participants to engage with experiences outside their own.
“We all have scary stories to share. We think we only share them on Halloween, in Western culture. But, in fact, the whole year could be scary. And you can go around the clock at the American Heritage Center, just follow that circle all around, and fully engage in all the strangeness that the world has to offer.”
Global Goosebumps will take place on Thursday from 4 to 6 pm.
