Madison Heights Neighbors Gather Weekly for “Scream Club”
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Sept. 12, 2025)
Madison Heights, MI – On Tuesdays, they scream.
From the hill at Madison Heights civic center, people can see for miles. The grid of suburban homes stretches around them, and the skyscrapers of neighboring Troy are tall in the distance.
As the sun starts to set, the sky grows orange and pink on the horizon as people start to gather. They’re neighbors of all ages – kids and adults, but still mostly strangers. Though conversations start to happen as 7:30 draws closer.
Madison Heights Scream Club is still a new thing, so newbies ask each other how it all works, while others talk about why it is they’re there.
Music from a portable sound system clicks off, and Scream Club founder Quin Wright – who is also a Madison Heights councilperson running to be Mayor – speaks into the mic.
“The reason why this club started was because I recognized collectively that we’re all very combatative. Even me. I see some comments online, and I’m like ‘What?’ But I think at the end of the day we need to just take a breath, and have a reason to let go, a reason to collectively release. That’s all this is. There’s no hidden agenda. No other reasons behind it,” Wright said.
After a simple countdown of “one, two, three,” the collective “Ahhhh..” echoes out over the community.
They rest, take a breath, and repeat. Then one more time – a pause for air, then a roaring shout sent collectively towards the setting sun. And then the screamers disperse. Some simply walk down the hill with smiles or relaxed faces. Others – kids and adults – lie in the grass and roll their way down. Others hangout to watch the sunset and get to know their neighbors.
Jeanine Zagar and Stephanie Pamplin came for their first time on Sept. 9.
“I’ve been feeling like I needed to scream pretty much every day recently, so why not just try to let it out?” Pamplin said.
“It’s a good outlet for frustration,” Zagar said. “Screaming for fun is a different thing that screaming if you’re scared. Screaming for fun? Sure! Kids do it. But we’re adults and we can release tension and have fun at the same time too.”
“And maybe meet new people,” Pamplin added.
When asked why they felt like screaming, Zagar said “Personal stuff. The world. The politics. The way things are going in our country, there’s just so much. So maybe we can scream together and try to work it out.”
Wright told Oakland County Times that he was inspired by a group in Chicago doing the same thing.
“We live in this society where people are taught to hide their emotions, and I think this is a way to get them out. And here we get to do this together as a community, and I think that’s important,” he said. He added that he’d like more mental health resources and more awareness of mental health needs. “How can we all be more supportive of each other?”
Scream Club takes place Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm. There is no Scream Club on Sept 23 out of respect for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. But other weeks, the screaming will continue.
