The leaves are turning orange, yellow and red at Whitworth University, but even that is not the true telling of an approaching autumn. On Oct. 18, the spine-chilling tradition of the Ballard and McMillan (BMac) Halls Haunted House marked the start of Halloween festivities at Whitworth. 

Kaleb Capeller, the McMillan Hall senator, had many responsibilities that led to the successful run of the Haunted House. “I basically coordinated everything. All of the section teams, all of the logistics part of it, all of the volunteer forums, all of the advertisement,” said Capeller. 

For the Haunted House to be successful, student volunteers and early planning are a must. “It’s a lot of volunteer work. It’s a lot of pushing out advertising. You want to have a date nailed down for the event four weeks out. So that was literally like the third week of school,” said Capeller. Such a large event also comes with a large allowance, with the BMac Haunted House being allotted $2,000 from the ASWU budget, according to Capeller.  

There were nine sections in the Haunted House, each with a specific section leader. Chloe Crandell, a junior at Whitworth, was one of the section leaders responsible for planning, creating and setting up her section with her team this year. “For setup, it starts at 8 a.m. There is a night before where they’re setting up the framework of the Haunted House,” said Crandell. “Setup for the actual individual sections starts around 3-4 p.m. And then the Haunted House runs from 7-11 p.m., and then after that it’s takedown. Takedown usually ends at 2 a.m.”  

The student volunteers accomplish this feat through coordination via group chat. “I am surprised we don’t have a committee for Haunted House, but basically what happens with Haunted House is there is a signup sheet … and then group chats are set up,” said Crandell. She explained how the teams are a mix of student volunteers, scare actors and the section leader.  

Cooper Siems, a junior at Whitworth, was one of many students who made their way through the dark corridors of McMillan Hall. “I do really enjoy this event. This is the third year in a row that I have been to this event,” Siems said, “I was not disappointed, even with my high expectations from the last two years.”  

Each of the nine sections had a different, unique theme that the leaders came up with. “I like the werewolf section a lot. I’d probably have to go with the one in the lounge, the werewolf,” said Siems. 

Siems explained that this Haunted House is perfectly suitable for being a campus event. “There’s always a wide range just due to the diverse section leaders and their goals for their sections. I would say all the sections were good … I think it is perfect for Whitworth, because we have a lot of people go through that, like, this is their first experience,” said Siems.  

The BMac Haunted House is a group effort, resulting in a fun event for students to participate in during the stress of midterms and the changing seasons. “Just being able to have this big recreational event to look forward to, especially during midterms, I think would be the best possible payoff for these students,” said Capeller, “And the students that are involved get to flex their creativity and get to see, okay, what can I do with a team of people?”