ROTC holds annual haunted house fundraiser
Screams echoed through the halls as visitors made their way through dark rooms filled with creepy characters, unexpected noises and frightening surprises. For Army and Air Force ROTC cadets at Troy University, the annual haunted house is more than just a Halloween attraction. It is also an opportunity to raise money for their programs.
The haunted house, which features this year’s theme, “The Freak Show,” brings together cadets from both ROTC programs to create an experience filled with classic horror elements and unexpected scares.
“This is one of our biggest fundraisers that we have,” said Davis Menefee, a senior criminal justice major from Pine Level, Alabama, and Trojan Company commander for Army ROTC. “It’s been running since 2022. This is a collaborative effort between Army and Air Force ROTC cadets.”
This year’s theme incorporates traditional Halloween fears, including clowns, dolls and creepy nuns. The haunted house is divided into multiple sections, with each room offering a different experience for visitors.
Menefee said his section takes visitors through a maze before leading them into a circus-themed area. Cadets use a combination of jump scares, loud noises, music and unexpected movements to keep visitors on edge.
“You’ll expect jump scares, people crawling on the floor, running around, making loud noises, tons of music,” Menefee said. “It’s very disorienting.”
While the attraction is designed to entertain visitors, the money raised serves a larger purpose for the ROTC programs.
“Funds go to our Trojan Cadet Fund,” Menefee said. “This is how we do our JFTX (Joint Field Training Exercise) and gather resources, as well as events like our military ball.”
The fundraiser also requires a significant investment of time and personal resources from the cadets who bring the haunted house to life.
Konnor Havens, a senior Army ROTC cadet studying interdisciplinary studies from Fairbanks, Alaska, said decorations and supplies are purchased through a combination of fundraising money and cadets’ personal contributions.
“All of the plastic and decorations hung are partially bought with the cadet fund that we get through fundraising,” Havens said. “The other half is the cadets personally spending their own money.”
Havens said cadets also reuse decorations and materials from previous years to help keep costs down. However, building the attraction still requires several hours of preparation.
“We spend about eight hours a day for two days building the haunted house and putting everything together,” Havens said.
For some cadets, the work that goes into creating the attraction is just as important as the reactions it gets from visitors.
Key’Von Clack, a junior psychology major from Fort Mitchell, Alabama, attended the haunted house and said the combination of sounds and unexpected scares made the experience memorable.
“I loved it,” Clack said. “The sound of the plastic bags we were stepping onto added with the screaming was my favorite part. I had my eyes closed for a lot of it.”
The haunted house gives cadets from both ROTC programs an opportunity to work together outside their typical training responsibilities while supporting activities and resources for their fellow cadets.
Since beginning in 2022, the event has become one of the programs’ largest fundraising efforts, combining Halloween entertainment with an opportunity to support the ROTC community.
Behind every jump scare, decorated room and scream is a group of cadets working together to make the attraction possible while raising funds for their fellow students.
Comments