On Monday, Oct. 31, students gathered in McGuire Hall to celebrate Halloween by watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Hosted jointly this year in collaboration with Spectrum, this event has been a WLOY Halloween tradition. Anna Markulis ’23 is the general manager for WLOY.
Markulis said, “’The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ has been a WLOY Halloween tradition for over ten years! We show the movie every year and do some sort of fun contest as well.”
At this year’s event, a costume contest was held with a prize of a turntable and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” soundtrack on vinyl. There were over 20 entries in the costume contest, coming down to a three-way tie. After a tiebreaker, this year’s winner was Trevor Sangiorgio ’26, who was dressed as Elvis Presley.
In the past, this event was hosted only by WLOY. This year, though, WLOY joined forces with Spectrum to bring the event to a larger scale. Alé Terrero ’23, the president of Spectrum, had learned that WLOY hosted this event every year after his organization hosted its own showing of the film last Halloween.
Terrero said, “In 2021 we kept our events separate, but in 2022, WLOY invited Spectrum to work with them! It was so great being able to put on a large-scale event.”
In comparison to past “Rocky Horror” events, this year’s drew a significant crowd. Markulis credits WLOY’s collaboration with Spectrum for the success of the event.
Markulis said, “It was one of the most successful WLOY events of the semester! I think it was a great example of how beneficial it is to collaborate with other groups on campus and promote a fun and wholesome experience for the Loyola community.”
A movie adaptation of a popular play, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” came to the silver screen in September 1975 as “a camp twist on sci-fi B-movies” (BBC) starring 70s stars such as Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Meatloaf, and Tim Curry. Although critics agreed that the show belonged on the stage, it was widely received by audiences, especially amongst the queer community who found a sense of belonging with both the characters of the film and the other fans of the film.
Terrero said, “’The Rocky Horror’ tradition has been going on for decades, with the national fan club beginning in 1977. Usually, showings would be on a Friday, late at night, and viewers would come dressed in costumes and partake in rituals such as callbacks and prop bags.”
Markulis said that she particularly enjoyed hearing the Loyola community engage with the film, similar to what Terrero described.
Markulis said, “The energy was wild and hysterical, and I think everyone loved to be able to be silly and themselves in a welcoming environment with other Loyola students.”
WLOY is preparing to bring it back in 2023, and Markulis is certain that the Loyola tradition will continue in the future.
“‘Rocky Horror’ is a cult classic, and the fanbase has remained strong after all these years – even within the Loyola community. Even if you haven’t seen the movie or know its rich history, it’s still one of the best Halloween events at Loyola that everyone will enjoy.”
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Featured Image Courtesy of Katie Roessel.
