Plot Synopsis

HOUSES OF HORROR: SECRETS OF COLLEGE GREEK LIFE is a one-hour docuseries that pulls back the curtain on the world of campus Greek life through first-person accounts that expose how extreme hazing, sexual assault, drug use, and systemic racism are able to persist when these groups are built on exclusivity, secrecy and power. Each one-hour episode features first-hand accounts of how the power, control, and secrecy of fraternities and sororities can create a cult-like dynamic leading to an environment where nefarious activity -- from drug use to sexual assault -- is able to thrive. Through exclusive sit-down interviews with those involved including former fraternity and sorority members, family, law enforcement and experts, the series details how these organizations that seemingly offer acceptance and community for young people have far-reaching consequences that can turn dangerous, and even deadly. Over the course of six episodes, the series details a variety of first-hand accounts of the dark side of fraternity and sorority life at universities across the country. From a pledge at the University of Missouri hazed into drinking excessive quantities of alcohol that left him close to death, and a junior at the University of Minnesota who fought back against the Greek system after she was brutally raped by a fraternity brother, to a shocking set of overdose deaths at San Diego State University, and the infamous Machine, steeped in racist traditions of the Old South, at the University of Alabama, the series offers a far-reaching examination of how the seemingly fun and frivolous world of Greek life could hide a much darker underbelly. Originally scheduled to debut on Monday, May 27, 2024, the series premiered was delayed 11 weeks. Episodes include:

"Bingeing to Belong" (Premieres Monday, August 12, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT): In the fall of 2021, 19-year-old Daniel Santulli pledged Phi Gamma Delta at the University of Missouri. During a brutal pledge process, Danny was deprived of sleep, separated from family, and forced to be at the beck and call of his future brothers.On the evening of October 19, Danny and his fellow pledges were summoned to the frat house. Blindfolded, and with a bottle of vodka taped to his hand, Danny was ordered to drink it all. With lethal levels of alcohol coursing through his body, Danny collapsed. He was dumped on a couch and abandoned. Instead of calling an ambulance, the Fiji brothers tried to cover their tracks - driving him to the hospital in the cloak of darkness. The Santulli family would later uncover devastating truths about that fateful night when security camera footage capturing some of the ghastly hazing was uncovered, but their fight for Danny was just beginning.

"Rape Culture" (Premieres Monday, August 12, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT): On November 8, 2014, University of Minnesota junior Abby Honold was attending a football tailgate party along with hundreds of fellow revelers. There, she met a Sigma Phi Epsilon brother named Daniel Drill-Mellum, a well-heeled, seemingly well-regarded big man on campus. When Daniel asked her to accompany him to his apartment across the street to retrieve more alcohol for the party, she said yes. But once inside, he attacked her - viciously raping her until she broke free and called 911. Although Drill-Mellum was arrested, Abby's nightmare was only just beginning. Two frat brothers secretly recorded Abby and tricked her into voicing that the sex was consensual. The recording ended the investigation into Abby's attack until Abby pursued another avenue for redress, Title IX. With a new path forward and a crusading school detective on her side, Abby - and Drill-Mellum's other victims -- finally found justice.

"Hazed To Death" (Premieres Monday, August 19, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT): On a crisp February morning in 2017, a 911 dispatcher received an urgent call from inside the Beta Theta Pi house, on Penn State's historic frat row: We have a friend who is unconscious. He hasn't moved. He's going to need an ambulance. Hours earlier, freshman pledge Tim Piazza had been forced to consume a lethal quantity of alcohol during a Beta hazing ritual called "The Gauntlet." Then, he took a catastrophic fall down the basement stairs. When a fraternity insider implored his brothers to get help, they pushed him aside -- opting to protect the brotherhood - even if that meant a delay in getting help for a gravely injured pledge.

"Sudden Fall" (Premieres Monday, August 19, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT): As dawn broke over SDSU's campus on May 6th 2007, the calm was shattered when a 19-year-old sorority pledge Jenny Poliakoff was found dead from a cocaine overdose. The shocking discovery would lead to the largest undercover drug sting operation in college history -- Operation Sudden Fall. The investigation revealed a major source of the drug-dealing: a Theta Chi brother named Kenny Ciaccio, operating with impunity from his fraternity bedroom, and capitalizing on a seemingly impenetrable veil of brotherhood secrecy.

"Drowning in Secrets" (Premieres Monday, August 26, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT): The Divine Nine is a highly respected group of Black Greek organizations. So, it was no surprise when 22-year-old Kristin High and 24-year-old Kenitha Saafir rushed AKA at Cal State LA -- believing it to be a crucial steppingstone to success. But shortly after midnight on September 9th, 2002, their dreams turned deadly when Kristin and Kenitha entered the ocean fully clothed, got caught in the rough surf and drowned. The LAPD determined that their deaths were accidental, but the families believed something more ominous was at play. They knew Kristin and Kenitha had been drawn into a secretive world of pledging and the intense hazing that comes with it.

"Racism and the Machine" (Premieres Monday, August 26, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT): Through the stories of former University of Alabama sorority rushes, we learn about the infamous Machine - a clandestine panhellenic society, steeped in the racist traditions of the Old South. The Machine's tentacles of power extend from Greek Row, across campus and into the halls of the US government. Despite the University of Alabama's commitment to equal representation in Greek life, the covert maneuverings of the Machine can still be felt on campus.