Adelphi's Best Kept Secrets: Haunted Halls

Adelphi’s Best Kept Secrets: Chapman Haunted Halls
By Colleen Fasone

Although it’s been a week or two since Halloween, the adage “better late than never” certainly applies to this coverage of one of Adelphi’s best attractions. Chapman Haunted Halls is an annual tradition on the Adelphi campus, an event in which one dormitory is completely transformed into a haunted attraction. This event has two purposes, to save the environment and to provide students and faculty with a scare before the actual night of Halloween. The environmental aspect comes from the fact that Chapman Hall is the “Green” Hall, and as such tends to be responsible for hosting events which either promote environmentally friendly programs or directly help the environment. In the case of Haunted Halls, all lights are turned off within that building so that it can be turned into a horrifying and terrifying spectacle. The only lit area is that of the front desk, necessary to vote on the floor that did the best job of scaring the participants and decorating their floor. It is also necessary as a safe way of getting out of the building. The rest of the dorm is blanketed in total darkness, which promotes a sense of fear and a sense of saving the environment by not using electricity for a few hours.

The halls really go all out with this event, Chapman residents and their friends working together to really spook up the place and give it whatever creepy feel they like. This year there were three decorated floors, two of which had a concrete theme, and the last being a collection of various scares and thrills. This year’s winner of Haunted Halls, simply the floor that got the most votes as to being scariest/best, was the second floor. It had a “Freak Show” theme, with creepy undead ballerinas, a ringmaster, and a lost little girl holding a balloon. The third floor was asylum themed, with many people being chopped to bits in laundry rooms and an insane female menacingly approaching all participants all the while banging a hammer chillingly against the wall. The first floor was a general mix of people popping out of rooms, severed limbs, and haunted décor, a nice way to conclude the walk through the haunted house that had participants starting on the third floor and working their way down.

Every year Haunted Halls has been a big success with the students here at Adelphi, the evidence alone being the long line to get inside of the dormitory that does not dissipate until the event is over. It is also a successful way to get the word out about shutting off lights for a good cause, which means getting the word out about shutting lights off when they aren’t needed. The combination of saving power and providing a festive scare make Chapman Haunted Halls one of Adelphi’s best kept secrets, something you only experience if attending Adelphi University.