RIP to HDA’s Haunted House

Lurid lights, terrifying masks, and sepulchral rituals filled the halls of Thompson as the Hopkins Drama Association (HDA) performed their haunted house. The haunted house has been an HDA tradition since 2018, bringing ouija boards and coffins to campus to fundraise money from ticket sales for StuCo’s annual Connecticut Foodshare fundraiser. This year, however, the HDA will not be performing their haunted house due to scheduling conflicts.

The haunted house emerged as a collaboration between StuCo and HDA. Mike Calderone, a drama teacher and the organizer of the haunted house, explained that StuCo president and HDA member, Sam Jenkins ’19 began the event “as an extension of Pumpkin Bowl” and the Connecticut Foodshare fundraiser ‒‒ last year’s 2023 haunted house raised over 600 dollars to help fight food insecurity. Calderone noted a change to the haunted house since originally “StuCo presidents left the performance part to HDA while they organized the money collection and groupings” but “eventually, HDA took over the whole operation to streamline communication.” Another shift in the haunted house was its location. Historically, HDA led the haunted house in Lovell. However, last year the construction of the new APAC shifted the event to the basement of Thompson. Anvi Pathak ’26, who acted in last year’s haunted house, appreciated the new setting because the basement of Thompson “already has an eerie vibe.” 

Members of the HDA and the haunted house guests enjoyed the event for its frightening mood. Anvi Pathak ’26, who acted in last year’s haunted house, valued the chilling essence that made it “a really fun production to do” since it “gets you in the Halloween spirit.” She particularly enjoyed the suspense of “running through it for the first time and being super excited to see if people would be scared.” Similarly, Rose Porosoff ’27, another actor in last year’s haunted house, savored the spooky mood, in addition to the camaraderie created when “getting ready and doing scary makeup in the bathroom with everyone else and then getting into position before it started.” Will Schroth-Douma ’23, an active member of HDA during his time at Hopkins, agreed “the most fun part was always the before ‒‒ getting into costumes, doing makeup, and setting up overly complex makeshift sets.” Benjamin Kruger ’26, who acted in both the 2022 and 2023 haunted houses, appreciated the sense of community between the haunted house cast and reflected on a tradition where “every year, at the end of the night, we have a walk-through where you go through the haunted house after your stop on the path.” This was his favorite haunted house memory because “it's always so fun.” Veronica Vece ’26, who visited the haunted house, reflected that, from a visitor point of view, “the HDA’s acting and costuming made it seem thrilling and scary.” She continued, “I could tell they spent a lot of time and effort working on the haunted house.”

From a logistical standpoint, Calderone shared that “the challenge was preparing everything ahead of time but not being able to set it up between end of school the day of the haunted house and the few hours before we let in guests.” Benjamin Kruger ’26, who acted in both the 2022 and 2023 haunted house, mirrored this idea, describing the haunted house as a “combination of chaos and scary; the process of putting it on was very hectic, but it always came together perfectly.” Schroth-Douma also recalled “major teenage embarrassment” from the performance. In his Junior year, he explained “we’d get faked gasps and heckles. It’s dramatic to say, but I remember feeling like I was in a freak show: come and laugh at all these weird theater kids!”

Despite its acclaimed spookiness, Jesse Piazza ’25, a co-head of HDA, affirmed that “HDA will not be doing a haunted house this year.” Calderone elaborated, sharing that “the cancellation this year was unfortunately caused by the calendar.” Calderone expressed that the scheduling conflicts arose because “the Hopkins Fall Festival was scheduled for Homecoming Weekend, the week before HDA's first big production of the year, The Tempest.” He clarified that “the week before a show opens is incredibly busy and stressful for a production company,” so HDA could not commit to the haunted house the week prior to their performance of The Tempest. HDA also considered holding the haunted house after The Tempest closed, but Calderone explained “Pumpkin Bowl falls exactly on Halloween, the Thursday before fall break.” Calderone shared that, “for the amount of work that goes into a haunted house, we did not think too many students would stay on campus, on Halloween, at the start of a three day weekend, for a 10 minute walk through Thompson.”

While the cancellation of the haunted house disappointed some HDA members, they remained hopeful that the haunted house will run next year. Porosoff maintained a positive tone, expressing “while it’s disappointing that there won’t be a haunted house this year, I am hoping the HDA or StuCo will come up with other fun and spooky things.” Kruger voiced that he feels “really sad” about the absence of the haunted house because “the haunted house is a staple of Hopkins.” He was hopeful, though, that the tradition will “be brought back after Lovell reopens.” Calderone supported this idea, stating “there is a great possibility for the haunted house to come back again; remember, New Lovell will be bigger and better equipped for a longer haunted house (albeit without the ingrained smells and creepiness of a musty old 1957 building!)”