PROFESSOR'S PLAY BRINGS LC GHOSTS TO LIFE

“Tales from the Hill,” a play by English professor Dr. Jack Slay, had its premiere at Price Theater during Homecoming weekend.

Ghost stories and legends are as much a part of LaGrange College as the four columns of Smith Hall, according to Slay. They’ve been the stuff of Haunted Halloween tours and student memories for decades.

“I think it was former President Waights G. Henry who put some of the stories in writing, and they’re a big part of LaGrange College lore,” he said.

Dr. Slay started writing down the stories he learned from Dr. Henry and others.

“I thought they might make a fun play one day,” he said. “But I put them aside and kind of forgot about them.”

A couple of years ago, Dr. Slay went on a sabbatical to write, and the first things on his mind were the ghost stories.

“I wrote a play featuring those tales, then sent it to Kim Barber Knoll (director of Theatre Arts) to see what she thought.”

Knoll loved it and asked the author what he thought about LC’s theatre students producing his work.

The action in “Tales from the Hill” takes place on the stage of Price Theater as four students share campus tales of terror. Unexpected events start to happen as the stories continue. Dr. Slay said he enjoyed watching the actors work.

“They have taken real ownership of their characters that until now have been figments of my imagination,” he said. “They’ve made my stick figures become real people.”

Knoll said she has relished the experience.

“It is a rare opportunity to have the playwright in residence while we produce departmental productions,” she said. “It has been wonderful having Jack describe these characters and talk about what inspired each of these ghost stories.”