The Pemberton Hall Council will host their annual haunted house from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Pemberton Hall.

Admission is $2 per person and all proceeds from the event will be donated to HOPE of East Central Illinois.

Imani Ryan, president of the Pemberton Hall council and junior family and consumer sciences major, said the council chose the theme “Middleton Manor” to make it sound like a family name.

“It’s going to be like a scary family,” she said. “Each character is going to have their own personality and back story, and the haunted house will be set up almost like a house.”

Alana Reinhardt, vice-president of the Pemberton Hall Council and junior public relations major, said there are a solid number of volunteers this year, both from Pemberton Hall and other residences on campus.

“Volunteers can choose their own character and really get into the creativity of creating a back story for themselves,” she said. “That makes it fun, not only for the people walking through but also the people in it who have their own agenda and piece of the story.”

Reinhardt said the experience will be worthwhile because in addition to experiencing the haunted house, the money earned from admission will be donated to HOPE.

“Have a really good time, celebrate Halloween and see the Pemberton basement in a different way,” she said, “but also give back to an organization that does so much for this community. Even if it doesn’t directly affect you, (HOPE) does so much, so to be able to give back to them in a way that also celebrates the reason for the season is great.”

Ryan said Pemberton’s event proceeds are usually donated to HOPE, and “they’ve always been very grateful.”

She said the event is family-friendly, but the storyline will definitely be spooky.

“We are just students, so it’s not like a real professional haunted house,” she said. “It is very family-friendly, and everyone is welcome all over campus and all over Charleston.”

Reinhardt said the hall council is predicting a bigger turnout than usual because volunteer engagement has gone up.

She said typically if there is more volunteer engagement, then people will hopefully invite their friends.

“The flyers were really spooky, too, so I hope that draws more people in,” Reinhardt said.

She said some might even choose to go through more than once to pick up on more things that were not caught the first time around. 

“There will be a lot of little details and there’s a story behind it that is more than just jump scares, screams and scary music,” she said. “You’ll get a personalized experience as you go through.”

Ryan said this event is something the Pemberton Hall Council takes pride in and is always excited about. 

Hannah Shillo can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].