The OU Engineers’ Club is bringing Halloween underground this month and marking 10 years since the creation of the Tunnels of Terror, a student-run haunted house beneath OU’s Engineering Quad.
According to Engineers’ Club President Matthew Gonzales, the event has changed since its inception.
“Tunnels of Terror has been an event that started back in the early 2010s, so it's been going on for at least 10 years,” Gonzales said. “We used to do a murder mystery party night for a Halloween celebration, and that kind of expanded into ‘Well, what if we did a haunted house under the engineering buildings?’”
This year’s haunted tunnels feature 20 student organizations in addition to the Engineers’ Club, the most in the event’s history, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Cybersecurity Club and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. The organizations have joined forces to create four themed sections that will remain a secret until opening night.
Each section is led by a student who coordinates the design, effects and volunteers. This year’s tunnel leads are Hannah Seyoum, Mecca Fisher, Edward Wages, Sam Miranda and Faith Morrison — each a leader within Engineers’ Club or the broader engineering community.
One tunnel, co-led by Fisher, who also serves as the fundraising coordinator for the Engineers’ Club, will be inspired by the movie “The Purge.” While he said details of the tunnel are a secret, visitors should expect plenty of masks and some jump scares.
Seyoum, a junior in chemical engineering and the club’s secretary, said the event works because of the collaboration between student organizations.
“Each tunnel, there's about five different orgs working with each one, …” Seyoum said. “It’s just nice collaborating. We have org reps from all of these different engineering orgs, and we plan with them — we set aside a budget, we decide what materials we want and then we start issuing out sign-ups for volunteers to become scarers.”
Seyoum was a tunnel co-lead last year and said the experience motivated her to return.
“I just love E-Club so much, and it was really fun, …” Seyoum said. “This year I wanted to really lead it on my own and even make it even better.”
Gonzales said the haunted attraction brings in hundreds of visitors each year and highlights student creativity.
“How many haunted houses have you been to that are completely run by engineers?” Gonzales said.
Eleanor Rouswell, the Engineers’ Club events coordinator, said the people running tunnels are very passionate about the event and are excited to see the turn out.
“Just go in with the spirit of Halloween in their heart, go and expect to have a good time,” Rouswell said. “We are students. It's not going to be like the end all, be all of haunted houses, but we try to make it as cool as possible with the restraints we're working with. So just going in knowing that everyone's passionate about what they're doing and excited to be there.”
Despite its engineering roots, the club emphasizes that Tunnels of Terror is open to all OU students and Norman community members.
“We want to reiterate that this is open to all OU students, …” Seyoum said. “We want everybody to come check out the engineering buildings and see what Tunnels of Terror is all about.”
As the event’s 10th anniversary approaches, Seyoum said the milestone comes with high expectations.
“I think that's the fun of Tunnels of Terror,” Seyoum said. “I’ve got to keep it secret, but just know that 10 years means you’ve got to celebrate. So it's got to be bigger and better.”
In previous years, the event has drawn between 800-1,000 attendees. With the largest number of collaborators to date, organizers hope this year’s turnout will be the biggest yet.
Tunnels of Terror will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 28 in the tunnels beneath the Engineering Quad. The line begins at Carson Engineering Center, with signs posted throughout the quad to direct attendees. Admission is free and open to the public.
Student organizations partnering with OU Engineers’ Club:
Parker Newman and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
