Fright Night Thrills Yet Again

The Union is generally the most laid-back of St Andrews’ nightlife offerings. However, on Halloween, it’s practically unrecognisable. Fright Night, the Union’s annual all-building celebration, drew in sell-out crowds, coming in droves and donning costumes from ketchup bottles to endless minions and Gru combos. The event was so popular that even wristband collection from 2pm was absolutely swamped, and rightly so; Fright Night is a 601 staple.

Great attention was paid to the decoration of every room in the building. The top floor was circus-themed. “Warning: persons unattended will be sold to the circus” proclaimed one sign, and another, simply read “Freak Show”. Meanwhile, in Beacon Bar itself, a classier atmosphere was fostered by green and purple lighting, and, with a ‘Brat’-esque soundtrack, it was certainly the edgiest area to be.  With the stairway overflowing with people, if you were able to make it to Sandy’s, you’d find a typical RockSoc affair, with My Chemical Romance backing a stage lined with caskets. 

601 itself was the piece de la resistance, themed around the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Huge red lips hung from the ceiling, illuminated by fluorescent blue light, with Dr Frank-N-Furter projected on the screens. The club area itself was rammed, and a makeshift VIP area on the stage itself provided a vantage point away from the huge and immobilising crowd. It was almost impossible to move, however, the ubiquity of energy in the entire building meant that there was fun to be had wherever one found oneself.

The Union had been playing typical Halloween fare all day (think ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’) but switched to lively dance music and remixes as the darkness fell. Additionally, there were some truly creative mashups — I’m unsure whose genius idea S&M mixed with Darude Sandstorm was, but something about it was strangely cohesive. I, among others, was slightly perplexed by the fact that ‘Guess’ by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish played three times in the space of half an hour, but ultimately didn’t care — as everyone knows, it’s a banger.

Perhaps it’s the gothic architecture, the early onset of darkness, or the chill the wind casts over the town — whichever it is, St Andrews knows how to do Halloween well, and this was true of Fright Night. Paired with the Union itself’s flair in decoration and interesting range of music, tangible energy from each bizarrely costumed attendee was evident. There’s no question that I, alongside the majority of this University, will be back at the Union for more next year.

Photo: Alex Barnard