October is here and that means tales of mischief, ghosts, goblins, and scary tales.  In that vein, my weekly posts this month will highlight wild tales of days gone by.

Frank Neibel at Antioch College. Photograph courtesy of Yellow Springs Historical Society.

As published in The News on November 2, 1898:

As a result of some Halloween pranks coupled with a little over-wrought class feeling, Frank Neibel, a student at Antioch, is suffering with a broken jaw bone, and there is considerable feeling cropping out in various ways at the college.

The Seniors floated their class flag high on the college building and Monday night it mysteriously disappeared.  Such is sometimes the fate of class flags, but the seniors, not to be out done, ordered another one made.  This, the rest of the students learned of and secured under pretense of wanting it for the seniors.  L.H. Putney, a member of the class, thereupon swore out a warrant charging Charles Taylor, with obtaining the flag under false pretenses.  It was during the excitement prevailing at the time that Marshal Beal was in quest of Mr. Taylor that Mr. Neibel and companions in passing through the dark college hallway with canes, etc., happened to accidentally or otherwise strike L.S. Hopkins, and he, thinking the crowd was after him, struck out with his cane with the above result.

The affair, had it not resulted so seriously, would have been considered a good joke on the long-suffering seniors.  Mr. Putney withdrew the charge against Mr. Taylor Wednesday morning as he was not guilty.  But for a few minor manifestations the matter seems dropped.