Local Halloween-themed entertainment options available for students

With Halloween right around the corner, many students are trying to find ways to celebrate the holiday. Many watch horror movies throughout October, but some go to haunted houses and corn mazes to immerse themselves in the horror.

Fraternity and sorority haunted house

Lambda Chi Alpha has hosted a haunted house for more than 50 years, said Jayce Jerome, the philanthropy chair for the fraternity.

“This year will be based on famous horror movies, with each room having a different theme,” Jerome said. The movies include “Saw,” “The Conjuring” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” among others.

Jerome said he hopes the event will revitalize the half-century tradition.

“We have put more than $1,200 into the event, and we will be going all-out,” he said.

The fraternity is raising money for Feeding America, which provides food for those who are food-insecure.

This year, Lambda is teaming up with the Pi Beta Phi sorority to bring a more immersive experience.

Shaniah Koops, the vice president of philanthropy for the sorority, is heading up Pi Beta Phi’s side of the collaboration.

“We are raising money for Read, Lead, Achieve; which raises money to provide books to children,” Koops said.

The two Greek chapters will split the money raised during the event.

“All students and staff are invited to the haunted house, as well as members of the Vermillion community,” Koops said.

Koops encourages parents to bring their children to the house, as well.

“We can tone down the action for the children, who will have just as much fun as the grown-ups,” she said.

The haunted house will be open Oct. 26 and 27 from 7-9 p.m. The fraternity will be tabling in the MUC, selling tickets for $5 all week.

Corn maze and pumpkin picking

Sam Ufford owns a 400-acre farm just east of town that sells pumpkins and hosts a haunted corn maze every year.

“There isn’t much to do in town and my wife and I wanted to offer people something to do,” Ufford said.

The month has been busy for the farm.

“Over 1,000 people have visited and we’re still going,” Ufford said. “We hope we can get 600 or 700 more people.”

The corn maze is a half-mile long, Ufford said.

“Some people say it’s hard to find your way out, some people say it’s easy,” Ufford said. “It all depends on the choices you make and your awareness. A customer might make all the right decisions and be out relatively fast, but some don’t and spend quite a while in there.”

The corn maze costs about $900 to maintain.

“We hope to break even every year,” Ufford said. “Some hooligans run out into the corn field, which destroys some of the plants. Usually the customers are good and have a fun time. It’s worth it for them.”

Ufford said he hopes to add more attractions in the coming years, including pumpkin-throwing and trebuchets to launch pumpkins.

Corn maze-goers can find the farm by heading east on Main Street, just outside of town. Prices are $3 during the day and $5 at night. The haunted corn maze opens at 9 a.m. and the last ticket is sold at 11 a.m.

Heikes farm

The Heikes farm off Highway 50 north of town sells pumpkins during October. Sam Heikes runs the Community Support Agriculture (CSA) farm.

“We’ve sold most of our pumpkins for the season,” Heikes said.

While he said he likes selling pumpkins for families to carve, he stresses the importance of knowing how food is grown and how to eat it.

“It’s great to sell these pumpkins, but there is so much more to pumpkins than just carving them,” Heikes said. “You can cook them so many ways: cake, pie, muffins and so on.”

All the food the farm grows is organic, including the pumpkins and squash popular during the fall.

Heikes said he hopes the people of Vermillion continue their support of CSAs.

“I can’t stress it enough, you are what you eat,” he said. “If you eat organic, healthy foods, you will be healthy. And that’s just what we offer.”