On Oct. 24, Archbishop Carroll students embarked on their annual pre-Halloween field trip to Pennhurst Asylum for some scares and fright.
Like last year, Carroll sold all of its available seats for the Spring City, Chester County, excursion, with three maximum capacity buses making the journey.
The students navigated four Pennhurst haunted attractions: Pennhurst Asylum, The Mourge, Tunnels, and the Catacombs. Live, costumed actors as well as animatronics were on hand at each to add to the scary experience.
“The best attraction was by far the Catacombs because of the scare actors’ horrifying costumes,” said Nylah Storr, a junior.
The actors’ costumes varied from undead nurses to mad scientists.
After navigating the four attractions, the students came together at a pop-up carnival outside the asylum.
Overall, the trip was well-received by Carroll students; however, some thought it was horrifying while others found it hardly scary at all.
“I’ve never been more scared in my life,” said senior Madison Freeman. “It really was a terrifying night, and I even started crying.”
Sophomore Carter McPherson had a different experience.
“Pennhurst wasn’t even that scary,” McPherson said. “It was really just in your head if you got scared or not.”
Once students exited the asylum, the pathway back to the bus included a glimpse into one of the buildings not used, with several rooms displaying what it was like for those who actually lived there during the last century when Pennhurst was the Eastern Pennsylvania Institution for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic. This allowed Carroll students to recognize the true horror of Pennhurst and separate it from the made-up fear in the haunted house. Students saw communal shower rooms with broken tiles, and recreational rooms with flipped-over tables and smashed chairs. Many of the original buildings were still in the condition that they were when the asylum closed in 1987. The asylum opened in 1908, and for many, it represented a prison for the mentally ill of the 1900s.
The trip to Pennhurst Asylum was just one of the several after-school field trips that Carroll offers throughout the year, with others including the Christmas trip to see a light show in downtown Philadelphia and the junior-senior trip to Washington, D.C. Each offers a unique experience for students to explore their interests after school, with Pennhurst being the first of the 2025-2026 school year.
