On a dark Halloween night, students gathered inside Boe Memorial Chapel for a haunting experience: Pipescreams. Shades of bright green and neon pink loomed over the towering organ pipes. Looking around the chapel, students were dressed in their best costumes, such as witches, junk food, vampires, and sharks. Everyone wriggled around on the benches, anxiously awaiting for the concert to begin.
Current students and alumni performed pieces from well renowned films, instrumental music, and holiday carols. A few featured Christmas pieces were “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.” However, they were composed as “scarols” — scary carols. “Joy to the World” left me trembling at the thought of “The monsters want you dead / It’s you, it’s you they want to shred.” A shiver ran through my spine as I muttered the words, “The organ’s roar / Will wake the dead.” The rumbling of the organs were calling to the Northfield monsters to haunt St. Olaf. Who knew what frightful curses the organ could summon?
One piece that lifted my spirits was “Test Drive” from “How to Train Your Dragon,” played by Nathaniel Alms ’26. Although I can’t recall all the notes, I was awakened by the encouraging rhythms of this song. I envisioned Hiccup and Toothless ascending into the bright blue sky, the wind brushing past them, and the ocean glistening below them. The deep and crisp tones from the organ brought a wave of nostalgia over me as I recollected memories of watching this movie as a young child.
Perhaps my favorite piece was “Suite Gothique,” performed by Elizabeth Doty ’27. From the Netflix show “Wednesday,” the introduction song and “Suite Gothique” carry similar daunting tones. Both pieces captivated me, transporting my mind to a haunted forest or graveyard in the dead of night. Spiders came trickling towards me, bats fled their mucky cave, a pumpkin sprang to life and wreaked havoc. Truly a spectacular piece.
Pipescreams was a magical event filled with all kinds of twists and turns — even jumpscares. The musicians left the audience spooked, perhaps even too frightened to sleep on Halloween night.
