Halloween Scarefest by MUN charity team
Genius, really. What better way to raise money for poor underprivileged children than to host a “Halloween Scarefest”, and send the proceeds to charity? Well, the MUN charity team came up with the idea, and they were working together with Student Council to host the event, held on the eve of Halloween.
Before the event, my friends in MUN related tales of acrid paint, hard work, lots of black cloth, and props to me as they explained about the Haunted House event. Inspired by their acts of goodwill, I volunteered to help sell food and drink on Scarefest day, and donated some of money as well. In a costume, of course. =)
We were all a bit disappointed on that day, however, because the earlier A Levels intake and SAM were on study leave, meaning that it was a pretty small event with the IB and June A Level’s intake. However, I was very much heartened by the fact that most people bothered to come in costumes and get into the spirit of halloween.
There were nerds with suspenders, Stitch and Angel from Lilo and Stitch, cats, the Joker, witches, God ala Morgan Freeman, and many other creative costumes. Joining in the festivities with a Spock costume, I manned the drinks stand along with some other club members. As with the sales, not everyone who stops by becomes a customer. I resorted to using Spock sales pitches in order to get attention, such as “It’s logical to support charity!” and the infamous “Live long and prosper.”
The pizza and mummified hot dog section was in motion, with quite a steady flow of money and food exchanging hands over the table. However, the biggest crowd puller was the Haunted House nearby. It was held at the Alpha Theatre, which was converted into a place of dank despair, complete with a blast of icy air-conditioning to simulate the perfect chill down your spine.
I knew that my MUN friends had slaved over this Haunted House the whole week long, and the air was alight with anticipation as a snaking queue built up outside the theatre. Meanwhile, as I glanced over to the Beta Theatre, where the blockbuster horror movie, “The Unborn”, was screening, it was practically deserted. I guessed that horror movies just weren’t that big anymore.
After selling some drinks and little packets of ‘slime’ jelly, the Haunted House was finally ready. I lined up with my friend, and we decided to go in together so that we wouldn’t be so scared. We were a bit freaked out because there were people who ran out screaming, some even in tears of horror.
But ... with RM5 paid up, there was no choice. The House was actually a loop, and you make your way through 5 rooms around the theatre. The centre portion of the room had been sealed off with black garbage bags.
The atmosphere was decidedly spooky. The air-conditioning was appropriately cold, accompanied by the sounds of water sloshing and old boards creaking. Somewhere, we heard a ghastly scream. The first ‘ghost’ leaped out, her long hair obscuring her face. “Boo.”
Well, that wasn’t so bad. However, my friend started getting a bit jittery. We went in to the second room, where the Joker lay in a coffin, getting up and then grinning at us grotesquely. Through the cloth walls of the central area, random hands lashed out and grabbed at our feet, causing us to scream.
A mad scientist grinned as he inspected some burettes. We tiptoed cautiously near an old, dusty mirror, but that wasn’t as scary as the zombie who popped out of nowhere and started stalking us! In a mad dash, we hurled ourselves to the end of the room, where some trees promptly started scrabbling at us with limp branches. They even threw out stray branches, which we tripped on.
My brain was operating rather illogically at this point, throwing everything I saw into dark shadow and shapes of mystery, amplifying man-made terror. My friend and I cast suspicious glances towards the walls and burning candles which cast an eerie ochre glow.
In the fourth room, there were two banshees, white of skin and clothes, with dark matted hair, whispered ominously. “Below...below...” their voices were serpentine, but their movements were like those of marionettes, all rigid, limbs ossified.
Below? I was surprised. But then the ghosts gestured towards a small opening which we had to crawl through! So in we went through the small and dark opening. I screamed as I brushed past a chortling skull and I could hear another one as hands started reaching out to grab us. As we made it safely out of that traumatic corridor, a psycho in a hockey mask leapt out.
Our reaction: “Arrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!”
Psycho: “Blaarrrrrghhh!”
Panting, we exited the House. It was indeed scary, but I recognised some of my friends in there so it wasn’t so bad. Nevertheless, it was a big hit. A total of 70 people or so had lined up to go in by the end of the event. Truly, it was a success and the MUN Charity Team managed to raise a considerably large sum of money for the children. The food sales, although reaching an anticlimax very fast, still managed to squeeze in some profit. The movie screening actually attracted more students the second time round.
All in all, it was a memorable experience. There was a chance for people to show their creativity through various costumes, and it was all done in the spirit of charity, which somehow made everyone throw in a bit more effort than usual.
Just for the record, I went into the Haunted House for the second time.
By YOULIN KOH Photos by JOHN KWAN
Before the event, my friends in MUN related tales of acrid paint, hard work, lots of black cloth, and props to me as they explained about the Haunted House event. Inspired by their acts of goodwill, I volunteered to help sell food and drink on Scarefest day, and donated some of money as well. In a costume, of course. =)
We were all a bit disappointed on that day, however, because the earlier A Levels intake and SAM were on study leave, meaning that it was a pretty small event with the IB and June A Level’s intake. However, I was very much heartened by the fact that most people bothered to come in costumes and get into the spirit of halloween.
There were nerds with suspenders, Stitch and Angel from Lilo and Stitch, cats, the Joker, witches, God ala Morgan Freeman, and many other creative costumes. Joining in the festivities with a Spock costume, I manned the drinks stand along with some other club members. As with the sales, not everyone who stops by becomes a customer. I resorted to using Spock sales pitches in order to get attention, such as “It’s logical to support charity!” and the infamous “Live long and prosper.”
The pizza and mummified hot dog section was in motion, with quite a steady flow of money and food exchanging hands over the table. However, the biggest crowd puller was the Haunted House nearby. It was held at the Alpha Theatre, which was converted into a place of dank despair, complete with a blast of icy air-conditioning to simulate the perfect chill down your spine.
I knew that my MUN friends had slaved over this Haunted House the whole week long, and the air was alight with anticipation as a snaking queue built up outside the theatre. Meanwhile, as I glanced over to the Beta Theatre, where the blockbuster horror movie, “The Unborn”, was screening, it was practically deserted. I guessed that horror movies just weren’t that big anymore.
After selling some drinks and little packets of ‘slime’ jelly, the Haunted House was finally ready. I lined up with my friend, and we decided to go in together so that we wouldn’t be so scared. We were a bit freaked out because there were people who ran out screaming, some even in tears of horror.
But ... with RM5 paid up, there was no choice. The House was actually a loop, and you make your way through 5 rooms around the theatre. The centre portion of the room had been sealed off with black garbage bags.
The atmosphere was decidedly spooky. The air-conditioning was appropriately cold, accompanied by the sounds of water sloshing and old boards creaking. Somewhere, we heard a ghastly scream. The first ‘ghost’ leaped out, her long hair obscuring her face. “Boo.”
Well, that wasn’t so bad. However, my friend started getting a bit jittery. We went in to the second room, where the Joker lay in a coffin, getting up and then grinning at us grotesquely. Through the cloth walls of the central area, random hands lashed out and grabbed at our feet, causing us to scream.
A mad scientist grinned as he inspected some burettes. We tiptoed cautiously near an old, dusty mirror, but that wasn’t as scary as the zombie who popped out of nowhere and started stalking us! In a mad dash, we hurled ourselves to the end of the room, where some trees promptly started scrabbling at us with limp branches. They even threw out stray branches, which we tripped on.
My brain was operating rather illogically at this point, throwing everything I saw into dark shadow and shapes of mystery, amplifying man-made terror. My friend and I cast suspicious glances towards the walls and burning candles which cast an eerie ochre glow.
In the fourth room, there were two banshees, white of skin and clothes, with dark matted hair, whispered ominously. “Below...below...” their voices were serpentine, but their movements were like those of marionettes, all rigid, limbs ossified.
Below? I was surprised. But then the ghosts gestured towards a small opening which we had to crawl through! So in we went through the small and dark opening. I screamed as I brushed past a chortling skull and I could hear another one as hands started reaching out to grab us. As we made it safely out of that traumatic corridor, a psycho in a hockey mask leapt out.
Our reaction: “Arrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!”
Psycho: “Blaarrrrrghhh!”
Panting, we exited the House. It was indeed scary, but I recognised some of my friends in there so it wasn’t so bad. Nevertheless, it was a big hit. A total of 70 people or so had lined up to go in by the end of the event. Truly, it was a success and the MUN Charity Team managed to raise a considerably large sum of money for the children. The food sales, although reaching an anticlimax very fast, still managed to squeeze in some profit. The movie screening actually attracted more students the second time round.
All in all, it was a memorable experience. There was a chance for people to show their creativity through various costumes, and it was all done in the spirit of charity, which somehow made everyone throw in a bit more effort than usual.
Just for the record, I went into the Haunted House for the second time.
By YOULIN KOH Photos by JOHN KWAN
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