Hanging from the 8-foot wall, a mermaid tale, metallic green, shimmers from the dim yellow spotlight overhead. The creature breathes down neck after neck that passes beneath, hanging seaweed brushing on the shoulders of terrified people and the eyes staring with intensity. The shrill of horrified teens in the distance is a sure sign there is terror to come.

Barbie heads hang on the walls of the dollhouse terror room. Bloody clowns pop out in the abandoned circus tent. Mermaids and sea creatures sing in monotone in the underwater room of doom. When it seems like the horror is over, a pitch black room awaits and a group of dead bodies jump down from above, landing only two feet from the victim. As they disappear into the darkness they whisper, “We are always watching.”

The drama department at Middletown High School has once again created one of Middletown High School’s scariest events of the year, Nightmare in the Valley, a student-produced haunted house, held in the school auditorium on the weekends of Oct.18–20 and Oct. 25–27 from 6 to 10 p.m.

MHS junior Molly Spillman said she has had a “really fun experience” producing the haunted house. “I get to meet new people and it is great fellowship after school,” she said.

“It’s my third year participating because it’s just really fun and I enjoy it,” said MHS junior Sarah Houl.

Along with the enjoyment, students said they like to see the expressions on people’s faces when they get scared. “It’s a lot of fun to scare my friends and hear them scream like children,” said MHS senior Alex Sands.

The drama department has put hard work into this thrilling event. Director of Nightmare in the Valley Bill Pressley, a longtime drama booster, said his favorite part in the making of the haunted house is all the students who come together. He said it’s great how so many students can put their creative minds to good use.

Nightmare in the Valley, a 20-room nightmare, will draw in hundreds of people because of the zombies and ghouls that lurk around every corner, scaring not only little kids but teens and their parents, as well.

The stars of the show, the people behind the scenes doing their best to frighten all who dare to enter, encourage students and their families to visit the haunted house. “It’s a great drama booster,” said MHS senior Veronica Clements, “and it is tons of fun to get scared.”