As the chilly breeze settles in, Halloween approaches and the community yearns for spooky festivities — HVRHS has answered that calling. An event held annually for the past eight years, the HVRHS haunted house has returned.
The event is organized by the current senior and junior year classes — 2026 and 2027 respectively — and held to raise money that goes toward the junior and senior class’s activities such as senior week, prom, the senior class trip, and more.
The haunted house is a significant event for HVRHS students, with the Class of 2026’s Vice President Richie Crane saying it is “actually one of our bigger fundraising events.” The profits raised by the classes are split based on how much either class participates, as Crane explained: “We split evenly between the juniors and the seniors, so if the juniors help as much as the seniors then we split the profit with them.” The profits shared between the classes is typically “a couple thousand dollars,” said Anne MacNeil, HVRHS’s sports director and one of the chaperones at the first haunted house.
In regards to planning such a large event, there are “several meetings that first start off with getting a theme … then finding a leader for each section … and then recruiting the people to participate.” MacNeil said. Costs going into planning the event are minimal, as they try to reuse as much materials as possible. If there are materials that need to be purchased, the cost is covered from the profits made at the end of the event, Crane said.
Working at the HVRHS haunted house provides students with an invaluable experience where they learn leadership skills, organizational skills, and teamwork. During the planning process, some students volunteer for leadership roles, where they are in charge of a designated section of the school and the people within that section. As a section leader, the student is in charge of setting up props, managing their area, and ensuring the people in their section are on task. Leaders dedicate “almost 12 hours of [their] day to a section of Housy” said Crane, giving the students a great opportunity to practice leadership skills.
The HVRHS haunted house is a holiday tradition that brings fun, community, and opportunities to the high school. MacNeil finds it to be “a lot of fun for the students to put on and a great thing for the community to enjoy.” Come support the Class of 2026 and 2027 and see the HVRHS haunted house for yourself on Nov. 1, 2025.
