Nearly 500 students were able to get a taste of Halloween through the “CarnEvil” themed Haunted Tour of Wilson Hall, inspired by FX’s television series, American Horror Story: Freak Show. “CarnEvil” was hosted by the Student Activities Board (SAB) on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 8 – 10 pm.
Students were able to attend the tour free of charge, starting with an eerie video clip portraying Wilson Hall as its own carnival. Groups of students followed the “circus leader” tour guides through each floor of Wilson Hall, while characters in various clown masks and costumes popping out in every corner.
“Wilson Hall Haunted Tours have become a tradition for us in SAB as it is one of the most entertaining and successful events,” said Dylan Vargas, SAB President. “We take pride in our ability to transform such a building into an event and have even presented on this event at our national conference, NACA,” continued the junior marketing and management student.
The purpose of the Haunted Tour, according to SAB Concerts Chair Taylor Carson, is to give students an on campus they can go to for free to get in the mood for Halloween.
Ashley Ordile, a senior education major, attended the Haunted Tour after finding out about it through a friend who went last year. She went hoping to get scared and in the Halloween spirit and left satisfied.
Morgan Lalevee, a sophomore psychology major, also attended and thought the theme was better than last year, but was less scary than the year prior.
“Last year, the tour was based on the past seasons of ‘American Horror Story,’ as well,” said Carson. “Each floor had something from each season.”
The attendance at this year’s haunted tour, according to Vargas, surpassed that of last year’s, beating SAB’s personal record.
SAB sponsored the Haunted Tour with the help of Boom Roasted Productions and a sponsorship from Dak Lak coffee roasting.
“Boom Roasted contributed a lot with their expertise in the acting and creative areas that work well with our ideas,” said Vargas. “They helped create scripts, concepts, characters and overall theme. By being already experienced in acting, they take the lead in acting for most parts of the tour.”
“Wilson Hall Haunted Tours will always be an event to look forward to on campus, and we have already begun brainstorming for events on campus,” added Vargas. Vargas assures the University community that there will be haunted tours coming to campus with all new themes. “We take pride in our ability to grow and raise the bar for events from year to year, so people should expect great things in the year to come,” he continued.
Megan McGowan, SAB’s advisor, was pleased with the event. “SAB’s and Boom Roasted’s handwork paid off again this year with a great event,” she said. “It would be great to have even more student volunteers come out next year so the event could be even scarier.”
PHOTOS COURTESY of Louis Garbarini