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Here Come the Haunted Houses and Fright Nights

Read more articles on Let Me Share With You and Holidays.

October 13, 2007

About This Editor: Karen has enjoyed her many varied experiences in corporate business management, dance education, and preschool assistance. She hopes to write about these past lives-and more-from her home in Pittsburgh, PA, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and 3 cats.

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I think that you still have to have a bit of kid left in you to get a kick out of Halloween.

I have a lot left in me.

My city does not have a huge array of “Haunted Houses” during October, but we have a few pretty good ones. We have one at our zoo, one by our three rivers, and last night I visited our amusement park’s Phantom Night, which is probably the best of them all.

There’s nothing like riding a rollercoaster in the dark, without running lights around its structure or cars, and seeing only orange bulbs hundreds of feet down. (On one of these rides, my husband and I waited for the first seat, and it was worth it.) The park felt surreal after the hustle-bustle of summer. Gone were the calliope notes, light summer clothes and ice cream cones. They were replaced with dozens of smoke machines, eerie music pumped from every speaker, and bundled-up revelers drinking hot chocolate.

It was so cool.

Without the suffocating heat and sunshine, it didn’t even seem like the same place. Since most of the folks were in line for rides or haunted mansions, paths were relatively isolated. With the swirling smoke obscuring all but a few feet in front of a walker (and the knowledge that a ghoul could jump out at any moment), it was indeed an unsettling journey from point A to point B. The attractions required waits between 30-45 minutes, but were fairly long and well executed. Even though 99% of the actors were only between the ages of 17-20, they took their jobs seriously and were successfully frightening. Costumes, makeup, and all of the scary Halloween accoutrements that one could hope for were there, so I consider it a pretty good time.

There were also sideshows, magical acts, and classic horror movies. If a person wasn’t in the spirit before they got there, they couldn’t help but leave in the Halloween state of mind. At one point, my husband remarked that we were the oldest people in that particular line. (Since it is not recommended for kids under 13, you can imagine that it was teen heaven.) But who cares? Halloween is plain fun, and kids don’t have a monopoly on fun.

At times it seems that this holiday is going the way of all the rest, and becoming over-saturated with trickery and cheesiness, but when you think about it, trickery and cheesiness can only make it better. Bring on the screams! Give me some shudders! As long as it’s pretend, it’s fun. We can all use some pretend fear in our life now and then, if only to laugh it away…