Each year as the Halloween season approaches, Pep Squad begins to set up the spooky decorations for their annual Haunted House. The Haunted House is an event of thrill and mystery, where a portion of Arcadia High School (AHS) is covered in horrific decor.
This year, the event took place on Oct. 19 and 20, and lasted around two hours from 8:00-10:00 p.m. Tickets were available for purchase online, at the door, or from a Pep Squad member.
The hallways were decorated with fake mannequins of horrific monsters and skeletons and had realistic replicas of items often found in horror movies. This year, the Haunted House had many great costumes and students who chose to dress up as terrifying characters to scare those who had attended.
“It was fun watching everyone scream whenever I jumped out at them from the mist,” said freshman Zacharias Cobb. “I was dressed up as this grass-monster, and I was able to scare a lot of people just by standing there and posing. I mostly hid in the mist room, with all the fog, and whenever someone came in I’d scream and jump at them.”
Freshmen Pranav Nayak and Richard Delgado went to this year’s Haunted House together, and both of them found the decorations to be way more disturbing than the previous year. “We went to the Haunted House last year and thought it was alright, not too scary, but this year I think I was holding onto my friends for my life,” said Nayak. He then added that, “Pep Squad really outdid themselves with everything this year, because my throat hurts a lot [from screaming].”
“We really focused on trying to make the decoration realistically creepy, and definitely added a lot of small details. Like, black spiders where you least expect it, but my favorite part is the maze because the glowing cobwebs in the dark look really cool,” said freshman Pep Squad member Margaret Garcia. “It was fun helping Pep Squad set things up, and we really put a lot of effort into it.”
Smoke machines, fake spiderwebs, flashing lights, even eight-feet tall skeletons; Pep Squad always tries to make Halloween feel spookier every year for their Haunted House.
“I thought the costumes were really cool because they have new concepts each time, ” said Delgado. “Last year, there was a criminal clown or something, and this year they had an axeman with those loud sound devices to scare you.”
Pep Squad’s Haunted House provides enjoyment for people who want a break from the stress of studying, extracurricular activities, and simply all that relates to academics.
“I didn’t think it was scary at all, but I had a lot of fun because I was with my friends, and we all screamed over nothing; it was funny,” said freshman Erin Balcos. “I couldn’t stop laughing as we went through the different areas, and I don’t think I’ve been this happy since school started, because of all the homework and tests.”
The annual Halloween Haunted House drew in crowds of students and families alike to enjoy a spooky yet thrilling evening at AHS.
