Piercing screams of horror poured out of children's mouths as they trembled through a haunted house at Maguire Village on Monday night.
Black tarp and cobwebs draped the insides, while screams and eerie, child-like taunting echoed through the halls.
"The zombies, the spaghetti. I was really scared," said 9-year-old Akiko Smith, who was dressed in all pink as a princess for the night.
The Campus Diplomats and the Dean of Students Office's annual Haunted Housing carnival for the children of family housing students is one of the only UF events where Snow White and Harry Potter mingle with Yoda and Tinker Bell.
"For many of the children that attend this event, this is the only opportunity for them to celebrate Halloween," said Michelle Allen, co-chairwoman of the event.
"For other children, this is their very first time learning about and celebrating Halloween because they moved here from another country. This makes it even more rewarding and more of a reason to continue this every year."
Children of all ages lined up to walk through the event's haunted house, which was staffed by members of Theatre Strike Force, UF's improv and sketch comedy troupe.
About 300 people paraded in their costumes from table to table, playing Halloween-themed games and accumulating tickets for a grand prize from the prize table.
"Of our assortment of prizes, I'd say the spider rings are a clear favorite," said Nicole Oscher, a member of the Campus Diplomats.
"Eyeball erasers and plastic vampire teeth are both a close second."
Each year, student organizations are invited to help create and staff booth games at the event.
Some of the activities include face painting, pumpkin rolling, a Halloween dance station, beanbag toss and a haunted walk. Gamma Eta sorority taught a simple version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to children at the event.
"We have been involved here for about three years and really enjoy getting to see all the kids dance and just have a good time," said Priscilla Moreno, Gamma Eta's community service chair.
"The enthusiasm for this event by all of the Campus Diplomats as well as our volunteers is always very evident and is what makes this event successful each year," Allen said.
"When looking around during the event, you can see how all of the volunteers get into the theme by being in costume and just having fun just as they would if they were a young child. The children feed off of this and it makes for a very fun and successful event."
