Terror took over the hilltop once again as the Office of Student Involvement hosted their second annual haunted house on campus. The event was open from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, making it the first year that the haunted house was held for two nights instead of just one. This was one of the many festivities held as a part of St. Edward’s University Homecoming week.

Student Involvement occupied East Hall to host a ghoulishly good time on campus. Many students flocked over to the residence hall to witness the fun frights that were in store. The walk-through haunted house had free admission and featured a wide variety of scares.

This year’s theme was “haunted hotel,” but also featured different horror themes that tied together the event, such as evil surgeons, a frightful circus, and vengeful spirits spawning from a Oujia board, to name a few. A lot of work was put into the effectiveness of the event, from the spooky decorations to the wicked scare actors.

A strength of the haunted house was the commitment of the student volunteers and their part in making it both enjoyable and frightful for attendees. Students from different organizations signed up to partake in acting for the event, each of the roles varying.

There was a lot of effort put into the evening that made it a success. From how well the execution of all of the scares were to the coordination of the theme throughout the experience, no actors broke character. They kept you both engaged and on edge throughout your time in the haunted house.

Freshman Charlotte Jones was amongst the many student volunteers that were scare actors. Jones signed up to participate on behalf of the service-driven student organization HOOVES. The organization had a room that they decorated and acted in during the haunted house.

Jones, who has had haunted house experience in the past, stepped up last-minute for the role as the main actor whose job was to hide in a shower, pop out and jump scare the students that entered the scene. 

She expressed that there were some difficulties to her role, such as having little time to prepare for such a significant role and having to scream at the top of her lungs to students a multitude of times throughout both nights. 

“The hardest aspect was having to scream at the top of my lungs a million times,” Jones said. 

Nonetheless, Jones enjoyed her overall experience as a scare actor and her ability to partake in the event.

“What I liked most about working in the haunted house was the ambiance,” Jones said. “It really got me into the Halloween spirit.”

The biggest aspect of the haunted house and its success is based solely on student turnout and their reactions. It has been a popular event amongst students, and many came to see if it lived up to expectations. 

It was senior Sofia Segura’s first time attending the haunted house on campus. Her overall experience started off scary, due in large part to the haunted house’s location, which added a good scare factor. 

“I have always been freaked out by East Hall,” Segura said. “So by having it there made me a little scared before even going in.”

Segura explained that she knew some of the actors that were participating in the event, so she wasn’t expecting to get too scared. Her view changed when she completed the haunted house, applauding the many aspects of it.

“While walking through, I wasn’t sure what to expect in the next room we went into,” Segura said. “I was pleasantly surprised, had fun and was scared throughout the experience.”

Segura said that she also enjoyed the intensity of the acting and the range of themes between the rooms. “The actors killed it,” Segura said. “They really nailed the horror movie screams.”

Overall, students and actors both enjoyed the experience and frights of the evening.The actors provided a wonderful, yet terrifying, performance. Turnout was great and the event served as a fun Halloween festivity for the hilltop. For students, the anticipation to see haunted East Hall and the severity of the scares were well worth the wait, and most are looking forward to many more frights next year.