Lincoln Haunted Basement Puts On One Last Show
Lincoln Haunted Basement Puts On One Last Show
29 October 2014
RENO, Nev. – Lincoln Hall put on its 20th and final “Lincoln Haunted Basement” (LHB) this year on Oct. 27 and 28 at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The residence hall has been around since 1896 and has been putting on the LHB since 1994. It was recently announced that the building will no longer be used as a residence hall because of safety issues and will be turned into offices instead. With this news, the staff that puts on the haunted basement knew they had to do something special.
“We wanted to make sure it was really scary this year to go out with a bang,” said Caroline Hart, student staff advisor of Whipple (White Pine and Lincoln Residence Halls).
The theme of the event this year was “Lincoln Memorial” to commemorate the closing of the dorm. Visitors were led to believe that the haunted basement was cancelled this year and that instead they would be getting one last tour of the building. When stepping off the elevator and into the basement, they found darkness and a confused tour guide as they began to walk through the catacombs.
The “catacombs” were riddled with fear-inducing set-ups: Satanic rituals being performed by monks, a room of mourning where some bodies were alive and moving while others were fake, people screaming as they were dragged across the room, some people were chained to the walls, and at a point in the tour, your guide is “murdered” by the monks.
Patrons paid $2 or donated two non-perishable food items to gain entry All proceeds went to the Evelyn Mount Foundation, a local food bank in Reno. The event was ran by student volunteers and supervised by numerous residence hall staff, including Whipple Resident Director Jonny Grenier.
“I think its a really good experience for the students, they run the show,” Grenier said. “The great thing is that you look at some of these rooms and you see that it’s people who met here last year and have gotten together and decided to do something big this year.”
LHB Staff members have hopes that the tradition will continue in future years, even when the building is no longer being used for student housing.
“We are trying to make it the best one we have ever had in order to make a case for it to come back,” said Alissa Garcia, director of LHB and basement chair this year.
Many LHB staff members agreed that they would like to see the event come back in the near future, and shared the hope that this year’s production will encourage the Residence Hall Association to fund the program again.
“I look forward to it every year,” said Jeremy Luchak, a fourth-year staff member, “I feel like everyone down here wishes this wasn’t the last time. Ever since I started college, it has been the best part of Halloween.”
Before the haunted part of the tour, visitors were given fun facts and a brief history of Lincoln Hall: Lincoln Hall History
Photographer based in Munich, Germany