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Joliet Catholic school to host haunted house Friday and Saturday

Families can choose their ‘level of scare’ before they begin

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
About 150 come out for the haunted school, Novotny said. Actors include current and former students, staff and parents, she added. The event raises about $300 to $500, “which is a big help for us,” Novotny said. So Novotny doesn’t believe hosting a haunted house glorifies the demonic? Students from Saint Joseph Academy wear masks and halloween costumes Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, while preparing for the school's sixth annual haunted school fundraiser in Joliet, Ill.

St. Joseph Academy in Joliet will host its Halloween Haunted School fundraiser on Friday and Saturday at the St. John the Baptist Resource Center in Joliet. (Eric Ginnard)

On Thursday night, staff and students at St. Joseph Academy in Joliet will cover all the walls in black tablecloths.

And then they will transform their school into a haunted school – again.

This year’s Halloween Haunted School will take place Friday and Saturday. Jan Novotny, head of the school, said St. Joseph Academy has hosted the haunted event for about 10 years as a fundraiser for the independent school.

“The emphasis is on the fun,” Novotny said. “It makes a few bucks for the school, which always helps. We have tuition, a few donations and fundraisers; that’s how we support the school. We’re not supported with money from the state or any church. We’re hosted by St. John the Baptist, but we pay rent for our facility. So to support our school, we have to be creative.”

Novotny said staff, students and alumni created the haunted school as a safe Halloween event for families, so the haunted school is quietly scary.

For instance, when people walk down the hallways, they might run into a “spider web” or two, she said.

“We don’t have devils and things like that,” Novotny said. “We have friendly ghosts and fun kinds of spooky things. It’s just a way to bring people out and have fun. And most of our people do.”

Novotny said a guide holding a lantern will greet families when they enter the dark school. That’s when they choose their preferred “level of scare” for the tour: lights on for the youngest children or a modified scary for young students.

Teens typically want “scary,” Novotny said.

“When teens come out, we give them the whole treatment,” Novotny said.

That’s not to say some people won’t actually get scared. One teen ran out the door last year so fast that she forgot her purse, Novotny said. The purse had no identification, so Novotny said she has it in safekeeping in case the teen ever returns.

“Compared to HellsGate [in Lockport] and others like that, we’re small,” Novotny said. “But it’s the spirit of the event that scares people.”

We don’t have devils and things like that. We have friendly ghosts and fun kinds of spooky things. It’s just a way to bring people out and have fun. And most of our people do.”

—  Jan Novotny, head of school, St. Joseph Academy in Joliet

Novotny said the classrooms are blocked off to minimize disruptions to the academics. The scary scenes in each room actually take place in a 10-foot square area beyond the door, she said. Favorite recurring scenes include a haunted school library and a scary doll room, she said.

“The doll room is watched over by a little girl in ghostly attire, rocking the dolls,” Novotny said.

Benefits of haunted houses for kids

Novotny said hosting the Halloween Haunted School gives St. Joseph Academy students good theater experience. They learn about building sets, designing costumes and creating a haunted character through acting, not jump scares, she said.

“People might be standing quietly there and step out and stare at you with a ghoulish-looking stare,” Novotny said.

Some students working the haunted school are alumni who return each year “because they had so much fun when they were at the school,” Novotny said.

Other students are theater majors who also will act in the Festival of Gnomes on Dec. 2 and 3 at the Billie Limacher Park Theatre in Joliet.

Current students enjoy using their imaginations, Novotny said. With a few masks and costumes, they can be a ghost, a witch or a scientist in a laboratory with “some spooky experiments going on,” she said.

But it’s not only theater students who benefit from participating in the haunted school, Novotny said. Science-minded students learn the similarities between set-building and creating a display for science fairs. All students gain confidence from experience in public speaking, she said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Halloween Haunted School

WHEN: 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: St. Joseph Academy, St. John the Baptist Resource Center, 403 N. Hickory St., Joliet

TICKETS: $5 for adults and teens, $4 for ages 4 to 14. Children younger than 3 are free.

INFORMATION: Call St. Joseph Academy and Montessori Preschool at 815-723-4567.