House of Horrors' invades Sheppard

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jelani Gibson
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  In the dead of night, a haunted house jutted above the jagged edge of a twilight landscape, while screams and otherworldly sounds echoed from a building meant to frighten.

The on-base haunted house, held Oct. 26, sponsored by the Junior Enlisted Team Sheppard organization, aims to inspire morale across base, while getting Airmen into the Halloween spirit.

"JETS always puts something on base so people can be active and give back to the community," said Airman 1st Class Katelin Lalonde, 782nd Training Group knowledge operations manager and haunted house planner.

The howls and wails of the paranormal were a welcome spectacle as Lalonde takes pride in the preparation to scare the wits out of people.

"I put my heart and soul into this," she said. "It's worth it just to see people enjoy themselves."

Before the house was set up for the coming festivities, the rehearsal room was filled with a plethora of supernatural costumes. Actors and volunteers putting on make-up bustled about as the clock ticked ever closer to opening night. For Staff Sgt. Eddie Posadas, 82nd Training Wing equal opportunity adviser and JETS president, the house itself was about more than customers having a fun night.

"It allows people on base to explore originality, while boosting morale," he said. "It'll allow them to get into the spirit of Halloween and experience something new and different at Sheppard."

Posadas valued cooperation across multiple Sheppard organizations and actors from the local Wichita Falls college, Midwestern State University, coming together for a single purpose. He listed cross spectrum teamwork and variety as the key ingredient to the project's prosperity.

"Cooperation makes us a better person as a whole," he said. "It promotes diversity, collaboration and different minds coming together as a whole."

As dusk descended upon the building, customers started slowly trickling in. Lights flickered and the occasional screams pierced the North Texas night air. For many people, the haunted house provided a thrill unlike any other.

"It scared me for sure," said Airman 1st Class Kaitlin O'Connor, a 365th Training Squadron student. "It was well done."

Lalonde, who also dressed up as a zombie to greet those who entered the house's haunted halls, enjoyed the process of putting on a good show for whoever came through.

"It's exciting and an adrenaline rush," she said. "I love Halloween."

As midnight swept through the stretch of the building and the last startled attendants left, the haunted house and the eerie attractions within it showed no shortage of excitement and titillation for those who enjoy late night frights.