As junior Elsie Spomer walked behind the stage of the PHS auditorium, she looked up from her phone and saw a disfigured face looking back at her. Spomer could see the flesh peeling off this unidentifiable figure and instantly regretted being late to theater practice. 

Fear not, it was only a fellow classmate that had been transformed by junior Jenna Merritt for the 2019 PHS Haunted House. While this specific story is fictional, the realism of Merritt’s make-up effects for the Powell Haunted House are not.

“From the picture I saw of Jenna’s make-up, I’m really excited for this year,” senior Ashlyn Aguirre said. “She did an amazing job. I think she definitely will enhance the spook factor and realism for the haunted house.” 

A haunted house is a classic Halloween activity that is a fun time for both the person being scared and the performers. And Powell has its very own at the Park County Fairgrounds every year.

“The theme this year matches the play which is The Night of the Living Dead,” and it’s going to be a lot of zombies,” Mr. Bob Hunt said, a coordinator for the haunted house. “It’s going to be the weekend before Halloween and then Halloween itself.”

Merritt elaborated on what struck her interest in doing special effects and her previous experience.

“I started doing special effects make-up during the spring of my freshman year (2018),” Merritt said. “I saw some pictures and simple tutorials online and just tried it one day. I really enjoyed it and continued mostly figuring things out on my own or using video references.”

While participation in the haunted house is open to all students, Mr. Hunt said 4-H plays a key role.

“Historically it has been done by the 4-H program and we were invited to help with it. As the years there started to be more theater kids and less 4-H kids. But still it’s actually both groups that are putting on the haunted house,” Mr. Hunt said. “But it’s really Christi Greaham and Jeff Greaham who have been in charge.” 

While most make-up just requires basic things, Merritt’s special effects make-up requires much more effort and materials. 

“I try to start with an idea of what I want the zombie to look like. Once that is figured out, I use liquid latex to outline the injury before layering pieces of cotton on top. Then I put more latex over the cotton. Once it’s dry I paint it with face paint,” Merritt said. “I thought (the haunted house) would be a great opportunity to practice, as this is something that I am considering as a career.”

The haunted house isn’t just fun for the people who attend, it is attested to be fun for the performers as well.

“This year is my third year participating in the haunted house,” Aguirre said. “My favorite part of the haunted house is the attitude of everyone involved. Everyone gets so excited before hand and it’s really fun to make people scream.”