On Halloween night, a large group of people stood in line in the area outside Beard Hall. Despite the cold, they chatted excitedly in anticipation of participating in the “Walk of Courage.”

The event, hosted by Anime Club was advertised as a “haunted walk through the Wheaton Woods.” It involved a 10-minute walk with a flashlight, through a marked area of the woods where costumed actors were present.

President of Anime Club, Sarvani Schaefer ’17, said that this event was intended as a safe and alcohol-free alternative to other Halloween activities. Club Vice President Genevieve Minori ’15 said that this walk started in her sophomore year. 

“At first, we had little exhibitions, then last year we had zombies, this year we have prison break. It gets better every year.” Schaefer added that this theme of prison break came out of pooling ideas with club members and deciding on something that would be “fun and affordable.”

Club Public Relations Officer, Abigail Jackson ’17 said, “Like with planning any major school event, there was fair share of issues with budget and organization.” 

Schaefer added that in terms of budgeting, they went bargain hunting in dollar stores and asked club members for materials, props and costumes that they did not need anymore. She added that they had approximately 300 people who went through the walk.

Schaeffer and Jackson agreed that the success of their event was also due to effective advertisements through the use of social media, fliers and posters. They added that people really came together had fun and put up a great event. 

Club member Stephanie Lowell ’17, who gave out candy and collected flashlights at the end of the event said, “The event turned out really well and that there was more people than I expected, many spoke to the quality of it.”

Claire McIntyre ’17 and Sara Petrangelo ’17 who made sound effects and club member Garrett Teeters ’18 said that scaring people as they were going through and seeing different reactions was a great experience. Schaefer said that there were many screams emanating from the woods resulting in several groups having to leave the course halfway. 

Daniela Johnson ’15 who took the walk said, “The actors did a very good job. We were surprised. It was very inventive and very enjoyable.” 

Schaefer stated that for the coming years, they had good ideas coming out of the planning stages. She said that future walks could have themes such as “Creepy Circus”, using skills of budgeting and planning from this year. Club Member Maggie Mantus ’18 summed up their efforts by saying, “It was fun. I loved hearing their screams.”