After Dusk Party

Editor: Pearly Neo

Editor’s Note: Two writers were dispatched to the ADP, in hopes of obtaining two different points of view (hopefully one who would feel overwhelming fear, and another who wouldn’t)…but it appears that the ADP was indeed a smashing success, as both writers (both big strong guys, I might add. XD) have admitted to feeling fear to some degree! Good work on the ADP GH folk! Hope everyone enjoys reading the articles!

The After-Dusk Party (Writer 1’s POV)

By: Wang Liansheng

In short, the ADP was bloody good. Who would have thought that an event purely managed by the GH Block Comm would garner such a large turnout?

To be honest, when I first heard about the After-Dusk Party, there were reservations about it. For one, being the ever cynic that I am (and I assume many others were), I was wondering if this would degenerate into one-super-lame event meant only for the blockers.

I was wrong.

The event was executed to a pretty large scale. Prior to the event, facebook videos publicizing the event caught my attention. They were short, yet successfully sent chills down my spine every time I watched them. Suddenly, I had friends who asked me about the event, and even friends from my faculty (which resides in a faraway island known as the BTC) wanted to come down in support of the event. During the event, there would be a band performing, themed food and drinks available, and of course the main attraction of the night – A Haunted House. The stairway leading up to the Haunted House was not spared too – It was decorated with cut-outs of bats, ‘Blood’ was splattered on the floor, and it was gruesome.

Was I missing something here? What had been promised in the After-Dusk Party that was so enticing?

So I took up the challenge, and volunteered myself to cover the event.

Sadly, the start of the night was slow. The turn out was slightly dismal, and I wasn’t particularly interested to cover the event. I thought, “Maybe all the effort isn’t paying off.” Only a few turned up around 7.30pm, and they seemed to be supporting friends, rather than genuinely interested in the party.

I left disappointed, and came back around 9pm after meeting up with a couple of friends. I had decided to give the party another chance.

And indeed, it was a risk well taken.

9pm was the time when dusk finally came, and the night became grotesquely dark. It was a signal for the party to REALLY begin.

The queue now at the Communal Hall where it has been transformed into a Haunted House was long. Everyone was in their groups, chit-chatting prior to entering the Haunted House. It had become a social event where people were excited about the event, and discussing about it with much anticipation.

Finally it was time for the writer to enter the Haunted House (thanks to GH Block Comm for the lovely complimentary ticket!). Somewhat, I was glad I had a friend with me because I was genuinely afraid the first instance I stepped into the Communal Hall.

We were first led into the hall by a freakishly scary patient. (Kudos to Yu Wei for being in character, haha!)

Prior to entering the maze, we were treated to snippets of horror movies, and the shrill screams of many others who had entered the maze. For a moment, it was scary because the entire atmosphere had set the game for the night.

Then we entered the maze. It was walking through sections of stations where a different story unfolded before us. There was a psycho doctor with an eyeball, cadavers lying on tables, a pregnant lady with another sicko doctor, two small children in a living room, and many more.In between sections, there were crazily narrow walkways with black cloth draped on two sides. I have to say: I really had apprehensions walking through.

Featuring a few 'friends' of the After Dusk Party...

To be honest (and maintaining that male ego) I wasn’t pretty much petrified until the children part where in the midst of leaving that section of the communal hall, someone grabbed my leg from beneath. There was an instant shock and fear perpetuating through. Once again, kudos to whoever that was – A classic yet timeless scaring technique.

Before we left the communal hall, we were made to search through photographs of a woman with her face punched in. The photos were… not particularly good for your appetite.

Finally, we left the Communal Hall in the midst of all the screaming (either from participants or the Block Comm-ers themselves) and decided to walk down to the Meeting Room for some refreshments to calm ourselves down.

The meeting room was not spared in adapting to the theme too – Paper cut-outs of bats were hanging from the ceiling, the dishes were named and created appropriately to suit the theme. It was definitely an event well planned – and achieved much success in injecting life into a dark, solemn Friday night.

Looks like the guests of the Haunted Mansion aren't that afraid of the ghosts lurking around! Bet they had an awesome time too!

The After Dusk Party is a new experiment that achieved its spark of brilliance in some instances. For a cynic who professes to be one brave soul, it has been one hell of a ride – and an interesting twist to an otherwise boring Friday night. I eagerly anticipate a bigger and scarier After Dusk Party next year!

The After-Dusk Party (Writer 2’s POV)

By: Jason Lun Leung

Over the past few weeks, everyone’s anticipation of the After Dusk Party had been steadily growing, and finally, 16^th October arrived.

It all started quite well, with the steps leading to the Comm. Hall being smeared with blood marks and lined up with bats. The waiting area in front was darkened and glowing ominously. The crowd that had gathered in front of the entrance was quite eclectic. No doubt helped by the ambiance created, they were chatting nervously: some were already having second thoughts about going in, while others were just encouraging themselves and bragging how they would need a lot more than that to be scared. As they were ushered in in pairs, the After Dusk Party started with the tour of the Haunted Hospital.

Before going in the tour proper, you were made to wait and watch some horror clips. These few minutes really got people in the right frame of mind, especially with the screams from those who had already gone in being heard loud and clear and the hanging body you could see dangling from the ceiling. When the moment came, you got called in, and then, after bracing yourselves, you took a deep breath and stepped into the dark labyrinth.

The ghosts all ready to go out and do some proper scaring...But what could be behind that cloth?...

The whole tour was quite eerie. The black drapes were perfect for people to jump and grab you, and when that did not happen, you were still scared, because you could never be sure what was lying in wait on the other side. At some point, you just did not know what to do anymore. Scared by the corpse area, you just rushed through, thinking that being done with it as fast as possible might be a good idea… only to get so terrified by the next walking zombie that you just could not move forward any more. Brrr…

Like all good events, this one was a compelling act that took all of your attention while it lasted, and then left you wanting more. You just went through the pregnant woman scene, the mirror scene, the tunnel and all the other creepy areas, before ending up looking for the picture of a dead body. At the end of the tour, you had already been so impressed that you were half expecting them to have something left for you. I remember going through the door at the back of the Comm. Hall checking if there was somebody waiting to pounce on me as I stepped out, and then chuckling nervously when I realised that it was truly over.

What else would it be, but even more of them!

By that time, you were so caught up discussing how your tour had been with the others that you had already forgotten that the GH Block Comm actually had more in store: the food and the band. And this was no minor feat either. They had been meticulous enough to come up with witch fingers, RIP sandwiches and other dishes suited up for this night of mayhem.

The band was performing at the BBQ pit area, covering Metallica, Evanescence and Michael Jackson, to the delight of everyone there. The events of the night all made perfect conversation starters and with this, concluded a marvellous night for everyone who had come down.

After Dusk Party was successful in bringing down people for a night of scares and giving them good memories that they will be talking about for weeks on. Congratulations to the GH Block Comm, who came up with a new idea and successfully put up this show which broke away from the routine of usual hall events and was, overall, very entertaining. It was a welcome change and the organisation was really good. Good job!