Halloween is around the corner, and Texas Tech University has a variety of faculty members who can add expertise to your holiday stories.

So, whether you’re searching for comments about vampires and zombies and why they continue to successfully infiltrate the entertainment industry, or you want to know how much Americans plan to spend this Halloween, we have you covered.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)Tina Fuentes, director of the School of Art, (806) 834-7642, [email protected].• Fuentes can speak to the history of the Mexican celebration: the ofrendas (alters) and the ceremonies on the last day. She has experienced many of the ceremonies in Mexico.

Jane Bell, senior director, International Cultural Center, (806) 834-8346, [email protected].• Bell can speak to the modern-day beliefs of Dia de los Muertos, especially decorations and objects associated with the celebrations. She also helps organize the Lubbock Dia de los Muertos procession each year.

Ghosts

Genaro J. Perez, professor of Hispanic literature, (806) 834-1003, [email protected].• Perez can speak to ghosts, legends and the devil in Mexican literature.

Law

Vickie Sutton, Horn Professor of Law and director of the Center for Biodefense, Texas Tech School of Law, (806) 834-1752, [email protected].• In her 2013 book, “Reel Bio-horror: The Things that Keep Us Up at Night,” Sutton analyzes 47 films from the subgenre, discusses the psychology, law and science of the bio-horror bio-thriller. • In her 2012 book, “Halloween Law: A Spirited Look at the Law School Curriculum,” Sutton exhumes cases that illustrate the subjects – many of which revolve around Halloween — first-year law students are expected to master. The book took honorable mention in the non-fiction category of the Halloween Book Festival in Hollywood, Calif. last year.

Shopping FrenzyDebbie Laverie, Jerry S. Rawls and Piper Professor in marketing, (806) 834-3953, [email protected].• Laverie can speak to the economic outlook for retailers and how much consumers will spend this Halloween.

VampiresErin Collopy, associate chair of classical and modern languages, (806) 834-8497, [email protected].• Collopy can speak to the sexy vampires of today’s movies and how they are very different from the monsters of eastern European folklore. She also has studied vampires’ origins and how their image has changed in pop culture.

Zombies and Horror MoviesRob Weiner, pop-culture guru and subject librarian for Texas Tech University Libraries, (806) 742-2238 ext. 282, [email protected].• Weiner can speak to horror in movies, literature and comics. He has taught a class called: “Zombie Culture: The Zombie in History, Film, Literature, Sequential Art and the Popular Imagination.”