As trees start to change colors and winds start to pick up, NCC students are ready for fall. Between enjoying pumpkin spice lattes, watching football and celebrating the Halloween season looking to get spooked, there’s no denying NCC is shifting away from the warm weather.
A cult holiday that is celebrated in many different ways, NCC students have the opportunity to go visit the infamous Statesville Haunted Prison on Thursday, October 28 through a trip sponsored by the Office of Student Involvement and the White Activities Center. The cost is $15, which covers a bus trip and ticket to the haunted prison. An NCC Student ID guarantees two tickets.
Statesville shutting down
This year, the site is considered to be one of the scariest haunted house attractions in all of Illinois with a “4.5 pumpkins out of 5” according to the website, Illinois Haunted Houses. However, Statesville announced at the start of the Halloween season that this year would be its last. After 25 years of scaring those who dare enter the prison, the company’s executives decided that it was time to cease operations.
“After 25 years, we feel that it is time for a new generation of haunted houses in the area to carry on the traditions that we’ve begun through Statesville,” said Heather Willet, head of Statesville’s public relations department. “We want to continue to focus on our family-friendly activities at The Barn at Cottonwood Farm.”
Statesville is also announcing it will be bringing back all of the infamous characters it has produced over the years.
“Visitors will encounter more than 100 convicts from the infamous Fluffy, the psych patient who murdered seven, to the Warden, also known as The Dark One,” said Willet. “Statesville Haunted Prison will deliver its final chaotically haunted experience where characters will come out in full force with aggressive believability, movie-like costumes and makeup, and cutting-edge effects that suspend reality.”
Since the trip falls on a weekday, a few NCC students can’t make the sponsored trip because they are tied down to prior commitments. They still plan on making the trip to Statesville for one last scare.
“I’ve got plans, but I made sure to schedule a trip to the prison next week,” said Talia Torosian ‘24.
“I’m unavailable that Thursday, but I’m gonna try to go to Statesville at some point soon,” said Jesse Hudgins ‘24.
Naperville’s other houses
If students find themselves unavailable to go to Statesville, the Naperville area offers plenty of alternative haunted houses. Based on Illinois Haunted Houses’s pumpkin ratings, HellsGate Haunted House, Hayride of Horror and Curse of the Bayou are three other sites that received a grade equal to Statesville. Each of those sites are in Lockport, just 20 minutes south of campus. Aurora is home to Basement of the Dead, also boasting a 4.5/5 pumpkin rating. Disturbia Haunted House, located in Downers Grove, has the same rating.
“I love having the options,” said Hudgins. “I’m going to see a few of the nearby sites. Halloween celebrations need to happen.”
Hauntings on-campus
Students obsessed with spooks don’t even have to go beyond the limits of campus to seek out haunted houses. There are several reports of Pfeiffer Hall, the concert hall on the north end of campus, being haunted by “Charlie Yellow Boots” and “The Lady in White”, among many others.
According to a historical blog post about campus, Charlie is rumored to be an old janitor of the hall, while the lady is supposedly Miss Anna Pates of Oak Park. People have seen the lady applauding from her seat during shows.
Reportedly, some houses on-campus are haunted, along with Pfeiffer. Since 1830, many claims of murders in these houses have been certified.
Despite all the rumored hauntings, people still use Pfeiffer Hall daily for rehearsals and classes.
“When I rehearsed in there, practice rooms would just lock by themselves,” said Zach Belles ‘23. “I walked downstairs, I saw a shadow by the stairs leading to the exit and bolted the other way. It could’ve been a person, but I definitely wasn’t about to find out.”
The aura of the building definitely feels as if there is a ghost or two haunting the halls.
“The stories help create a very spooky atmosphere in there,” said Hudgins.
“My friends and I noticed lights starting to flicker on and off, so we switched rooms,” said Torosian. “Then, a few minutes later, the lights in the room we had moved to had started to flicker.”
Statesville can spook NCC students one last time, and the Naperville area can present a handful of other highly-rated sites. They don’t need to look far for a scare. Walking into Pfeiffer might turn into a visit by Charlie or The Lady in White.
“I haven’t had an experience yet, but I’m waiting for the day to come,” said Hudgins.
