Jingle bells have already started ringing at Benet Academy! October 22 was the first Christmas Drive event of the year, with the new annual event “Nightmare on Maple Street.” Formerly known as “Monster Dash,” this family-friendly event included carnival games, food, a costume contest, and a new terrifying event, scarier than five tests Fridays, the haunted house. Here, the Student Government sophomore representatives took it upon themselves to plan and execute a haunted house in the halls of Benet Academy. 

Planning started mid-September when a handful of exciting texts led to blueprint outlines, trips to party city, countless hours in the costume room, and some energetic lunch meetings in the Student Government office. Once plans were finalized, the representatives pitched their ideas to the Student Government officers, who agreed to take a chance with this new idea. With the approval and a budget, the representatives kicked into high gear as the date was rapidly approaching.

In the haunted house, visitors were led by zombie students who worked as tour guides throughout all four floors of St. Joseph’s Hall. In order to pull all this off, Student Government worked with the Benet Theater Association to find talented actors and other creative minds. Benet Academy actress Ellie Hoel said, “it was really nice to see everyone come together to make it happen in such a short amount of time.” Furthermore, most of the props and costumes came from Benet’s supply with only some costumes thrifted, donated by the Mother’s Club, or handcrafted. On the day of the event, the halls were covered in caution tape, fake blood, and spider webs in just a few short hours. Actors were added, walking around as scarecrows and clowns, jumping out of hallways as baseball players, and screaming their hearts out.

Despite any hardships endured, the haunted house was a huge success. Adults, children, and students shrieked at the jump scares and eerie atmosphere. In all, sophomore representative Jeffrey Lange said, “We spent countless hours planning, and seeing it come together was so exciting! Seeing people screaming and laughing was totally worth all the effort we put in!”