By Emme Hogge, News Editor
On Friday Oct. 25, El Camino’s student government held its annual Haunted House in the small gym, which was themed this year after the popular anthology series American Horror Story.
Student government member Zoe Daffron (‘25) was lead of the Haunted House after being second in command her junior year. Daffron explained that the process for choosing leads of certain events begins at the start of the year; those who want to lead an event give their argument why they should be chosen to lead it, and the rest of student government votes on who they believe to be the best candidate.
“I just love [the] Haunted House, it’s so fun. That’s definitely one of my favorite events here, so I just wanted to make it better,” Daffron said.
Admission into the Haunted House costs either one dollar or two cans. A lot of the money that is earned is used to pay for the expenses of the haunted house, like decorations and food that is provided to the actors. Student Government advisor Sara Turner estimated the total amount spent on the haunted house was about 450 dollars, and so cash collected was used to repay those funds. Any leftover money and the cans are donated to the Sacramento food bank.
The Haunted House is set up by Student Government after school the day prior to the Haunted House and before the school the morning of. The layout consists of hallways that wind throughout the small gym, and each hallway features actors whose jobs are to scare students that walk by. Being that the theme was American Horror Story, the hallways were decorated and the actors portrayed different aspects of each season of the series.
Student Government initially goes to drama to acquire actors, and students in drama can sign up for certain roles. Leftover slots then go to AVID, and lastly the general student body. Actors who do not show up or need subs are usually covered by members of Student Government.
Daffron explained that this year, she focused a lot of her efforts on being organized and making sure everyone knew their role.
“I chose one person [as a lead] for each hallway, and we chose costumes for the [actors]. Then I created a script for each hallway, so each person had a script; what to do, what to say,” she said.
Actors were instructed to arrive at EC at 7 seven a.m. the morning of the haunted house to get into costume and character.
Actor and student government momeber Trip Allshouse (‘27) was a monkey in a cage in the Freak Show hallway, which is the fourth season of American Horror Story.
“I would jump out of my cage and bang on the cage–I’d say I was pretty scary,” Allshouse said.
During the school day, many teachers will take time out of the period to take their class to the haunted house. Members of Student Government, known as “tour guides,” lead groups of students through the haunted house. Many students also go during lunch.
Not only is the haunted house a great way to get students excited about halloween, but it also gives back to the community. Students can look forward to the drama program’s fall musical 1776, which premieres tonight at 7 p.m. in the performing arts center.
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