Truman State University organizations have gotten into the Halloween spirit, with some groups hosting Halloween-related events.
Of these events, some are planned by students, while others are planned by the city of Kirksville.
Sigma Alpha co-chair. The University’s professional agricultural sorority Sigma Alpha is hosting their annual Haunted Corn Maze, co-chaired by seniors Mollie Mansfield and Ellie Wright. The corn maze will be held at the University Farm Oct. 28 from 7-10 p.m., Oct. 29 from 8 p.m.-midnight and Oct. 30 from 8 p.m.-midnight.
For Mansfield, this is her third year participating in the Haunted Corn Maze. Mansfield said the event has been an annual tradition for as long as she has been a member.
Planning for the event began as far back as February. Mansfield said this is when the two co-chairs in charge of the event were selected. Over 30 people help work the event. Mansfield said this includes Sigma Alpha members and Alpha Gamma Rho members.
This is Mansfield’s first time planning the Haunted Corn Maze, and she said it has been a fun and fulfilling experience.
“I really love planning for events, and I really like getting to know all the girls in the sorority and I just really love Halloween,” Mansfield said.
Mansfield said the theme for this year’s Corn Maze is “Stephen’s Nightmare.” It is based on the work of horror author Stephen King. The Corn Maze is split into each section, with each being based on a different King novel. “Misery,” “Children of the Corn” and “Pet Sematary” were the works selected for the event.
Mansfield said the most difficult aspect of planning the Haunted Corn Maze is assigning positions to the members. The positions are the job that each member has, including running a section inside the Maze and taking tickets outside the Maze.
“This year we tried to put an executive member in each of the positions, just to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Every one of the executive members has been through the Corn Maze before so they know what to expect,” Mansfield said.
Alpha Phi Omega is planning another Halloween-related event. They are hosting an escape room in Violette Hall. Participants will have 30 minutes to solve puzzles and escape the room.
To participate in the escape room, students must sign up in advance online. The event can be attempted solo, or with groups of up to six members. APO hosted the event Oct. 20-22 and resumed Oct. 27-29.
Sarah White and Brielle Navara, Alpha Phi Omega fundraising co-chairs, planned the escape room. They originally thought of doing a haunted house but changed their plans to an escape room. Navara said it was not very difficult, but it was still not easy.
“There are certain things that you have to think of what you’re about to do, and you also have to think as a participant. What would you be looking for, what would you think would be cool, stuff like that,” White said.
During the planning process, White and Navara had some friends test the clues to ensure it was solvable. White said their test run was solved correctly in about 28 minutes.
“We reserved the room about three weeks in advance, so we would know what kind of room we were working with,” Navara said. “After we actually got room confirmation, that’s when we started planning where each thing would be.”
White said her favorite part of planning the event was hearing people talk about the clues and try to solve them. Navara said her favorite part was planning the room and coming up with the clues.
White said hosting an escape room is a good fundraising opportunity that she thinks more organizations should consider hosting.
“If you want to do this as a fundraiser, it’s really fun and a fun way to get to know who you’re working with. It is a challenge, but the rewards are satisfying,” White said.