Haunted house returns for collaborative, scary times

This fall, West students celebrated the season by conjuring spooky spirits of Halloween in the gymnasium. Students and staff alike stayed busy preparing for the annual haunted house, with newly-appointed Dean Gillian Pakula being one of the key leaders in the collaboration. 

“West has done a haunted house for as long as I have been a teacher at West,” she said. “It has been in many different locations, but the Intellectually Disabled Moderate/Severe (IDMS) department has always done one on some scale or another.”

Junior Jennsen Berg enjoys the inclusivity of the haunted house. 

 “It is fun and everyone can go to it,” she said. “It’s put on by the students, so you also have to work together to make it.”

Although Pakula was excited for the haunted house’s return, she knew that there would be a lot of effort and work needed to complete the job. 

“The beginning steps are securing the gyms and reserving all the items that are needed from other schools,” she said. “Then Mrs. [Stephanie] Polak, the mastermind behind it all, creates the different rooms and a lot of time is spent on determining what goes into each room and how it will be carried out.” 

Planning is only half of the work. There is also additional labor in setting up and tearing down the structures. 

“It takes a month to plan and create, two days to build it in the new gym, and one and a half to take it down,” Pakula said. 

The idea that many hands make light work is certainly the case during the haunted house season. Pakula is grateful for all of the extra help and contribution from others. 

“The different groups involved in the haunted house are IDMS, Connected, Leadership and Global Academy level three,” she said. “Oftentimes it then involves parents and families creating the rooms and building props and scenery.” 

Junior Hans Larson was glad to meet up with his special education buddies again.

“I’m super excited to work with them,” he said. “They’re a really awesome group of kids. It’s cool to see just how kind and generous they are.” 

Fellow level three Global student Lily Molash was productive with the special education students. 

“My buddy, Ellie, wasn’t there unfortunately, but I still enjoyed seeing everyone else and working together to paint our props,” she said. “My favorite part was actually the fact that we only had like three paint brushes available because it forced us all to work together more to be successful in the end.” 

Berg was excited to experience the haunted house again after reminiscing on past years. 

“I did go to the haunted house my freshman year,” she said. “I thought that the Global Academy kids and everyone involved set up pretty well. There was a good amount of scare and fun at the same time.”

Molash has progressed through the years from a haunted house participant to a planner. 

“The haunted house is a great memory to look back on,” she said. “Since I’m now a part of the planning process, I’m really excited for it.

Moving past all the excitement and hype,  fake zombies and sheet ghosts weren’t the only scary things to consider in planning the haunted house. Pakula and company put numerous coronavirus protocols in place to keep everyone protected and safe. 

“COVID protocols actually lend right into our Haunted house,” she said. “The participants were masked- and we let all the groups into the house in groups, so there weren't a ton of people in the house at one time.”

Even with some COVID restrictions in place, Molash didn’t think it affected the overall experience. 

“Some people may not feel comfortable participating,” she said. “But I feel that with the amount of vaccinated people and the mask mandate, there’s really not a reason to worry about it.”

 Pakula was ready for the haunted house to be back in action after a year off of the event. 

“I think the students embrace the haunted house,” she said. “Many students have not even experienced it or know what it is all about. I think it is a wonderful tradition at West and we were excited to bring it back in full force.”

Molash thoroughly enjoys all the aspects and is grateful for West’s house of horrors. 

“I like the idea of the haunted house,” she said. “It’s just a fun way to break up the day and get into the Halloween spirit. For those who have never been to a haunted house, I feel like it’s an all-around fun experience. I hope we keep doing it for a long time.”

by Meghan Oakes

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 2

November 1st, 2021