Hundreds of visitors came to Gettysburg College’s Phi Delta Theta (PDT) fraternity house this week during its 14th Annual Haunted Mansion event. When the week ended the fraternity had raised $4,800 for Adams County Youth Services.
“This event works perfectly in bringing together Gettysburg College with the rest of the community,” said Senior PDT Member JD Drury. “The Haunted Mansion allows us to broaden our outreach and collect donations from a wider audience while providing a fun Halloween tradition for the entire community to enjoy.”
The annual event began as a way for PDT members to create connections within Adams County, and to make a positive impact on their community.
Drury said, “We think it is important to look beyond the confines of campus and appreciate the county we live in by supporting the families in our community in whatever ways we can.”
To facilitate this successful event, the members of PDT spend significant time preparing the house and the scary characters they portray.
“Brothers spend days working together decorating the house and creating themes for the costumes and the layout. The setup is difficult and it takes a while, but by the end, the brothers are able to take pride in what they have done as a team to raise money for a great cause,” said Drury.
Although creating the Haunted Mansion is a time-consuming activity, the PDT brothers look forward to it each year.
“Our members love the Haunted Mansion,” said Drury. “It is one of the best team-building activities we have the opportunity to work on, and it allows the brothers to assume leadership positions and display accountability. Our members couldn’t be more thankful to have this chance to help Adams County Youth Services.”
“My favorite part is scaring people for a good cause,” said Sophomore PDT Member Cam Deluliis.”
Visitors to the Haunted Mansion enjoyed their experiences, and they appreciated the opportunity to attend the unique event for a worthy cause.
“I thought it was great and really fun to walk through. You can tell that the sophomores put a lot of work into it and they wanted to raise a lot of money for their charity,” said Sophomore Stefany Kaminski.
“It was really cute. They transformed the house with lighting and decorations to raise a lot of money for a great cause,” said Sophomore Alyssa Papantonakis. “So many of the members were involved, whether jumping out at you in the house or sitting on the porch to enjoy the event.”
Last year, the event raised $2,600, so the members created a goal to beat that record. In the first two nights, they accomplished that feat, entertaining hundreds of people and raising over $2,700.
Alli is a summer intern with the Connection and a sophomore at Gettysburg College, majoring in Sociology and Public Policy with a minor in Peace & Justice Studies. She is the News Editor for the college newspaper, The Gettysburgian, and enjoys exploring various areas of writing and journalism.