Underneath Amador lies a series of little-known storage rooms, referred to mainly as the dungeon. The AV Drama classes have worked tirelessly to turn this already eerie location into an even spookier haunted house open to visitors of all ages.
“We call it the dungeon, it’s a windowless old boiler room that runs under part of the school, and it was initially used for a lot of storage, there’s still some old COVID supplies down there, there’s audit boxes down there with old documents. Just some general storage, but very creepy,” said Drama Teacher Hannah Davies
Changing the underground labyrinth into a scary haunted house was no easy feat. However, the Drama class was able to pull it off in just under a week.
“We’ve been working on it during lunch, after school, during our drama periods when we can,” said Niko Garcia (‘25).
The final result amounted to a mysteriously decorated, dimly lit haunted house open to all. With drama students as scare actors, spooky hosts and good fairies, the students have worked hard to make sure that all feel welcome — even those who might scare a little more easily.
“Because this is an event that is open to elementary schoolers, we have this thing called the good fairy. When we say ‘good fairy coming through,’ one of us will have these wings on and hold the kids’ hand. Then, we can walk them through the haunted house. That way, it’s less scary and intense,” said Garcia.
The haunted house is operating on a daily basis from 5-7:30p.m.. The drama class is running the event until Oct. 30, the last night the experience will take place.
“I love scary movies and stuff, so seeing people excited about something, especially something we’ve all worked so hard for is just making me so excited,” said Zoë Wagner (‘24). “I’m really thankful that it’s come to fruition and I’m really grateful to have seen it all come together.”
Backstage in the drama room, students prepare to become scare actors and hosts for the haunted house.
Before the dungeon transformed into a haunted chamber, the drama class worked to clean up the old supplies.
The hosts walking guests through the house also act as “Good Fairies” to reassure the younger visitors.
Drama students apply makeup to add to the spooky effects of their role in the haunted tour.
Within the house, scare actors add haunted sound effects and jump-scare visitors.
The house is meticulously decorated with all things Halloween. Many decorations were donated by teachers and the office staff.
