AFHS hosts annual “Haunted Halls” activity

Elizabeth Spencer | American Fork Citizen

Spooks will fill American Fork High School this week for its annual Haunted Halls evening. The event is for all the little ghouls and boys in the community to enjoy. Families are welcome to come in costume.

The Student Council heads up the event every year. School clubs such as the National Honor Society; German, French and Spanish clubs; and Future Farmers of America, along with many others, create themed rooms for the children to explore.

Some of the rooms are spooky, while others are fun and exciting. This year, kids will visit a variety of rooms with themes such as “Minecraft”, “Cars”, and “Ratatouille”, Day of the Dead, “Bluey”, a ghost town, superheroes, and a fun skeleton dance room.

Planning and preparation take place weeks in advance, but students only have the afternoon to set up their themed rooms.

“As soon as school is out, you’ll see all the clubs coming, preparing, creating and setting up their rooms. It’s really impressive what they can do with only a few hours,” said Student Council advisor Nikki Nielsen.

“To see the creativity of these kids, the amount of work they can get done in one day is always astounding,” shared Student Council advisor Eric Lund.

“We’ve had really good involvement with the clubs where they’ve been pretty passionate about it, creating their decor early,” said Nielsen.

“Our hope is that kids will have a place to trick-or-treat and participate in the community in a safe way,” added Nielsen. “Our students love it because they get an opportunity to do something and actually see the community involvement within it. It’s really fun when they get to do it and see how it impacts more than just themselves.”

Lund shared similar sentiments. “We’re learning how to take care of our community and helping this future generation find ways to help their community in different ways. It’s worth spending time to help other people.”

Beyond the setup and creativity involved, Nielsen says the students also love working with the kids who come through Haunted Halls.

“They tell me that one of their favorite parts is getting to see how happy the kids are and their cute costumes,” shared Nielsen. “I think it’s really cool for the kids to see older kids caring about them and supporting them in a safe trick-or-treating environment.”

Student Body President Jace Worthington said his favorite part is seeing “the kids coming in and getting excited over what we do. I think it’s our duty in the community to give people something to do and look forward to.”

Lund said Haunted Halls creates role models out of the students hosting. Younger trick-or-treaters can look up to the students, and it shows them what they can accomplish.

Haunted Halls is this Wednesday evening, Oct. 28, from 5:30-7: 30 p.m. at American Fork High School (510 Caveman Blvd.). The entrance fee is a canned food donation or a small monetary contribution.