As Suffolk University’s own horror club celebrates its first anniversary, they talk about the biggest holiday for them, what they’ve learned and exciting future plans.

The club, consisting of President Elizabeth Glina, Vice President Kathleen Fahey, Secretary Mackenzie Savard and Treasurer Jorge De Las Fuentes, has learned a lot since founding the organization. Glina, being the only founding member who hasn’t graduated, talked about what she’s picked up over the past year.

The club, primarily focused on watching and discussing horror films, spoke on what they learned about the process of building a club.

“Last year it was the E-board making those decisions, and if someone had a suggestion maybe we would take it. But now, we have somewhat of a democratic process,” said Glina.

Now, the E-board chooses a weekly theme, and members of the club vote on which movie they’d like to screen. They also change it up sometimes by playing Jackbox games or watching YouTube videos together. Not only has the club changed how they work, but they’ve also seen a change in attitude from members over the past year.

“I wasn’t on the E-board last year, but I think what’s definitely changed is seeing people more excited to go,” said Savard.

The club is looking forward to hosting more authors and filmmakers for talks for the club, as the E-board said members really enjoyed doing these events last year. They’re hoping with more advertising and collaborations with other clubs, their events will gain more traction.

The group is also planning a trip to Salem, after Halloween to avoid the crowds.

Though some may assume being the horror club, Halloween is the most important time of the year, but the group has fun year-round and has plenty of fun adventures planned outside of October. One big thing on their agenda is collaborating with other clubs, even currently collaborating with the forensic club to work on an event. 

As for recommendations for Halloween movies from the experts themselves, they’d say “The Shining,” “X,” “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and “The Conjuring.”

One of the group’s favorite things they’ve seen since the start of the club is the turnout, and said they  love that people and members are actually excited to show up to their meetings. They’ve also found that utilizing Discord has been great for the club, as it allows the group to communicate better and build a sense of community.

“In our Discord chat people will say ‘Oh I’ll bring capri suns’ or ‘I’ll bring popcorn and candy’ and it’s like the club is a group effort and that feels nice. It doesn’t feel like people are just going because they have to get involved in something,” said Glina.

The group wants potential members to know they don’t have to commit to every meeting or every movie —  they can come if they feel comfortable with the film or whenever they’re able, there’s no requirement. 

“We’re a very relaxed group, and I think we’re pretty close-knit which is nice,” Savard said.

The group is excited to celebrate Halloween, and has a big craft night planned for those who want to attend. They’ll be screening a Scooby Doo movie during the crafts and costumes are welcome, but not required. The event is taking place on Oct.27 in Sawyer room 132 at 6 p.m.

Regular club meetings are on Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the Sawyer basement, Room 32.

Follow Abby on Twitter @astreabbs.