s the season of fall dawns on the year, festivities regarding Halloween begin to emerge. The leaves turn pretty colors, scarecrows are erected, and the RBHS drama club creates a communal haunted house, available Oct. 28, 4-9:30 p.m.
Club sponsor Holly Kerns is excited to host families in the 3rd annual event, explaining that the house bolsters multiple sections and even an escape room.
“The Haunted House has games, a giant haunted maze, an escape room, candy and concessions and lots of fun costumes and makeup to see,” Kerns said. “This is a kid-friendly event. Our theme this year is ‘Haunted Fairy Tales’. On top of that we design each room and section of the haunted house, gather items, design costumes, stories to go with each room in the haunted house, and the escape room always requires extra planning and prep.”
With the constructed layers of fun comes a slew of preparations. Club vice president and junior Bailey Long, took over the construction from the president  of the event and is excited to see her hard work come to life.
“We have Drama Club every Wednesday and during the spooky month of October, we stay after and plan something each time we meet,” Long said. “Slowly, we pick a theme, then pick what each rooms will be, characters decorations and props. Finally on the day of the event we set it all up the entire day. We’ll need as much help as we can get.”
As any good fundraiser has, Drama Club has a noble cause backing their motives. Long explains that, with the $15 group admission for the escape room and $4 general entry fee, the money will go straight back into the Drama club to support future plays and activities. Furthermore, attendees can pay an entry of four canned goods rather than the $4 which, will go to Trick or Treat so Kids can Eat (TOTSEat), the International Thespian Society’s annual nationwide community service initiative.
Though commitments to show choir and the musical are hindering her involvement in the assembly of the haunted house, club president Roz Eggener is eager to see her club put on a charitable event.
The maze is just what it sounds like. A haunted, spooky dark maze that takes place on the RBHS stage,” Eggener said. “You’ll find all kinds of characters within. And the escape room is a separate event with it’s own fee. For 15 dollars, you and a small group enter a room and are presented with a mystery. It should be exciting for all ages and we’d love to see everyone there.”
Lasting hours into the afternoon, the haunted house is sure to be fun to all who come, Long says.
“We get into costume and start at 4pm, and stay until 9:30 p.m.,” Long said. “ Afterwards, we clean up and go home at 10:30 p.m. It’s a really fun thing to do and in the end you get to be a different character for the day.”