On October 28 and 29, 2024, Pathways Communication Academy (PCA) held their annual Haunted House pop-up event which was a success. This two-day immersive walk-through event transformed the gym into a haunted house filled with nightmarish horror characters. This year’s theme, “Face Your Fears,” was particularly aimed to evoke pure excitement along with fright by confronting students face-to-face with fearful sights and spine-chilling characters.
The creatively designed experience was entirely planned by the students of PCA. Pathways students began orchestrating the design and planning as early as August to ensure a smooth set-up the day before its opening. They demonstrated their skill and dedication through their meticulously handcrafted props and decorations, which took several weeks to plan and create. Seniors were given free rein to implement their ideas, while underclassmen lent a helping hand to execute their visions.
PCA advisor, Mr. Matthew Castaneda, has revealed that the students of PCA are given the opportunity to go to Knott’s Berry Farm during closed hours. In planning, students take a lot of inspiration from the Knott’s Scary Farm mazes during their Knott’s Scary Farm event month.
“Knott’s Berry Farm gives us like a behind-the-scenes tour of two of their mazes, one with the lights on and one with lights off. They’ll tell us how they scare people and the tricks of the trade.”
During the entire walk-through, many distinct scare actors were hidden in the dark corners of the walls and could be seen crawling on the floors. From hybrid animal humans with pig heads to clowns and witches, guests were on pins and needles waiting for the next terror to appear. The atmosphere was tense and thrilling, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement as participants moved through the haunted maze.
Fortunately, the feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many students expressing their joy and surprise as they exited the haunted house.
“When I first walked through the doors, I was very excited and exhilarated,” freshman student Olivia Kim said. “At first, I couldn’t see anything because of how dark it was. When the scare actors came out, I was so surprised and caught off guard! It was so good and so fun that I will definitely come back next year!”
This year, PCA implemented a new “fast pass” ticket that students could purchase to skip the long lines and fast-track to the event. A rough estimate of around 1,000 students experienced the haunted house in the two days it was open; doubling the number of attendees from the previous year.
Looking ahead, PCA has expressed its desire to innovate further. PCA advisor, Ms. Ashlyn Conway, has further conveyed the goals that they work with to make a freshly designed experience each year.
“I think it’s always great to modify, adding like new and fun tricks and hidden things because you don’t want it to be too repetitive,” Conway noted.
The plans are to implement new scare tactics and integrate more open ideas to bring something fresh and alluring to the school’s yearly Haunted House tradition in the coming years.