Update: A previous version of this article said that James Walker is the director of the RHA. He is the director of programming.
Late on Oct. 18, the Resident Hall Association hosted its 15th annual “Haunted” event, turning Hull Hall into a haunted house aimed at keeping the magic of Halloween alive for Mississippi State University students.
James Walker is the director of programming for the Residence Hall Association, a student organization on campus. Walker said the tradition began when students asked to hold a haunted house in Suttle Hall, an old campus dormitory.
“Suttle was already planned to go down and was vacant, so it was the perfect place. We were able to break glass, put fake blood on the walls [and] really make it come to life,” Walker said.
That first haunted house was a hit. The next year, students requested for it to be done again. Since Suttle had already been torn down, the new location chosen was Rice Hall. The haunted house was less extravagant that year, as there were still students living in the dormitory, so they needed to keep the hall clean for the residents. However, the haunted dormitory was still a hit.
Since then, the Haunted event has moved around from dorm to dorm. Generally, the dorms with fewer student occupants are chosen as hosts for the event. As the years progressed, the event grew from just haunted house to a small festival for the campus, including events like costume contests and pumpkin painting.
With Hull’s brick interior from the materials salvaged from the fire that burned Old Main, the spooky scene really came to life.
Walker explained that older buildings like Hull really help the Residence Hall Association achieve their desired effect with the atmosphere for the event.
“Last year, the event was in Herbert Hall. Herbert and Hull both enhance the atmosphere we are trying to achieve. And they are both older dorms, so it worked out,” Walker said.
Walker also spoke about the theme for this year’s Haunted.
“The overall theme we are going for this year is ‘asylum patients,’ touching on ‘Stranger Things,'” Walker said.
The theme came to life on the first and second floors of Hull Hall. The RHA staffing the event wandered through dressed in scrubs with medical IDs. There were also alphabet signs with Christmas lights, a nod to “Stranger Things.”
Most activities were located on the first floor. Food, games and contests were spread throughout, giving each wing its own activity section. There was face painting, a donut eating contest, trick-or-treating and a snack bar. The snack area was carnival themed with a wide variety of snacks such as “dirt and worms,” which was really chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos and gummy worms, as well as popcorn and caramel apples. Across the hall from the food were activities for all ages such as a costume contest and face painting. The hallways were decorated with paper chains, adding to the overall environment of fun.
The second floor was solely dedicated to the haunted house. Within the haunted house, there were nine rooms, each dedicated to a patient admitted to the asylum. The rooms were a mixed group of broken dolls, hooded cult leaders, Chuckles the killer clown and others. All actors were student volunteers dedicated to their part, including someone dressed as Michael Myers who wandered around throughout the entirety of the event.
The remainder of the dormitory was closed off to event goers, as it is still operational and for student use.
Amanda Harvey, a junior educational psychology major, spoke about how the event was fun but crowded because of how many people enjoyed all the activities.
“I think the overall event was good, but I feel like they needed more space,” Harvey said. “I was here right when it started and within a few minutes it was full.”
Part of the magic of Halloween is dressing up, and throughout the night, many students came and went in costumes. There was a wide variety of outfits from the shows.
Harvey dressed up as Shinobu from “Demon Slayer.”
“I feel like a lot more students dressed up this year, especially compared to last year,” Harvey said.
Adam Owens, a freshman computer science major, also spoke about the event.
“My favorite part was definitely the haunted house,” Owens said. “I just wish it was longer.”
Halloween is a holiday associated with candy and fear, often mostly pushed towards kids. Having this event on campus and in a dormitory for so many years allows student to relive the magic from their childhood while in this new phase of life. The Residence Hall Association had another successful haunted dormitory for people to enjoy, celebrating the 15-year anniversary of the event this year.
