Students looking for a good scare don’t have to travel far.
Several UF residence halls will host free Halloween-themed events from tonight until Nov. 2, said Inter-Residence Hall Association president Severin Walstad.
Walstad said the largest event is Haunted Broward, which will take place in the Broward basement tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Hannah Pohlmann, a 20-year-old mathematics junior and Rawlings RA, is in charge of the Broward event’s set up.
She said a team of 20 volunteers helped set up walls for the haunted house’s maze Wednesday in the basement. The haunted house’s trail weaves for about 300 yards.
“For being put on by amateurs, this is a pretty good haunted house,” she said.
At 7 p.m. Friday, the Yulee area will host a carnival event. It will offer activities like a costume contest, games like cornhole and fishing for prizes, a booth with a palm reader and an inflatable obstacle course, said president of Yulee area’s council Kathryn Kerr.
The 20-year-old psychology sophomore said the carnival is more fall-focused than Halloween-themed, though.
“It’s a lot of work, and I’m really nervous for it,” she said. “But the most fun part will probably be seeing people on the obstacle course.”
Hume Hall will host its public haunted house 8 p.m.Tuesday. At 5 p.m., the hall will open exclusively to members from the Boys & Girls Club and other younger children, said Adrian Basler, president of Student Honors Organization, which oversees the event.
Haunted Hume organizers ask for a $2 donation. Last year, the money went to UNICEF, Basler said. This year, the proceeds will likely go to the organization’s Dance Marathon team.
Themes are selected by floor. Eight of Hume’s 10 floors will host haunted houses.
Basler said past themes include “insane asylum gone wrong” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
Basler, a 19-year-old mechanical and aerospace engineering sophomore, said he’s interested to see what each floor comes up with.
“I get to judge it this year, which I’m pretty excited about,” he said. “I’m excited to see what the floors are doing.”
