The group creeps slowly into the dark hallway. As they make their way further into the house, something begins to approach them. Standing directly in front of them, a woman dressed in a hospital gown covered in blood. It might be fake, but their fear is real.

When most people think of haunted houses, they usually think of all the scary things that are waiting inside for them, but they don’t think about all the hard work and time put in to make the haunted house run smoothly.

“The haunted house is a fundraiser, so we had to put in a request before September,” Technical Theatre Director Seth Ramsey said. “We’re expecting it to be big, but we’re still pending approval.”

The technical theatre department is brand new, so this project will be a great way to showcase students skills and show other students what technical theatre is.

“We are starting with a blank slate,” Theatre Director Cassandra Matlock said. “All I really knew how to do was hot glue, but I was pretty good at it.”

Whether they are brand new to tech theatre or have a few years of experience under their belt, all tech theatre students will be participating in this year’s haunted house.

“The haunted house will be built entirely by our technical theatre classes,” Matlock said. “The sections of the house will be divided among the seven tech theatre classes. We are hoping to have a consistent theme, but you never know what’s going to happen with these kids.”

With all the students focused on building the haunted house, they will need lots of help with making their scenes come to life.

“We’ll have mostly Drama 3 and 4 students acting,” Matlock said. “They’ll have very little rehearsal time if any. They will be expected to maintain intense feelings of terror for extended periods of time. It will be extremely grueling.”

Every now and then the theatre department needs a little help from the rest of the school.

“We may need a few extra helpers,” Matlock said. “Be on the lookout for flyers, and listen to the announcements for details if you are interested in participating.”

The only thing more important than what goes on inside the haunted house is time and location.

“The haunted house will take place on October 30,” director Ramsey said. “We don’t have a set time or price, but we know we’ll be using the majority of the black box and theatre lab space.”