Carrillo’s haunted house returns with a twisted take on a classic story

Poster advertising the MCHS haunted house (Courtesy of Denise Elia-Yen)

By Lucas Trudeau, Staff Writer

As the bright, sunny skies of summer vacation slowly drift away and get replaced by the eerie chill of an autumn breeze, Halloween is right around the corner. Maria Carrillo High School’s drama department is hard at work, keeping alive the tradition of transforming the theatre into a truly spine-chilling showcase of spooks and spirits. Under the direction of theater and film teacher Denise Elia-Yen, the school’s annual Haunted House returns once again, this time with a darker, more twisted take on the story Alice in Wonderland, promising an enticing experience full of bizarre exhibitions, haunting undertones, and plenty of good old-fashioned frights.

The tradition of a Haunted House at Carrillo started in October 2018, with an ardent pirate-themed production that included various aspects such as a scary maze, escape room, and improvisation. “There were some great jump scares, a game of liar’s dice with the ship’s Captain, pirate skeleton costumes– and theatre students even built a ship on stage!” Elia-Yen recalled.

Every year since then, the production continues to grow in refinement and elegance combining acting, set design, technical theatre, and storytelling in a way that few other high schools can match.

The idea to start a Haunted House traces back to Elia-Yen’s college experience in Niagara Falls, Ontario. “There’s an attraction there called Nightmares Fear Factory. The only direction is to enter a dark, empty room and ‘follow the red lights’. It was terrifying and funny to walk through with friends,” she explained.

Many years later, after moving to Santa Rosa, she and her friends started building miniature haunted houses in her own yard every Halloween. “Neighborhood families would line up just to trick-or-treat at our house,” she said. “At Carrillo, I realized this was the perfect way to merge actors and tech theatre on a large scale.”

Poster for the MCHS haunted house, with times specifically for children (Courtesy of Denise Elia-Yen)

Every year, Elia-Yen draws inspiration for her Haunted Houses from the talents and interests of the students involved, but sometimes, creativity can strike in some strange places. This summer, while preparing to sell her childhood home in New York, Elia-Yen found herself drawn into the weird and uncanny world of a certain 1865 novel by Lewis Carroll. One that, upon its publication, would revolutionize storytelling and inspire hundreds of generations to come – Alice in Wonderland.

“As the house transitioned from the familiar to the refreshed for potential buyers, I found myself referencing Alice in Wonderland, stepping into another world,” she said. “It explores duality, loss of identity, and being trapped. Warped color, geometric shapes, and puppetry combine Mary Blair, German Expressionism, and Jim Henson vibes. It’s creepy, artistic, and full of jumpscares.”

The Haunted House will be open to both Carrillo students and the public alike from October 30 to October 31, for those wanting to spend their Halloween searching for a no-holds-barred, scary experience. But younger kids and families won’t be left out either.

On October 29, the team will also be hosting a special Trick-or-Treat Trail, a kid-friendly version of the Haunted House experience. “We put away all the fake blood and gore, keep the charm and gentleness, and hand out candy,” Elia-Yen explains. “It’s a very sweet event that day!”

But while the production value continues to expand every year, Elia-Yen goes on record saying that the hardest aspect of this holiday spectacle isn’t the props or the planning– it’s getting students to believe in themselves. “Teaching students to run with an idea before they knock it down, to believe their haunt will be scary, that’s the challenge. I believe in them. They just need to believe in themselves.”

Thanks to her unwavering leadership and the passion of the people involved, Maria Carrillo’s Haunted House has transformed into something much greater than a simple school event – it’s a community tradition and an outlet for creativity.

Whether you have the courage to follow the red lights through a haunted rabbit hole, or just want to collect some candy with your little ones, this year’s event promises plenty of thrills, chills, and maniacal spills to create some unforgettable memories.

Nightmare in Wonderland will be on October 30 and October 31. Be there or be square for a Halloween scare.