Hundreds of people spread across the grassy hill at Trammell Crow Park, overlooking the Dallas skyline as families, children and strangers waited for the signal to let loose.
Then came the countdown: Three. Two. One.
The crowd let out a sustained, collective yell – hundreds of voices raising together for several seconds.
For some it was funny. For others it was personal. Participants later told the event’s organizer Shiloh Bellinghausen, 30, they were carrying stress, grief and other difficult experiences.
Some became emotional after the yelling ended.
For Bellinghausen, the moment was “really cool, hilarious and exhilarating at the same time.”
Just days earlier, the Arlington resident had wondered what would happen if he could get 50 strangers together in Dallas simply to yell.
He posted the idea on his personal TikTok social media account. When people started responding, he created the Dallas Yell Club page on Sept. 20 and posted an official invitation.
Then the idea took off.
“So many people were interested,” he said. “I was like, ‘All right, well, this is gonna be real.’”
Bellinghausen estimates 300 to 400 people attended the club’s first gathering at Trammell Crow Park on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Bellinghausen said the idea works because yelling is something nearly everyone understands.
“I think it’s such a human feeling to just yell,” he said. “We all just need a good yell sometimes.”
The first gathering attracted people across age groups.
Teachers told Bellinghausen they learned about the event from students. Parents came with their children. Bellinghausen said he saw people in their 20s and 30s, older adults and children ranging from about 5 years old to high school age.
Some people came just for fun, choosing not to yell but watch the crowd instead.
“If you are shy and you feel embarrassed yelling, but you want to join, feel free,” Bellinghausen said. “You can just sit there in silence and look at everybody yelling. There’s no judgment from either side.”
Others had more personal reasons.
Bellinghausen and his wife arrived at the park about two hours early, unsure whether 50 people or 200 would show up. By about 5:30 p.m., he said, roughly 50 people were already there, and the crowd continued to get larger.
At 6:15, Bellinghausen gathered everyone for the first of three yells.
For the last, he encouraged them to get everything out.
Some people kept yelling as they walked back to their cars. Late arrivals even joined from a nearby bridge.
Although screaming is often associated with anger or fear, research from the American Psychological Association suggests it can communicate a much wider range of emotions, including frustration, pain, surprise and even happiness. “Man, I needed this,” Bellinghausen recalled some participants telling him.
“That’s when I was like, wow, this is really for everybody,” he said. “You can have any emotion you have and come through.”
The idea has also taken on a personal meaning for Bellinghausen. His mother died in July, he said, and he was also laid off from a job he had held for five years.
“I feel like I’m the perfect person to start this in a weird way,” he said. “I have my own issues. Everybody has their own personal battles that they’re going through.”
His father has attended grief classes since his mother’s death, where people gather and share their experiences.
Bellinghausen said the Yell Club eventually made him think of a less traditional version of group therapy.
“This is like a grief class, but, like, for Gen Z almost,” he said.
Dallas is not alone: a Scream Club in Chicago holds regular group-screaming gatherings, and similar events emerged in cities including Austin, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.
The yell, Bellinghausen said, helps break the ice. Afterward, people can talk — or they can simply leave.
Bellinghausen hopes that social connection becomes a lasting part of the club.
“People were talking to other strangers and forming friendships and acquaintances,” he said.
He hopes to eventually hold gatherings every two weeks.
The next gathering is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 11 at Trammell Crow Park, located at 3700 Sylvan Ave.
The event is open to all ages, and participants do not have to yell – Bellinghausen said people are welcome to simply watch, listen or socialize.
Updates are posted on the Dallas Yell Club’s social media pages.