Two clowns brandishing weapons stood in the room. From the ceiling hung streamers and littered balloons strayed across the floor. As students walked tentatively along a confetti-spattered pathway, the painted faces followed.
Then a figure screamed out from behind, reaching out their bloody hand.
What normally would be the SLC gym was transformed into a haunted funhouse with mirrors lining the wall, reflecting the gruesome scene.
This year, the Harborside Activities Board (HAB) hosted the annual haunted house throughout the entire SLC. Groups of students decorated and designed rooms in the building to incorporate pop culture themes and creepy classics. They named their new creation the Fear Factory.
Over 60 student volunteers from nearly 15 different school organizations helped create the haunted house. They invited students in at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.
The house started inside the Office of Multicultural Affairs filled with witches and other twisted fairy tales. One woman stood in the doorway, her face burned, screaming, “Get out! Look what they’ve done to my face! Leave here!”
The iconic “Stranger Things” theme song guided students toward the SLC conference room. One student holding an axe and covered in twinkling lights drifted through the room and an alphabet-scrawled message hung against the wall.
Poor Barb and Will lay on the floor. Hidden behind a sheet wall, in an alternative dimension, the Demogorgon prowled… his mask was pretty good. Their room was a little less scary but made up for it with character and memorable decorations.
The final act was put on by Student Government. After exiting the SLC in the alley connected to RHO, students entered again through an exit door.
Harking to the movie series, “The Purge,” SG created a horror surgery room and had menacing masked figures threatening passersby. One man sat at a desk in a Lincoln mask banging a gavel. Donald Trump grabbed a woman and pulled her into a darkened room. One man wearing a Statue of Liberty mask held a wood saw adhered to a bat. Fog filled the office, neon and strobe lights adding to the atmosphere.
Overall, it was a big production and pulled off nicely.
The ambition of HAB and the rest of the student clubs pulled through. This was by far the most impressive Halloween showcase, and the support and effort that contributed to its success was not wasted.
We here at the Crow’s Nest are excited how HAB will trump up the scares next year.
