This October, guests can be prepared to get into the Halloween spirit at the Skokie Park District’s annual Scream Scene, a haunted house located at the Oakton pool. This event is run by volunteers from local high schools and attracts community members from all around the Skokie area, from middle and high school students to families. 

 For $13, kids ten and up or accompanied by a parent can all experience the frightening sights and sounds of the haunted house. Groups of up to six can walk through the haunted house and get jump scared by the various actors hidden throughout the sets. 

Inside the Oakton Pool locker rooms, community volunteers come together to set up various Halloween-themed rooms. Many of West’s own students joined in on the fun and volunteered at Scream Scene scaring their own friends.

“I wanted to work at Scream Scene this year because I thought it would be super fun to scare kids and teenagers our age for Halloween. I was able to participate in it twice this year, and it was a super fun experience. We were able to see many amusing reactions that often come from people our age. For preparation, some put costumes on while others had their makeup done or just wore a mask. There was a huge variety of people, and we were given the freedom to scare them in whatever way we wanted. My favorite memory was when I jumped out of a closet and a whole group of teenagers fell to the ground,” junior Jeslyn Varghese said.

“I’ve so far worked twice this season, and I plan to go for a final third day which is also the final week they are open. Getting to see everyone’s reaction to the actor’s scares is always a blast. The best part is when teenage boys act all tough but with one jump scare, they’re on the ground screaming in fright. We have a monitoring room where cameras show everyone’s reaction from each room and the maintenance guy would always show the actors the best scares from the night once we were all wrapped up. The workers get treated super nicely for their time there. We scare for a total of three hours, and we prep for two hours. During prep, you’re allowed to talk and interact with anyone you want, they even let you walk through the haunted house to get a look at what other rooms look like. All the employees are super nice and non-judgemental. 70% of them are teenagers from surrounding high schools like Maine East, ETHS, or Niles North,” senior Megan Gartner said. 

The haunted house takes you through several sets and actors. Each room has a different theme: haunted hospital, optical illusions, clown maze, chainsaw maniacs, and so much more. 

“I come here every year. It’s exciting to get chased by the guy with the chainsaw at the end. In the haunted house, there are some scary nurses, doctors, and an overall frightening hospital,” senior Edwin Agosto said. 

“My first time coming was about a week ago. It was pretty good, but it could have been better. We went a little too late, so I am more than confident that after attending tonight, I will be walking out with a better experience, ” senior Antonio Greco said. 

“I really liked how scary the actors were. They were respectful but scary. I was scared to look behind me the whole time,” senior Qi Dang said.  

Happy Halloween!