Hundreds pack the 'Haunted Halls' at Edward Stone Middle School for candy and fun

You had to stand in line to get inside the building as hundreds filled the hallways for Edward Stone Middle School's first-ever "Haunted Halls" safe trick-or-treating event Thursday.

The event ran from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. as students and families roamed all three floors of the school to check out the spooky decorations, admire each others' costumes and play games while school staff and students handed out candy. The event was free and open to the public.

Lucy Wyatt, a long-term English and Language Arts 7th grade substitute teacher for the Burlington School District who helped plan the event, said the idea for "Haunted Halls" came about while the event's organizers were brainstorming ideas for different Halloween activities.

"We got together and were looking for ideas and fun things to do to bring the community into our school, and here we are," Wyatt said.

Devin Rohr, a math teacher at Ed Stone who also helped organize the event, said students didn't begin putting up decorations until around 2:30 p.m., but they rushed to action to get the school ready for trick-or-treaters.

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"Believe it or not, but all the decorations went up in under an hour with all the kids who stepped up and brought donations and decorations and everything in," Rohr said.

The hallways on all three floors were jam-packed as trick-or-treaters stood in line for candy and got to check out the building's transformation from a no-nonsense middle school to Burlington's spook-central.

"I wasn't expecting more than a hundred families at the most, but (the event) took off and we just had lines out the door since it opened," Rohr said. "We're really thankful for the community and for everybody who helped us out."

Makayla Rhodes, an 8th grader at Ed Stone who was helping hand out candy, said she was also surprised by the large turnout night.

"It's really crazy," Rhodes said. "A lot of people have been all over the place, but it's really fun."

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Payton Johnson, also an 8th grader helping pass out candy, noticed some trick-or-treaters hitting him and his friends up for second and third helpings of candy.

"It's been honestly a rough ride," Johnson joked. "There's been multiple people coming around, like, 'repeat customers.' My sanity is already shattered."

Nikki Critser, a mother of three who brought her children, ages 2, 8, and 12, to the "Haunted Halls" said her family had a lot of fun and appreciated the safe atmosphere.

"The (two oldest kids) are big enough that they're running around on their own," Critser told The Hawk Eye. "That's what I like about something like this. It's a safe place that I can let my kids (roam around on their own). It's a great thing to be able to just trust that your kids can come and have some fun."

Melody Lawson, a 7th grade English and Language Arts teacher at Ed Stone, also worked with organizers to come up with the idea for the "Haunted Halls" and help put the event together.

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"I've cut out (paper) bats for like three weeks now," Lawson said with a laugh. "But we just wanted to do something for the community. (And) we wanted to do something fun to bring the kids in."

And Lawson said this year's "Haunted Halls" will likely be the beginning of an annual tradition in Burlington.

"It's going to be bigger and better," she said about next year's event. "I think we're going to have a lot more community support and parent support. So I'm excited about what we're going to do next. It's going to be something fun."

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Ed Stone school hosts first "Haunted Halls" safe trick-or-treat event