STARKVILLE – Cobwebs, fake blood and skeletons will decorate the theater at Mississippi State University’s McComas Hall for a haunted house from Thursday to Saturday.
This will be the second year Theatre MSU has hosted the free event.
Kiki Efantis, president of Alpha Psi Omega, a theater honors society, said the event will be a typical haunted house walk through, complete with costumed actors, flashing lights and spooky decorations.
In lieu of entry tickets, Theatre MSU is asking attendees to bring donations for Starkville Strong, including canned goods, hygiene products and monetary donations. Efantis said part of APO’s mission is to give back to the community through large-scale events.
“Last year we partnered with the Humane Society, and this year it was a part of my mission as president to just really be more humanitarian-focused and to focus on local Starkville people,” she said. “Starkville Strong also just does such great work. They partner with not only families in Starkville from all different sorts of backgrounds and situations, but families also just from all over the area.”
Starkville Strong Executive Director Brandi Herrington said residents are in need of canned vegetables, fruit and meat. She said they’ve received a “record number” of food requests from residents in recent months.
“The requests come in with others like they’re behind on their rent or … their light bill, but we’ve had a ton of people just calling and asking for food,” Herrington said. “That is a stark indication that the need has become greater.”
Herrington said the fundraiser is just another way for people to care for their neighbors. About a third of the donations will go toward homeless people in Starkville, while the rest go to housed residents in need.
“Every bit of things that we’re able to provide, that’s more money in thor pocket to spend on essentials like rent and lights and maybe car payments,” Herrington said. “… Those are now things our clients don’t have to buy, and that means they have more resources to disperse where needed.”
Last year, Efantis said the attraction brought in more than 100 attendees. This year, she hopes to see “as many as possible.”
“It’s going to be lots of fun,” she said. “A lot of really hard work and passion have gone into every aspect from the scarers themselves to the technical elements. It’s going to be a great way to gear up for Halloween.”
The haunted house will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, and will run from 7 to 9 p.m. on Halloween.
In conjunction with the haunted house, Theatre MSU will also perform “Night of the Living Dead Live,” a comedic retelling of the cult classic, in McComas Hall. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, with a midnight showing on Halloween. A 2 p.m. matinee will also be held Nov. 2.
Tickets for “Night of the Living Dead Live” showing are $10 and are available on MSU website. Proceeds from the showings will not go toward Starkville Strong.
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