While the subject matter can cause some fear, there’s nothing scary about joining the KSU Horror Collective. This student organization is made by horror fans, for horror fans, and is the go-to club for anyone at Kent State University wanting to learn more about the horror genre.
Kent State Today went and saw what makes this club the thing for its students.
“I'd say it's a great way to share a love and a shared passion for all things horror-related and scary. It's a great way to connect over different themes and anything in that realm,” Xander Dotson said.
Dotson, a junior with a major in marketing and a minor in advertising, is the vice president and has served on the leadership board for about a year.
While game nights, movie nights and other activities are a focus for the club, it’s not all child’s play. Another aspect of the group is to take a semi-academic approach to the genre and provide presentations and analysis of the media they showcase.
“With our educational presentations, you get to see the underlying themes that run across all different types of media, play fun games with people, and introduce yourself to something new,” Dotson said.
The KSU Horror Collective is also a collaborative club, with meetings sometimes including other student organizations. They also have an annual haunted house in the Kent Student Center, which is open to the public.
“We have our own scare actors and all of our own props,” Dotson said. “I think it's a great way for both our members to gain experience and members of the community to experience a haunted house on campus.”
Getting involved with this event isn’t exclusive to members, and the group looks for help with setup or with actors. A bit of volunteering like this might just help you find your community on campus.
Icarus Black, a junior with a theatre studies major, first joined the club after participating as a scare actor in last year’s haunted house.
“It's a lot of fun because you get to express yourself in a way that you typically wouldn't on a college campus,” Black said on what they enjoy about the event.
While your mind might jump to scary movies when thinking of horror, there is more to the club than that.
“I'm more interested in cryptids and the paranormal, but that's the great thing about coming here: you're not expected to be fully into everything,” Black said. “Everyone has their own little section that they appreciate more than another.”
Gabriel Carrillo, a non-degree-seeking student, first found out about the KSU Horror Collective at Blastoff and has enjoyed being involved on campus outside of the classroom.
“When I started taking classes here at Kent State, it was great to connect with people who share the same love for horror, odd things, strange things, and paranormal topics that I do, which I don't necessarily get to interact with in other facets of my life,” Carrillo said. “It's great to be in an organization that has such a wide reach, even though it's focused on something very specific.”
Finding the right group of people during college can sometimes feel daunting, but taking a stab in the dark to try something new is a great first step to finding where you belong. With a wide variety of activities and a range of interests, the KSU Horror Collective welcomes everyone.
“Horror itself is very weird and on the fringe, and I think a lot of times, when you're a student on campus or just in life in general, you can sometimes feel like you're on the outside or on the fringe of something,” Carrillo said of the importance of this community to him. “Being able to come into a place where you're accepted, welcomed, and surrounded by people who genuinely enjoy being together is really special.”
