Screams echoed across South Campus Wednesday night as the 13th annual Haunted Cretin invited courageous souls to brave the horrors of maniacal scientists, nightmarish professors and mysterious forces of mankind.

Residents of both Cretin and Grace Residence Halls started planning the spooky event in the second week of September and decided to go with a different approach than last year.

Cretin Operations Manager Max Bischmann said there wasn’t a theme this year, which allowed each room to take on its own frightening atmosphere.

“Last year, we really focused on a central theme (horror-movie character Gimley) and we put it through each room—kind of focused on the same character,” Bischmann said. “We kind of always try to have one general overview so we’re not so random … but each room really takes its own spotlight this year.”

Sophomore Stephen Legatt played a crazed butcher in this year’s event. He hoped the new approach would be more frightening than previous years.

“I think it’s scarier this way because you don’t really know what to expect, as opposed to last year where there was a theme,” Legatt said. “I’m hoping that people get terrified, but it all depends on the people. I know college kids are a little harder to scare.”

Sophomore Valentina Johnson said she thought the event was scarier than the “Trail of Terror” attraction in Shakopee, Minn.

“It was better than expected. I’ve been to the Trail of Terror and had to pay a lot of money for that. This (Haunted Cretin) was really well done, and we didn’t have to pay anything. I loved the fact that it was in the basement- definitely scarier than expected,” Johnson said. “It was awesome.”’

Freshman Rachel Habas said her favorite part was a room where dormant statues came to life.

“(The room) was all black, and (the statues) came at you every once in a while as lights flashed,” Habas said. “That was a little sketch, but cool.”

Bischmann said Haunted Cretin is an opportunity to show how close and connected the residents of South Campus are.

“I think that South Campus really has one of the strongest communities on campus, and it is because of the residents getting so involved with the process of planning and taking part in Haunted Cretin,” Bischmann said. “It’s an event that really helps us shine. It draws a lot of attention down here.”

Alison Bengtson can be reached at beng4632@stthomas.edu.