On October 23rd Independence hosted the first fall festival since the pandemic. Student Council, Theater club, and EL students wanted to give an amazing fright night to the community.

At Fright Night there were many attractions. There was dancing, bouncy houses, and the main attraction was the haunted houses. Aubreanna Burns, who played the exorcist in the haunted house, claimed  “it felt like a movie almost with all the flashing lights and screaming, its something I would do a hundred times.”  Mark Pena, the creative director for the haunted house, joyfully said “ my favorite part is always when I run through and tell everyone that the next person is a customer and we are going live”. It was a great night for all. Karissa Hayes, a senior at IHS who experienced the haunted house, shared her thoughts about the night being fun and scary. One moment that really stood out to Hayes was the guy with a chainsaw. When seeing that person she jokingly shared “ [he needs] to go like why am I being chased with a chainsaw”. 

All those who went or worked at the Fall Festival  shared a sense of community. Hayes shares that the thing she’ll most remember from that night was “all the actors who did an incredible job” and how “there was a little baby dressed as Superman who was just jamming out.” Hayes went on to say how her heart warmed up seeing the older kids hype up baby superman. Burns, expressed, “I remember getting ready before and meeting with everyone and my nerves were so high because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Everyone was just so loving and uplifting, I couldn’t have asked for a better team.” 

As the night ended, and everything started slowing down, many felt a sense of gratitude and sadness that the night coming to an end. Burns expressed to her fellow actors how “ this is the last time I’ll be able to stand here as a high school student and feel all I feel right now. So thank you for doing it with me.”  Sarah Farson, the sponsor of the theater club, smilingly said, “Hearing how much people enjoyed the Haunted House always makes everything worthwhile. Knowing it was a fun event for so many people is always so awesome to be a part of.” 

Farson expresses how she was “ proud of the involvement and hard work of the student councils; without them, none of this could be possible… big thanks to Mr. Pena who was the mastermind behind all of this.”  Mr. Peña had the same message of thanks and gratitude for all those who came and participated in the event. It would not have been such a success without the involvement of the entire community. .