Halloween at AUC, Through the Archives

In 1979, the Egyptian American Club (EAC) announced its first annual Halloween Party, launching a long tradition that would dominate the AUCian Halloween scene for decades to come. News@AUC dove into the Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library archives and dug up old issues of the student newspaper, The Caravan, revealing an unmatched world of spooky celebration.

In its inaugural year, the initial 200 Halloween Party tickets sold out almost immediately, leading the EAC to sell an additional 120 tickets at the door. Student organizer Nisrin Galal at the time told The Caravan in an interview, “We did not want more people but they insisted and we couldn’t refuse.” The party contained a buffet of food, including 14 homemade pumpkin pies, and activities consisted of three separate contests. First was a limbo contest, followed by a costume competition in which the top five winners received a dinner for two at various restaurants. A third contest, bobbing for guava, had to be “cancelled as the guava was eaten by the guests.” While some complained about crowds, the party was overall a success.

In the years to come, prizes for creative costumes would include Nile cruises and multi-day trips to Sharm El-Sheikh or Hurghada. The costume contests would be taken very seriously as participants were not only tasked with wearing a creative costume, but also performing a skit or dance. The performances were often evaluated by celebrity judges, attracting attendees from outside AUC who could come as guests of University affiliates. Overcrowding even became an issue, with attendance reaching over 1,250 people in peak years.

Attendees would take to The Caravan, which would cover the event, to write reviews and critiques about the Halloween parties, sometimes publishing feedback for several months afterward. Below are some highlights and snippets from the archives, with a timeline starting in 1979, when it all began. 

History of Halloween Parties at AUC

1979: First annual EAC Halloween Party with 320 attendees sold out almost immediately; beginning of the costume contest; the EAC continued to run the Halloween Party for the next three or four years

1983: First annual Student Union (SU) Halloween Party, complete with a costume contest

1985: SU Halloween Party receives 700 attendees with performers in the contest practicing their acts for more than a week leading up to the party. The 29 competitors were judged on music choice, costume and performance. The top two winners won Nile cruises, while third place won three nights for two in Hurghada. One act involved a kidnapping in which three AUC security guards participated by making arrests

1987: The Caravan reported that “Despite the fuss over the entertainment, almost everyone said this year’s party was the best they could remember,” with compliments paid to the dancing and the disc jockey’s music

1988: Only six acts — “fewest ever” at the time — compete in the costume competition; 1,000 student attendees

1989: Sold-out party with 1,250 attendees; ticket resales emerge at more than eight times the price of the original tickets (outsider guests willing to pay EGP 50 for tickets originally priced at EGP 6)

1991: The SU chose the theme of “hell” for the party, welcoming 1,200 attendees at a sold-out venue; only two acts performed and around 300 attendees dressed in costume in a decline from years past

1993: Replacement of costume contest shows by a “Miss Halloween” title without any acts

1995: Last digitally archived Caravan issue to cover the Halloween Party

1996-1998: AUC’s bi-weekly bulletin “The Channel” continues to mention the SU Halloween party yearly. In 1998, “The Channel” concluded its final year as the main source of information on campus, marking the last mention of the Halloween party in the digital archives

2024: The SU hosted a graveyard-themed party in the University Garden on October 24, complete with a haunted house, horror movie and carnival games, reviving the old tradition of an AUC Halloween party