Finally, October is over and so is Halloween! Now we get to look back at all the things we regret doing. For many it’s the overindulgence of candy in a single night. For others it’s dressing up in the silly costumes they thought as “clever”. For me it’s quite the opposite. It’s the fact that I was home eating a bowl full of nothing but loneliness.
Since it was Halloween weekend, I had to do something. It turned out that my brother was going to go to Knott’s Halloween Haunt. I immediately realized it was the perfect thing to do! I could experience it all in just one night! The scares, the people in the cheesy costumes, and the endless supply of sugar! I talked to my brother and he agreed to take K-otic and I with him. I was nervous at first, I didn’t know what to expect. I was imagining a live horror movie. Something from the darkest corners of the abyss. An ocean of fear where the only land visible was an island of nightmares. To some degree, I was right.
When we arrived It all sunk in. I was at the point of no return. I had just paid fifty dollars to be scared. I looked at K-otic and he was having a blast. He was completely excited we were there. I thought he was insane. I couldn’t figure out why anybody in their right mind would like this. The only reason I was there was to investigate the unknown, try something new. We moved forward headed to the first horror maze. I was extremely paranoid the whole night. I was looking around every corner trying to spot the hidden actors to make sure I wouldn’t get startled. This tactic of mine ultimately worked against me (I’ll explain further on.) We walked through the whole maze and I was still ok. Luckily my brother and his girlfriend were leading the pack, setting off all the traps, just in time for me to spot them.
The gates to hell!
I slowly gained confidence. I was sure I could survive the whole night, nevertheless I was still paranoid. For the next couple of mazes I was doing fine. I was being a gentleman and using the “let other people go first” tactic. Eventually the others caught on to what I was doing and forced me to go first. I was horrified! I didn’t know how to weasel my way out of this one. I just tightened my belt and tried to man up. I was walking into the maze and I saw a couple in front of me, I decided to stay close behind them as if I was part of their group. I quickly left my group for the rocker couple. They were just in their own world, it looked like they were at a party, just breezing through the maze. I was struggling to keep up with the couple while still looking around corners and avoiding manikins. After a close call with a guy on wires jumping out of nowhere, I was finally out! I breathed in the fresh air and waited for k-otic, my brother and his girlfriend. I survived yet another maze while leading the group.
Close to the end of the night, we entered a maze that had a setting of an old Victorian London. we were progressing at a suitable pace. I was still paranoid and looking around corners. This is were my tactic had failed me. At one point in the maze, I entered a room with a bed in the middle, as I circled the bed I was looking around the bed posts. I looked around the third bed post and I heard a deep voice say “Don’t look down there!”
I responded “Don’t look where?”. I looked up and ZOINKS! I saw a MAN! I immediately realized how bad the situation looked. I had just looked down a guy’s skirt. I was ashamed of myself. As if it wasn’t bad already, K-otic decided to make a public address and inform everyone around us of what i had done.
That incident opened my eyes. I had nothing to be paranoid about. These people in costumes were just trying to do their jobs. They weren’t monsters, they were people! There was nothing that could startle me anymore! I had already experience the biggest shock of the night. We finished the last maze and I had understood Halloween by then. It wasn’t about the candy or the cross dressers. It was about facing our fears. My brother faced his fear of clowns, K-otic faced his fear of rides, and I faced my fear of pretty much everything. The night ended and I bought a funnel cake to reward myself for being brave. To be honest, Halloween Haunt wasn’t that scary. It was all in my mind. Actually the scariest part of the night was my brother’s girlfriend’s driving. In case she reads this “YES! WE ALL REMEMBER THE CAR WE ALMOST HIT!” Now that that’s out of the way I thank my brother and his girlfriend for the invitation.
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