Screams echoed through the halls, bloodied nurses roamed the rooms and patients who should have been resting peacefully seemed to have other plans.
Fortunately, the only real emergency was deciding whether to scream or laugh.
The fourth annual Haunted Hospital brought plenty of both to the Katz Family Simulation Center on Oct. 24, drawing more than 300 attendees and raising around $2,000—the event’s largest turnout yet.
Hosted by the Respiratory Therapy Club with help from simulation center staff, the event transformed the typically clinical environment into a haunted attraction just one day before the start of Respiratory Care Week.
For one afternoon, the center’s familiar medical setting became something straight out of a horror movie. First- and second-year respiratory therapy students worked alongside staff to bring the hospital to life—or, perhaps more accurately, bring it back from the dead.
An intensive care unit was transformed into a morgue, with tables displayed specimen jars and fake organs. Bloodied patients and nurses lurked throughout the hospital, with some actors taking their scares a step further by chasing unsuspecting guests.
“I really like setting it up and seeing a regular old Sim Center get decorated, and not look like a Sim Center anymore,” said Jordyn Sorenson, a second-year respiratory therapy student. “It’s crazy how much it changes in just one day.”
And while the organs looked unsettling, they weren’t exactly dangerous.
“We had fake organs that were spaghetti boiled in food coloring and someone actually tried them,” Maggie Thompson, a simulation technician and graduate of the respiratory therapy program, said. “I was like, ‘you don’t have to.’ And he’s like, ‘I want to.’ It was really funny. I couldn’t believe it.”
According to Liliana Hoffnagle, respiratory therapy program director and club adviser, much of the event’s creativity comes directly from the students.
“We always try to change it up a little bit and kind of go with whatever the students are thinking,” Hoffnagle said. “Sometimes we may have an idea, but when we’re setting up, they change it up to something completely different for a vision that they have and we just kind of go with what they do.”
The hospital wasn’t all screams and scares, however.
For those with less of an appetite for terror, the event offered a sensory-friendly experience from 3:30-4 p.m., allowing younger children and easily frightened visitors to explore without the usual scares. The hospital unleashed its full assortments of frights during general admission from 4-7 p.m.
Kid-friendly activities were also available in the nearby paramedic classroom. Popcorn, gummy eyeballs and goodie bags added a few treats to the tricks.
Admission cost $6, with proceeds helping cover additional expenses associated with the respiratory therapy program.
For Thompson, who has participated in every Haunted Hospital since its beginning, the event is about more than just frightening visitors.
“I hope people go home with lots of fun memories and stories to talk about,” Thompson said. “I hope that they just have a lot of fun while they’re here, that they get a little scared, and that they just have memories to enjoy forever.”
With record attendance, plenty of laughter and more than a few screams, this year’s Haunted Hospital gave visitors something to remember. After all, how often can someone say they visited a morgue, got chased through a hospital and watched someone eat a fake organ—all in one afternoon?
Categories: Art & Life
