Parties and costume contests will spook GW students this year during Halloween celebrations at the Mount Vernon and Foggy Bottom campuses.

At Mount Vernon, the Student Development Center is hosting a traditional Halloween party Friday at the Pub at Mount Vernon. The party is free for all GW students and starts at 9 p.m.

The event will include bobbing for apples, jewelry making, gourd painting, tarot-card reading, and the announcements of the winners for the Mount Vernon Hall Decorating Contest. Costumes are not required, but there will be a costume contest. The winners will receive gift certificates to the GW Bookstore. To finish off the evening, The Blair Witch Project will be shown at 10 p.m.

For people who are looking for less traditional celebrations, the Zeta Phi Beta sorority is hosting the Blue and White Thriller Saturday from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. This party will be held in the Marvin Center Ballroom. There will be a disc jockey playing music, casino tables (taking fake money) for craps and blackjack, appetizers and soft drinks. The proceeds from the party are going toward the Calvary Women’s Shelter in D.C. The shelter offers counseling to women who are recovering from drug addiction and helps women with job placement.

Costumes are optional for the sorority event as well, but a costume contest with a female and male winner each receiving a cash prize will be held. Tickets will be on sale at J Street Thursday for $5 each and at the door for $8 each.

Philanthropic events are another component of Halloween festivities. The Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity hosted the second annual Sammy Pumpkin Drive Wednesday. Pumpkins were sold on the H Street Terrace of the Marvin Center. Each pumpkin was sold for $4, and all benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.