By Lily Fang, Stentorian Staff Writer
On a chilly fall Saturday night , an anxious kind of air flooded the ground floor of Hill: a hallway that would normally be empty classrooms this time of week and day, now packed with NCSSM students. But on October 18th, the lights went off and the sounds of alien shrieks filled the corridors. Haunted Hill returned; this time with the 2025 theme of Alien Invasion.
A long-standing NCSSM tradition, Haunted Hill is an annual haunted house hosted by Hill dorm each October—transforming the dorm into a maze of chaos, creativity, and jump scares. Each year brings a new theme and a new excuse for Hill residents to spend weeks plotting how best to terrify their classmates. Organized and run by Community Coordinator Kelse McAdon and Hill residents, this year’s event blended sci-fi and horror into an unforgettable experience that drew curious crowds from all across campus.
Visitors, dubbed “lab interns,” were greeted by a “decontamination zone” lined with eerie hand-drawn diagrams of extraterrestrial life. Student scarers—hidden in corners and dressed as greenish-gray aliens—lunged from the shadows as the screams of the “interns” echoed off the walls. One student lay motionless under a white sheet, while someone (or something) skittered after guests on all fours. By the time visitors reached the end of Second Hill, even the bravest were clutching each other, equal parts terrified and hysterical with laughter.
Of course, the chaos didn’t come overnight. To understand how Haunted Hill came together, I spoke with Lucas Liu ‘27, one of the student tour guides who helped put together and run the exhibit. “We started planning a couple weeks ago,” he reflected. “We set up a Google Chat, and started planning what we’re going to do in each of the halls and the layout. After that, we started making decorations.” The theme, he explained, came from First Hill Community Coordinator Kelse McAdon. “Kelse just walked in and said, ‘Okay guys, this is our theme,’ and we just sort of took it and ran with it,” Lucas laughed. Working with a budget of just $300—barely enough for LED lights, tarps, and posters—the Hill team had to get creative. “We’re so broke,” Lucas admitted, grinning. “And LED lights and tarps are expensive.”
By the end of the night, the exhaustion was real, but so was the payoff. “My favorite thing—definitely, definitely—was being a tour guide for everyone”, Lucas said. “I just genuinely loved watching everyone’s reactions, and being able to go through the experience with them.”
Other Hill residents noted how the process brought them together. “It was a good collaboration,” said Yug Patel ‘27. Fellow resident Ayur Anchan ‘27 agreed, recalling the effort that went into the costumes. “I liked watching [another Hill resident] paint his body green,” he joked, grinning at the memory.
Joshua Harvill ‘26 said his favorite part was being in on the action. “I liked walking people around and getting them scared. It was pretty fun,” he said. “I think it was a success. It was a lot better than last year’s, when we were in the Mods, and plus, we got to have a lot more jump scares in random corners.”
But the organizers weren’t the only ones having fun. The “lab interns” themselves (better known as the screaming visitors) had plenty to say about their extraterrestrial encounter.
“I feel like I was expected to be scared, and I was scared,” reflected Lema Tohnya ‘27 with a laugh. “They put effort into it, which is kind of crazy.” Bernadine Dela Peña ‘27 especially enjoyed the creativity of the Hill residents’ costumes. “My favorite thing was all of the Hill guys that were dressed up in alien masks,” she said. “And the funny ones—I liked the alien that was crouched on the sofa.”
Baylee Lin ‘26 appreciated the way Haunted Hill brought everyone closer (literally). “My friends and I all huddled together instead of running away,” she said. “I appreciated that I had someone there for me when I got scared.”
From spotting a guy crouched next to the water fountain to being chased down the hallway by creatures from another planet, Haunted Hill: Alien Invasion turned an ordinary Saturday night into one filled with chaos, laughter, and unforgettable scares. But for NCSSM students, especially Hill residents, the real magic isn’t just in the screams. It’s in the tradition. Every October, Haunted Hill transforms the dorm—or mods—into a campus-wide spectacle, uniting students through creativity, chaos, and just the right amount of fear.
This year’s alien takeover proved when NCSSM students put their heads (and LED lights) together, the results are truly out of this world. Haunted Hill continues to be one of the school’s most beloved traditions: the beating, extraterrestrial heart of NCSSM spirit.
