--- title: ‘Witch’ Costume Reigns Supreme on Halloween? date: 2024-10-31T05:30:00-04:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/witch-costume-reigns-supreme-on-halloween" section: Articles --- # ‘Witch’ Costume Reigns Supreme on Halloween? *October 31, 2024* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih) > From Beetlejuice to Left Shark to Salty Snacks, Terps Show Off Their Favorite Looks *Halloween collage 1920x1080 — UMD faculty and staff get into the spooky spirit each year, dressing up to teach class and conduct research on Halloween.* Perhaps you’ve heard the ghostly march of cadets by Morrill Hall, the oldest building on campus. Or the yips of Mortimer the dog, who met his tragic end at Tawes Hall. But did you know a werewolf roamed the University of Maryland’s sidewalks four decades ago? Luckily for those who crossed its path, behind all those pointy teeth and stringy fur was then-student Gene Ferrick ’84. He started making elaborate Halloween costumes long before they were easy to order last-minute from Amazon, trekking to a specialty shop in Takoma Park to get movie makeup and liquid latex to complete his looks. Ferrick, now director of operations for the [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://cmns.umd.edu/), has transformed himself into Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and Radagast the Brown from “Lord of the Rings,” complete with a little bird’s nest under his wizard’s hat, among many other characters. This year, he’ll be teaching a CMNS100 class as Beetlejuice. (His wife, Joann Prosser, interim director for assessment in the [Division of Student Affairs](https://studentaffairs.umd.edu/), always dons a complementary costume, so, of course, she will be Lydia.) He’s hoping to see more of that spooky spirit across campus. “I’m always happy to run into somebody else in a costume,” he said. Check out some wicked good looks from previous years—and keep an eye out for creative costumes in classrooms and offices across campus today! *Health Center staffers in costume* --- *Alumni Association staff in costumes* --- *Shannon Browne as Batman next to Testudo* --- *People dressed as Katy Perry and sharks* --- *A dog dressed as a pumpkin sitting next to pumpkins* **Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community) **Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering), [Alumni Association](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni-association), [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences), [Division of Student Affairs](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-student-affairs), [University Health Center](https://today.umd.edu/topic/university-health-center), [University of Maryland Police Department](https://today.umd.edu/topic/university-maryland-police-department)