Instead of sitting around this weekend and thinking of everything you have due for class, scare some of that stress off at the Egyptian Theatre’s Amenti Haunted House.

After all, midterms have come and gone and we can all finally breathe easily again. OK, who am I kidding? It can get pretty hectic at this point in the semester. The first half of it seems to have vanished so suddenly. What’s left may or may not look so promising. Papers, exams, presentations — it can make you want to run for the hills.

The Amenti Haunted House has put those hills you’ve been running to in a completely different context, one that is much more fun and far less stressful.

“Amenti Haunted House is our largest annual fundraiser, and this is the eighth year that we’ve been running it,” said Alex Nerad, Egyptian Theatre executive director. “Last year we had over 3,000 people attend over eight nights, and we’ve received such tremendous support that we were even able to add a ninth night this year.”

As the story goes, according to the Amenti Haunted House website, Amenti is the goddess who guards the world of the dead and ensures no one leaves. She upholds this promise within the six levels of the haunted house.

Darkness, special effects and loud, shocking noises show you the true terror of that promise.

Not only does the haunted house aim to scare the life out of you, it does a lot of good.

It’s here through the help of many volunteers who offer their help to bring it all together. All of the proceeds benefit the maintenance of the Egyptian Theatre.

“The Egyptian Theatre is primarily a non-profit organization. One hundred percent of our proceeds go back to our theater and help with building repairs, managing it, and other improvements,” Nerad said.

I checked out the haunted house recently and, though I was screaming my head off the entire time, it was a great stress reliever. I left feeling much less tense than what I felt going in.

Junior English major Victoria Williamson said she tries to make a point of attending every year.

“I’ve been going since freshman year,” Williamson said. “It’s always so much fun, and it never really gets old. I still leave running out of the door, so it’s definitely worth the money. [It’s a] great thing to go to and just let loose.”

College can definitely be overwhelming at times and can swallow you up if you don’t allow yourself any time for fun.

Put down those books for a little while and go out and experience a scare. Scream, yell and run like hell. You deserve it.