Observing the dried blood and bloody hand prints on the walls, Jennifer Waddell takes in the horrible surroundings of what will be the site of a disturbing, murderous scenario this weekend.

Waddell, a junior in geography from Effingham, said the third room located within a dark maze of thick, interlocking walls in the basement of Grinnell Hall is her favorite. Simulated blood is scattered on the walls where a mad man will scare people hurrying through the haunted halls.

I guess I like this room because I helped scatter the (red) paint on the wall, she said. And I donated the chicken wire that will separate the man and the people.

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The haunted house is open 8 to midnight tonight and Saturday in Grinnell Hall in Brush Towers.

This is the third year that the basement will be ornamented with demented themes. The Residence Hall Association has spent $2,600 this year preparing the haunted house.

Jeremy Hoffman, a sophomore in chemistry from Rockford and member of the RHA, was one of many residence hall students to volunteer their time in the creation of the haunted house.

We have a cool dead end (in the maze), and rat tails will be hanging from the ceiling along with other things, Hoffman said.

One of the key features of the haunted house is the absolute darkness in many of the lengthy corridors. Illuminating red and purple lights give the maze an eerie feeling.

About 50 volunteers have been putting the haunted house together for three weeks.

Vod VanRaalte, a senior in psychology from Moline and RHA member, helped develop the six-room complex of terror. He said there will be all kinds of nasty surprises for patrons.

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Mans’ greatest fear is the fear of the unknown, VanRaalte said. And there will be that element of the unknown in the absolute darkness of the mazes.

In the (third) room we will have an absolute mad man, and I’ve been looking for a straight jacket for him, he said.

One of the rooms will be the site for an exorcist theme. A tiny girl will lay on a small bed in a completely twisted bedroom. Sentences such as I Eat People are drawn on the walls in such a way as to be illuminated by the paranormal red and purple lights.

We are going to have a smoke machine in one of the rooms, VanRaalte said. And a strobe light should make for a nice effect.

One of the last rooms is a simulation of an RHA office located on campus, which Hoffman and VanRaalte said was haunted.

There will be a person hanging in the corner of the room. An ancient typewriter with cobwebs sits on an old, tired desk, with big rubber, dangling spiders.

The first room in the maze has mesh dangling from the ceiling with a red and blue light on the far wall. Leaves lie scattered under the red and blue lights where VanRaalte said a zombie may likely be hanging out.

Everyone should come out and see our haunted house, he said. There will be lots of ghouls and goblins.

This haunted house is one of the biggest in Carbondale this year, and people can expect to enjoy the house for 15 minutes, Hoffman said.

The haunted house at the University Mall has more effects, but ours is bigger, he said. What we have here is 2,000 square feet of haunted horrors.

The haunted house is open 8 to midnight tonight and Saturday in Grinnell Hall in Brush Towers.

Prices are $2 for students with IDs and $3 for non-students.