During the month of October, the William A. Irvin is transformed into the Haunted Ship. Tourists young and old go through it to enjoy the thrill of the scare. Student volunteers and paid actors work behind the scenes to make sure each and every guest gets the scare of a lifetime. It’s an experience for both workers and guests, making it a night to remember. 

Before each show, the actors get ready for the experience by getting costumes prepared and put on,  props and decorations set up, and scary faces on for lights out.

 “Lead actors show up about three hours early, and volunteer actors show up two hours early. We have to sign in, put our things in coat check, pick the room we want to be in that day, get our costumes, and wait for makeup,” volunteer scare actor and junior Rae Birch.

Each costume is inspired by specific zones in the ship, each with a different scare level. Some are loud, others are quiet. In addition to the costumes, actors get their makeup done by makeup artists. 

“It’s more the makeup, the makeup artists are amazing! You could show them an inspiration picture and they could do it. The costumes are set per room. If I was in the cabin, they’d give me a flannel, if I was on top of the ship, I’d be wearing a clown costume, because that’s where the clown room is,” senior Hazel Lewis said. 

The Haunted Ship will run its last night of scare on Oct. 31.