Wilkes Student Government took students on a spooky trip to Eastern State Penitentiary recently, offering an educational and haunting experience.
Student Government vice president Riley Knaub came up with the trip idea and wanted to try something different this year to celebrate the Halloween season with Wilkes students.
“I just wanted to switch it up and since I’ve never been here before, I figured it would be a new experience for everyone,” Knaub said.
After signing up and paying a $20 fee, students braced themselves for the horror that awaited them upon the penitentiary gates.
At the start of the event, guests were welcomed and encouraged to wear a glow-in-the-dark necklace provided by the penitentiary. This necklace would allow the scare actors to touch you and pull you away from the rest of your group.
The event was broken up into four acts. The first act began with four haunted maze attractions- Nightmares, Big Top Terror, the Machine Shop and a brand-new house, Dark Tides. Dark Tides featured scare actors as sea monsters.
The second act was a breather after the intensity of the starting houses. This section also offered the more historical side of the penitentiary as guests were offered to take a flashlight tour through the hospital wing for an additional $13.
Other free historical attractions were provided, including a historical tour about the evolution of prisons in America and an audio tour of the penitentiary’s history.
There was also a Korean food vendor and beer garden for those who preferred to take a load off and enjoy some local Philly food and beverages.
The third act brought back the terror with an outdoor maze called the Apocalypse Pass. This maze was a hodgepodge of terrifying sets and characters, including a zombified ice cream man.
After the maze was Pumpkin Plaza, an outdoor club area where visitors could dance along with scare actors or traverse through the Kaleidoscope Hall and watch as a neon-laser silhouette dances along the penitentiary walls.
Finally, act four introduced the Crypt. This maze was darker and tighter than the others, with scare actors jumping out of crawlspaces to try and get a scream. This maze leads to a gift shop and a VIP only section, which was a speakeasy inspired by Al Capone. According to Eastern State’s website, Capone was imprisoned for the first time ever at the penitentiary.
“I love getting spooked,” said Becca Earnst. “It’s so much fun. My favorite was definitely the big top. Circus-themed houses are usually my favorite.”
