The night before Halloween, everything changes.
Red lights flicker in the Allstate Center hallways—abandoned, except for fluttering crime scene tape and bloodied newspapers. The mock courtroom is no longer a courtroom at all, but a pitch-black maze filled with the sounds of insects and the growl of hidden beasts. Palm fronds brush against your face as you inch through the darkness. Can you use a werewolf in here? somebody asks, and the answer is an obvious yes. You can always use a werewolf. Especially on the night before Halloween.
If you walked into the SPC Allstate Center on the evening of October 30th, you might not have recognized it. Transformed into a zombie-themed haunted house, it attracted approximately three hundred guests looking for spooky thrills. Jail cells became holding centers for the “infected,” the courtroom morphed into a zombie-infested jungle maze, and classrooms turned into dressing rooms for the undead. Over fifty volunteers—students, faculty, and staff—collaborated to make it a success.
Kristina Pabon, a student in the Allstate Center’s crime scene program, volunteered as a zombie guide. “I had way too much fun standing [in the maze] being creepy,” she said. “Especially when nobody expected me to be there . . . . I will definitely participate again.”
Dr. Scott Fronrath, the provost of the Allstate Center, knows how to scare visitors senseless. A veteran at creating haunted houses, he understands that fear is about the unknown: hidden dangers that lurk just out of sight and jump out when you least expect it. Lighting is key. In the disorienting clown room, strobe lights shine through bloodied sheets, throwing clown-shadows everywhere, making you unsure where the deranged performers will strike next. “I thought the clown room was the scariest and the most unpredictable,” said Pabon. “Every scare in that room had perfect timing.”
As a College of Public Safety, it was important to make sure the thrills were both scary and safe. For guests who preferred a more relaxed environment, the first floor was an entirely scare-free zone. Downstairs, volunteers handed out twenty-six pounds of candy, while little ones could safely trick-or-treat with a firefighter or police officer.
Guests left the haunted house in the Halloween spirit, with a glimpse of what the Allstate Center’s College of Public Safety can offer them—when it’s not being overrun with volunteer zombies.
By the numbers:
- 50 volunteers worked to make the Haunted House a success
- 300 guests came for the spooky thrills and the safe trick-or-treating with a fire fighter or police officer
- 26 pounds of candy were handed out to visitors