READING, Pa. -- Fifteen Penn State Berks students enrolled in the college’s applied psychology, communication arts and sciences, and global studies courses got a lesson in fear when they traveled with Eric Lindsey, professor of psychology, and Cheryl L. Nicholas, associate professor of communication arts and sciences, to Philadelphia on Oct. 24 to participate in the “Grim Philly Twilight Tour,” a walking tour of the city. 

The two professors participated in the Halloween event because it incorporated their coursework on ghost stories and the psychology of fear. In PSYCH 212: Developmental Psychology, Lindsey investigates the development of emotion, including fear, and in PSYCH 243: Introduction to Wellbeing and Positive Psychology, he addresses ways in which individuals can overcome fear and its negative effects. Meanwhile, Nicholas discusses her own research on ghosts and storytelling in Malaysia as part of the coursework in CAS 271: Intercultural Communication (a combined communication arts and sciences and global studies course).

The 2-and-a-half-hour walking tour used storytelling conventions to explore historical facts around a wide-range of gruesome and scary topics, from torture to mass burials, executions, vampires, ghouls and ghosts. It was voted “best in Philadelphia” for the past four years by PHL17’s Hot List.

For more information about this interdisciplinary event or the professor’s research, contact Lindsey at ewl10@psu.edu or Nicholas at cln12@psu.edu.