On Friday, Oct. 26, Pickard Hall held its 27th annual Fright Fest event in an effort to raise money for Family Advocates to help battered women and children.
This annual fundraiser has helped shape Pickard Hall’s identity since 1985, and the event changes its theme every year. This year’s theme was horror movies. The hall split into four groups representing “Paranormal Activity,” “Scream,” “Silent Hill” and “Saw.” Each group was then given 75 feet of space each to set up the haunted setting through acting, props and sets.
“This event is designed for the community as well as students of campus,” Pickard Hall Resident Director Chris Heine said. “It’s a fun event for everyone involved, but it’s all about fundraising for charity. Absolutely every penny we earn goes to Family Advocates.”
“We let the groups run with what they wanted to work with,” Pickard Hall resident assistant Dan Wisniewski said, a fifth-year senior math major, who has enjoyed four consecutive years of Fright Fest. “The event seems to get better every year. There was a $400 budget, but we only used about half of that. Most of our supplies were gathered from our basement where we’ve stored everything we could for this event.”
Among the many frightening features this year was a chair being yanked across the ground as seen in “Paranormal Activity,” a replica of Jigsaw’s puppet riding a tricycle from the “Saw” movies, reenacted scenes from the “Scream” franchise and the pyramid-head man from “Silent Hill” chasing visitors through the exit.
“It was even better than I thought it would be,” said Nicholas Loes, sophomore mechanical engineering major. “The actors were enthusiastic and the sets they built looked well-made. You definitely could see the hard work they put into it. Luckily for us, no souls were lost.”