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Published on 10/19/1998 All articles from this issue

Sixth graders hope to scare up a crowd

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By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writer

Sixth graders at Santa Rita School hope their annual haunted house is scarier than a pop quiz.

This year's haunted house will feature a swamp, pumpkin patch, witches' kitchen, graveyard, torture chamber, execution room and an operating room.

Although no one could remember exactly when or why the annual haunted house first got started, most agreed that the 27-plus-year event brings the school community closer together.

"This is one reason why the kids look forward to becoming sixth graders," said Margaret Fair, one of the approximately 40 parents working on the haunted house. "It really shows their school spirit. That's the main thing."

Gathered in committees of about 10-12, sixth graders worked last week stuffing straw into decapitated corpses, painting tombstones and putting final touches on a crypt bearing the name of their school principal.

"I can't wait," Geoffrey Akerlund said, while working on props for the execution room. "I like to watch horror movies."

The sixth grade production takes about three weeks to plan, create and set up, Fair said. Sometimes students stay until 9 p.m. the night before, adding finishing touches to their sections. Most of the 60 students working on the house will dress up and help operate the house in one- hour shifts.

Fair said students always make enough from the admission cost to pay themselves back for the props. "There's usually a line to get in," Fair said.

Students from various committees promised lots of new surprises this year.

"It's going to be totally different than last year," said Zachary Zwarenstein, a member of the execution room committee.

Zachary and his committee members promised that the execution room will have sound effects, black lights and other spooky surprises.

"We want it to be really scary," he said.

The haunted house will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday at the school's Bobcat Mountain building. Admission is 50 cents. Students will turn on the interior lights for 10 minutes every hour so younger children can walk through the haunted house.