On Oct. 23, the University Program Council (UPC) hosted its annual event Haunting on the Plains on the Campus Green. The event offered the large turnout of eager Auburn students the opportunity to get into the Halloween spirit with free food and drinks, music, pumpkin painting, a haunted house, a corn maze and a costume contest.
UPC is a student-run organization that hosts large-scale events to provide an excellent experience for Auburn University students. This year, Haunting on the Plains was no exception.
Students lined up before the event anticipating the spooky activities to come. Once guests signed a short waiver, they were welcomed into the event space to begin the fall fun, which lasted from 7 to 10 p.m.
According to Riley Rogers, UPC director of holidays and traditions, significant work went into planning Haunting on the Plains.
“We started planning this event really hard in August. Before school got out, like April and May last [school] year, we started looking at ideas, but we started reaching out to vendors and confirming everything starting in August for this event,” Rogers said.
Rogers also spoke more generally about what she wanted Auburn students to get out of attending the event.
“I just hope they get to enjoy it," Rogers said. "I love going to haunted houses, but I also know that they are super expensive. This is a free option for people to come, go to a haunted house, get free food, paint pumpkins, and that’s something that a lot of times will cost money."
The event offered catered food from local staples. Attendees were able to choose from multiple flavors of Toomer’s lemonade to accompany food from two downtown Auburn restaurants.
The Irritable Bao provided multiple flavors of bao buns, including meatless options to accommodate those with dietary restrictions, while the bakery, Boulangerie, was responsible for the Halloween-themed desserts, like chocolate-covered Oreos, cookies and cupcakes.
The most anticipated event of the night was the haunted house. Groups of up to four students ready to test their bravery signed up for time slots to go through the haunted house. There was a long line to enter almost as soon as the event opened, and it only grew as screams echoed from the haunted house and groups exited raving about what they saw and experienced inside.
Morgan Smith, freshman in history, had very positive things to say about her experience in the haunted house.
“Honestly, when I first was looking at it from the front, it did not look huge at all, but then you get into it, and there’s like a first half and a second half, and it was so much fun,” Smith said.
According to Smith, the haunted house at the event was up to par with other experiences she has had.
"Honestly, with the haunted house experiences I’ve had, it’s very similar. It’s quick and fast-paced, but you’re also getting good scares, I’m not going to lie. The actors did a phenomenal job,” Smith said.
Smith also sang praises to the production value of the haunted house as a whole.
“I loved it so much," Smith said. "The special effects, amazing. The props, amazing. Kudos to them.”
UPC members who volunteered to be scare actors for the haunted house were transformed into various monsters. The scare actors were given elaborate makeup, props and costumes, blending into the decorations, set dressing and lighting throughout the haunted house.
Rogers described the process of getting scare actors ready for the event.
“All of those actors are actually committee members who have signed up and have agreed to work this whole shift! We got the costumes, we had a makeup artist come out and do makeup on some of them,” Rogers said.
Ellery Fenton, a studio art major at Auburn University with an interest in special effects, was selected to be the makeup artist for the event. She described how pleasant it was to work alongside UPC to prepare the haunted house.
“They provided supplies and everything for me which was great. It was my first like professional makeup thing, so I was really excited,” Fenton stated.
The inflatable corn maze was also furnished with scare actors, evident from the screams emitted from the maze.
Another standout feature of the event was the pumpkin painting. Attendees were able to choose a pumpkin from a line of large bins and were offered a wide array of paint colors to decorate their pumpkin. Students were scattered across the Campus Green hard at work to create their pumpkin masterpieces.
UPC was able to provide large pumpkins for most guests, much to the surprise of attendees, but this did not come without its share of difficulties. Rogers described this as being the only real hurdle when it came to planning Haunting on the Plains.
“The biggest challenge was how we were going to get 500 pumpkins on campus. Pumpkins are not light. You can’t just bring those, but we found a really great vendor, and it worked out great,” Rogers said.
The final activity of the night was the costume contest. Lots of attendees showed up in elaborate costumes, but the contest could only have one winner. The judges had their work cut out for them since contestants clearly put a lot of time and effort into their costumes, makeup, and props. Ultimately, Olivia Walker and Cordie Burt, dressed as princesses, secured the win and the prize that came with it.
The event was considered a massive success, with over 850 guests and glowing reviews from workers and attendees.
UPC assistant director of operations for pop-up events, Jayden McMillian, detailed why he decided to dedicate his night to volunteering for the event.
“I love doing events like this. Seeing everyone come out is so much fun, and just like the welcoming environment – that Auburn love and that Auburn family,” McMillian said. “As long as I’m here, I will be in UPC.”
Another positive reaction to the event came from Madeleine Anderson, freshman in aerospace engineering, who decided to spend her birthday at Haunting on the Plains painting pumpkins with friends.
“This is hands down the best event. It just gets everyone in the mood for fall, and you have a little bit for everybody, whether it’s the scary Halloween part or the creative [part],” Anderson said.
Students who were inspired by Haunting on the Plains and are now interested in becoming a member of UPC have the opportunity to apply each semester, with the next round of applications opening in January 2026.
Students who missed Haunting on the Plains, as well as students who attended and want to see more from UPC, are in luck since the holidays and traditions committee has already started planning its events for the winter season.
On Nov. 30, UPC will host its annual Holiday Lighting event. Festivities will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Samford Lawn. UPC will also have a winter wonderland event sometime in January 2026.
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