The hallway connecting Room 106 and Room 108, the school’s ACC rooms, was transformed into a thing of nightmares on Oct. 31. Rats dangled from the ceiling with their tails swinging into each other as visiting students walked through the haunted scene, but that wasn’t all that awaited them.
Spider webs stretched across the corners of the classroom, framing hanging skeletons, flickering lights, and a real coffin was propped against the wall. “Bloody” wooden boards and strips of yellow caution tape were strategically placed throughout the room to create obstacles that forced visitors to weave through the room as eerie sounds played in the background. The space looked nothing like a typical classroom—desks were pushed aside, the windows were darkened, and every corner held a spooky surprise. Behind the chilling transformation were two dedicated hosts who had spent weeks planning, decorating, and testing ideas to create a haunted house experience for students to enjoy on Halloween.
The inspiration for the project came from the mind of freshman Drew Sillman, who teamed up with special education paraprofessional Missy Cobb, along with the other ACC students, to bring his spooky vision to life. What started as a casual conversation quickly turned into a full-fledged plan to transform the hallway into a haunted house.
“It was completely Drew’s idea,” Cobb said. “He started asking about it a couple of weeks ago. He thought that hallway would be just right for a haunted house. Then we started taking him seriously because we thought it sounded awesome, too.”
Once the plan was set in motion, Sillman and Cobb began decorating almost immediately. The simple concept of a haunted house turned into a week-long effort that involved creativity, teamwork and even a borrowed coffin from a friend.
“We started working on Monday, and just used free time when we could throughout the week,” Cobb said. “At the end of the day, Thursday, he [Drew] asked for a coffin. I was like, ‘Buddy, you’re killing me with these requests,’ but I found a coffin.”
One of Sillman’s favorite contributions was the illusion of bloody handprints on the decorations.
“I painted his hands red, and he put his hands on the paper and slid them down to make it look like creepy blood,” Cobb said. “He wanted real blood, but settled for red paint.”
As the scene came together, Sillman’s excitement for the project only grew. He wanted the experience to feel authentic even before people stepped inside.
“Drew was dead set on having tickets, which I thought was a great idea,” Cobb said. “We made ‘terror tickets’, and he gave them to his eighth-period drama class, so they came through it in eighth period. We also sent an email to all the staff asking them, if they have a chance during their seventh or eighth period, to come through.”
By seventh period on Friday, the haunted hallway was ready for action. Sillman donned his Ghostface costume from the Scream franchise and eagerly awaited visitors in his haunted creation. The reactions made it all worth it. As spooky sounds echoed from a programmed button, students screamed, laughed and admired the creativity that went into transforming the space.
“It was spooky,” junior Gabriela Lovato said. “I liked all of the decorations that they put up. I could tell there was a lot of dedication to making it.”
