Care for a scare? Halloween Haunts on campus

By Syed Ebrahim Al-idrus

The Art, Design and Media School (ADM) throws an annual Halloween celebration for its students to come together over spooky Halloween-themed games and photobooths. PHOTO: ADM STUDENT CLUB

Come 31 Oct, streets in America will be transformed into rows of haunted houses in celebration of Halloween, traditionally known as the time of the year to remember the dead. Children don their favourite costumes as they race door to door for their annual trick-or-treating.

Though the culture of celebrating Halloween is less elaborate here, it has become increasingly popular over the past few years.

Pop-up events such as the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Singapore and Safari Boo at the Singapore Zoo have become popular among young Singaporeans, giving them goosebumps and the dose of terror they seek.

As the spooky date draws close, some schools in NTU have adapted the festival and are using it for their upcoming social events, looking to shock students with crazy costume parties and scary escape rooms.

School of Art, Design and Media (ADM)

For the art students, Halloween is one of the biggest celebrations of the year.

Two years ago, rows of booths were lined at the school’s rooftop, where students played Halloween-themed games such as Pumpkin Toss — throwing balls into cardboard pumpkins of assorted sizes — while indulging in candy treats.

Last year, students danced to live music through the night in the school basement, which was transformed into an underground cave with intricate decoration that includes skeleton mannequins, toy bats and other creepy-crawlies hanging from corridor to corridor.

We are not going to spoil the surprise for you but the ADM Student Club promises that the celebration this year will be even bigger and spookier.

Besides seeing students dressed in their fanciest costumes and strutting down the school’s atrium, you can also expect a performance by the ADM Music District group, comprising the school’s best singers and musicians, which is set to impress the crowd with its 90-minute performance.

Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI)

Apart from the Halloween-themed desserts table last year that kept the communication students occupied all night (think of the pumpkin cream-frosted cupcakes and eyeball cookies), the Halloween party in WKWSCI also gave students a chance to put their creativity to the test with its best dressed competition.

Come this October, the organisers will be holding yet another round of the competition as part of its costume party.

Students went out of their way last year, coming to school dressed to impress in crazy costumes, such as a bunch of grapes and comic book character Harley Quinn.

School of Physical Mathematics and Science (SPMS)

Ever wished you could enter one of the haunted houses featured in Ellen DeGeneres’ Youtube videos?
Well, the Scare Trail organised by the SPMS Club is the one to die for.

Decorating the mundane tutorial rooms with cobwebs, jack-o-lanterns and fake ghouls to look like nightmarish haunted houses, you will never know what might pop out during the trail to bring you an unforgettable nerve-wracking experience.

Doing away with the usual tricking, students can look forward to being stuffed with Halloween candy treats during the celebration. They can also participate in a lucky draw with attractive prizes, such as vouchers from CapitaLand Malls, up for grabs.

Nanyang Business School (NBS)

Business students, be prepared to face your deepest fears of a zombie apocalypse.
This Halloween, NBS will be decorating the school to mirror the recent Korean thriller Train To Busan.

Terrified yet?

Scares aside, the Halloween celebration this year will also serve to usher students back to school after the week-long recess break.

The school’s Accountancy and Business Club, which will be organising the celebration, shared that in line with its theme, students will be given a ticket stub each, where they can pen words of encouragement to spur their fellow schoolmates on as they study for the upcoming examinations.

These messages will then be pinned up on notice boards, which will be set up at several common study areas around the school.

Snacks will also be placed around the school, so grab some if you’re dropping by.

School of Biological Sciences (SBS)

If you’re an adrenaline junkie or analytical thinker, Halloween Night: SBS Escape! Room is the place for you.

Similar to their celebrations last year, the escape room will be designed with horror elements, where students will race against time to escape a locked room.

In their quest to escape, they will have to solve challenging and fun puzzles while tackling daunting scares from the props and their fellow schoolmates.

Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of math or puzzles, the BS Club also promises a sumptuous buffet feast and some sweet treats for all students to snack on during the highly anticipated celebration.