Haunted Halls: A Festive New Tradition

Photo+provided+by+Charlie+Stoter

Photo provided by Charlie Stoter

Charlie Stoter, Staff Writer

Friday, October 29th was a normal day at RJ Reynolds High School… or so you thought! The halls were lined with festive Halloween decorations and youthful screams of students. Haunted Halls was making our students’ lunch period a little more lively. 

Photo provided by Charlie Stoter

Haunted Halls created a festive tradition for our school and allowed our students a fun break during their school day on Friday. It was a way to bring the RJR community together for the spooky season. 

“Haunted Halls was a collaboration between a group of students from around RJR that wanted to help make something fun come to RJR,” Haunted Halls student leader Kaneka Robes said. 

The Haunted Halls process was not easy but it sure was worth it. It took many long weeks and meetings to prepare for this special day. The combination of staff and student hard work made Haunted Halls the success that it was.

“It was kind of hard at first getting to understand our positions and what we had to do but it got done,” Robes said. 

Haunted Halls took place on the first floor of the RJR main building. Stationed all around the first floor were three distinct themes and lines of students waiting to see the performance.  

According to Robes, Haunted Halls included a haunted ballroom, circus, and insane asylum.

Our staff and students went all out, creating exquisite makeup and costumes. Preparation consisted of many joyful students doing their makeup and putting their costumes on. A lot of thought went into these spine-chilling looks. 

Photo provided by Charlie Stoter

“The story behind our costumes is kind of cool,” Haunted Halls participant Stanton Brown said. “Some of our costumes show how our characters have died in their previous lives.” 

Not only did the costumes wow the RJR audience, they were carefully planned and related directly to the theme where the students were stationed. 

“The RJR circus students dressed as purge members and clowns, in the insane asylum people wore old hospital gowns and some type of suits,” Robes said. 

Not only was this event fun for the students and staff who put it on, our students who got to walk through the halls also enjoyed this scary, thrilling break from their school day. 

“Haunted Halls was a fun idea, especially to get everyone in the Halloween spirit before the weekend,” Haunted Halls attendee Sophie Stokes said. 

Haunted Halls created a fun and welcoming environment for the students who participated. This was a way to get involved with the RJR community and meet new people. All of this would not have

Photo provided by Charlie Stoter

been possible without the help of Ms. Douglas.

“I think a lot of us made new friends and learned a lot about each other,” Robes said. “Everyone had so much fun and we really hope to continue doing more fun activities at RJR with Ms. Douglas. She is truly a real one and we all love her so much.”

Despite a few kinks in the process, Haunted Halls was a success and a new tradition that will hopefully continue for many Halloweens to come!