Haunted hall promises to frighten

By Brittany Benjamin

A group of Dunne sophomores aim to entertain and scare students in their second-annual haunted house next week.

Sponsored by Dunne Residence Hall's Community Council, the haunted house is organized entirely by students. Ryan Amante, Silas Strickland and Jordan Brown are in charge of planning and designing the haunted house. Together with the help of approximately 15 decorators and nine costumed workers, they will turn the basement of Dunne into the stomping grounds of chain saw murderers, mobsters and evil doctors in the days leading up to Halloween.

The haunting all began last year when a harmless dorm activity turned into a genius plot to execute evil.

As a floor bonding activity, Dunne Hall staff announced a competition to see which residents could best decorate the landing that opened up in front of the elevator on every floor.

A group of residents affectionately termed "the first floor boys" took it one step further.

"We were out in the hallway for two hours talking about how cool it would be," said sophomore Amante, a haunted house planner and Community Council liaison. He said they envisioned almost the entire plan for the haunted house that night, leaving only room for basic changes.

"It helped us bond a lot," said Amante, who said he didn't know anyone at Santa Clara coming into his freshman year.

It took 15 hours, $148 and a large amount of blue tape to cover the white walls of the first floor hallway. They covered the walls with black paper, hung shredded garbage bags from the ceiling, and decorated with rats and cobwebs. All the money came directly from their own pockets.

"It was very well organized and well prepared," said sophomore Rachel Haley, who went through the house last year. "It mimicked a professionally established haunted house."

Having completed the setup, they spent the next few evenings popping out from behind doorways and jumping up from piles of trash on the floor to scare the people brave enough to enter.

"I got scared like five times in a row," said sophomore Jaya Pareek.

Since last year's house was such a hit among residents, the "boys" will create an even more extensive production this year. They will be setting up in the basement, allowing more space. Additionally, Dunne's Community Council is sponsoring the event, allowing a budget of $200. This gives them more money to work with, none of which draws into their own bank accounts.

"It will be bigger," said Brown, a sophomore. "Since we had success with some stuff last year, we want to incorporate that with some new ideas."

They also understand the housing rules better this year.

Last year, the organizers were admonished for violating fire safety protocol in the dorms. The strict violations state that no item is to cover the overhead lights in the hallway, which they covered to make the hallway darker because lights cannot be turned off. Additionally, the black trash-bag barriers they hung from the ceiling were seen as a hazard because they blocked fire exits.

They were not punished for the violations, but were told it could not happen again.

Moving the event to the basement, where the lights can be turned off, will solve most of these problems.

"We are under a lot more pressure to do it this year, it has to be extremely good," Amante said.

Brown and Amante, along with the other crew members, are reluctant to give out any details about the upcoming haunted house so as to make the experience more enjoyable and frightening for the audience.

"When you really don't expect what's coming, that's how you can be scared but have fun at the same time," Brown said.

They are so intent upon this rule, that they are having trouble finding enough volunteers to help scare people. They want to offer anyone who hasn't seen it the opportunity to see it with fresh eyes before they volunteer to help. This means all people involved in the scaring have to be returning workers from last year, or people who went through the haunted house last year.

With the increased size and detail, the staff is looking at a minimum 20-hour setup. The "first floor boys," who moved to separate floors this year, are all coming back to carry on the tradition.

"My first floor boys are still with me and willing to help me out," Amante said. "It's basically going to be a first floor show again."

The event will be held the Monday and Tuesday before Halloween, Oct. 29-30. All students are encouraged to come; access is not restricted to Dunne residents.

"If you don't like it, we can stab you in the middle of the haunted house and nobody would know," Amante said. "No â?¦ seriously."

Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.