Monmouth students were prepared to get scared at the Wilson Hall Haunted Tour on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Erlanger Gardens entrance.
The Student Activities Board (SAB) worked alongside MU Players to put together their annual event. Students had the opportunity to get in the Halloween spirit for free from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with the theme of this year’s tour being ‘Abandoned Farm House.’
Brianna Licciardello, junior at Monmouth and Vice President of Major and Special Events for the SAB, was in charge of the event.
“Although I put a lot of time and effort into this event, I really couldn’t have done it without all the people who showed up on Saturday to help. It was awesome to see people from SAB come together with students from the MU Players to put together something fun and entertaining for the campus,” Licciardello said.
Tianna Fougeray, senior marketing student and Novelties Chair for the Student Activities Board, was one of the students who helped bring the tour together. “Haunted Tour is an event that I have been attending since freshman year. Now that I am a senior, I was so sad that it was my last tour as part of SAB. I look forward to it each year and it is one of my favorite events we put on,” she said.
Wilson Hall was transformed into an abandoned farm house with hay stacks, scary farm props and décor, and costumes for the actors.
Fougeray continued, “Wilson Hall is a great place to have a haunted tour because the mansion itself is historic which adds to the overall spooky feel we were going for. I walked through about 15 of the tours to monitor students and be there if someone needed to be escorted out. Brianna worked all year to plan this event and she did an amazing job. It was a long day of setting up, working, and breaking down the event but it was worth it!”
Cassie Cinque, a sophomore journalism and public relations student and general member of SAB, was one of the students who dressed up in order to scare those who walked through the tour. “I was kind of nervous to be a part of something like this at first since I’m in no way an actress, but once I got there and got in costume I adapted to the atmosphere around me and had tons of fun,” she said.
Lindsey Smith, Assistant Director of Student Activities and advisor for SAB, was also happy with how the tour came together. She said, “Haunted Tour was an amazing event made possible by the collaboration between SAB and MU Players. The event ran extremely well. Wilson Hall looked amazing, the actors and all involved were in great spirits all day, and all who went through the tour seemed to really enjoy it!”
The tour left an impression and had people talking as they left Wilson Hall. “Hearing people talk about the tours as they left was definitely my favorite part. I heard a few people say this was the scariest tour yet! That really made all the time and effort I put into this event worth it,” added Licciardello.
Students waited in line to experience the walk-through tour in small groups. While waiting they were able to help themselves to candy, cookies, and red colored iced tea and green lemonade.
“Haunted Tour was a huge success! We had students of all years that attended the event and experienced the nostalgia of their trick or treating days in the candy room. Afterward, they then began their tour through the abandoned farmhouse. SAB, MU Players, and all the volunteers did an amazing job,” said Student Activities Board advisor and Assistant Director of Student Activities Crystalyn Espinal.
Be sure to attend another one of SAB’s annual events, Casino Night, this Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall.
PHOTO COURTESY of Tianna Fougeray
