The inspiration for the Haunted Physics Lab came over 20 years ago while I was teaching a core-curriculum course on light and color at Creighton University. Many of the student activities required subdued lighting. When one of the sessions fell on Oct. 31, I thought it would be fun to decorate the darkened room as a haunted laboratory and use Halloween as a contextual theme for the day's activities. It worked! The students loved it, and the Haunted Physics Lab was born. It's been a permanent feature of the light and color course ever since.¹

In more recent years "Dr. Zepf's Haunted Physics Laboratory" has grown to become a popular Halloween event on the Creighton University campus. It consists now of some 30 exhibits demonstrating a wide range of phenomena, all inviting interaction. Physical principles are elucidated, often by generating cognitive dissonance. With its atmosphere of mystery and magic, the haunted lab appeals to people of all ages and interests—children and adults, from elementary school to college students and beyond.