The haunted house has grown bigger and bigger each year, adding on three rooms from last year and now occupies much of the basement at Mason and Abbot halls, said sanitation worker Jon Wilson, who runs the haunted house.

Although the spookfest is housed in a residence hall, students still found it scary and worth the time.

“I thought it was very good for a residence hall,” graduate student Crystal Alvarez said.
“I thought it was going to be lame at first, but it was actually really cool.”

Wilson said the haunted house concentrates on a lot of different fears, such the dark and ghost stories, to scare the attendees. The haunted house also is an exciting event for the MSU students and faculty behind the masks.

Dressed as a zombie, human biology senior Max Hensel was one of several performers jumping out at visitors.

“I like seeing people when they get scared,” Hensel said. “It’s the one time of year when you’re allowed to scare people.”

Instead of charging people a monetary admission, visitors are asked to bring non-perishable food items to be donated to the The Greater Lansing Food Bank, Wilson said.

“We know there is a shortage of food out there,” Wilson said. “It’s a good way to give back to the community.”

Last year, the haunted house was able to collect about 600 pounds of food and hopes to at least double the amount this time around.

The funding for this event came from Campus Living Services, the Department of Residence Life and donations, as well as Wilson himself.

“You don’t need to go a half an hour away for a good haunted house,” Alvarez said. “So, if you want a really good scare, I would recommend this one.”