As Halloween approaches, many students have begun making plans for the night of fright.
Many students go trick-or-treating or attend parties. Haunted houses bring out the screams and Halloween spirit, and Houston has about 14 haunted houses prepared to spook, including Phobia, Screamworld, Nightmare on the Bayou, Scream Fest and more.
English creative writing senior Ndidi Anofienem said she would go to a haunted house to be scared.
“I think that’s what people like about Halloween — to be terrified for like 10 seconds, and then be okay,” Anofienem said.
Although she has forgotten the name, Anofienem and her friends will be taking their annual trip to a familiar haunted house.
“I know it has three different haunted houses, and it’s like $25 for all three houses,” Anofienem said. “That’s a really good price.”
English junior Frederick Dominguez said he hears the commercials on the radio and TV, but never makes plans to go. Although he admits that the idea appeals to him, Dominguez described his difficulty in planning a trip around the expenses.
“It never works out, I guess, and some of them are like really far in Cypress,” Dominguez said. “We used to have them in AstroWorld, in the amusement park’s ‘Fright Fest,’ and (these houses) are not as convenient as the one they had in Six Flags.”
Instead, Dominguez plans to have a sinister adventure with the Student Program Board by going to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, where the tradition of “Fright Fest” lives on.
While many students are in the Halloween spirit, not everyone will make a visit to a haunted house this year.
Geology junior Natalie Vickio said she doesn’t really get scared in haunted houses.
“The last time I went into one was in middle school,” Vickio said. “There was a guy chasing me with a chainsaw and I was just like, ‘Could you not?’”
Business junior Janais Villa went to a haunted house about four years ago.
“It wasn’t scary; it was a waste of money,” Villa said. “It was supposed to be like this big attraction, but it was lame.”
As a result, Vickio and Villa said they will probably attend Halloween parties with their friends instead of haunted houses.