Over 300 students attended The Office of Student Involvement’s first haunted house in East Hall on Oct. 27.  Participants were not anticipating a scary experience but were surprised by what the haunted house had to offer. 

St. Edward’s has never hosted an official haunted house. In the past, students decorated and created their own haunted house in East Hall. The former dorm is partially occupied by the Community Counseling Center.  

Abbie O’Neill, the assistant director of Student Involvement and the student coordinator for homecoming organized the event. 

“We want to get the whole campus community together and let the students have a voice to say, ‘this is what we want to do to celebrate homecoming and Halloween’,” O’Neill said. 

O’Neill was amazed by the number of students who wanted to help create the experience and perform as scare actors. There was a total of seven rooms, most of which were crafted by students. Students from Alpha Phi Omega, the on-campus service fraternity, Equity and Justice Council, theater students and resident assistants were involved in the creation of the haunted house. 

Senior psychology major Isabella Grimm was one of the many performers inside the haunted house. Grimm and her friends have been planning for the haunted house and other homecoming events since September.

“I think the best involvement from joining these events is meeting people,” Grimm said. 

Grimm believes getting involved with upper- and lowerclassmen allows students to meet diverse people from abroad and around the U.S.. It can enable students to build a network of people they may work with in the future, Grimm said.

Elysheva Barnett, a digital media management major and residence assistant for St. André Apartments, said one of her favorite holidays is Halloween. As soon as she heard about the haunted house, she immediately wanted to be part of the experience. 

“I like to be involved because I get to learn about other people on campus,” Barnett said. “Right now is the perfect time to get students’ spirits up, motivate them and have a fun time for themselves.”

O’Neill would like for students to eventually take over and run the house themselves. She hopes it continues yearly and grows  as more students get involved. 

“We only used a small section of the building right now,” she said. “But if we can get the whole campus involved, then I think that we could take over this building or maybe another building on campus. Hopefully, students’ expectations were met and exceeded through what we were able to put together tonight.”