Haunted Housing

I'm not particularly a huge fan of haunted houses because I don't think it's fun to be scared. I've only been to one haunted house in my entire life, and it was because I was reviewing it for my university newspaper. I apparently made a big mistake in writing the review from a first person perspective, so someone else wrote up a review of it and included it with the other Halloween features. Needless to say I was a little miffed. The house I went to was the Culbertson Mansion in Evansville, Indiana. The mansion is haunted, but there were no tours of it going on at the time because it was under renovation. I believe the "haunted house" part was set up in the carriage house.

I went with two guy friends, and we had to wait a long time in line. There was guy outside trying to get us all worked up, nervous, and a little scared before going in the haunted house. It didn't work on me. I was pretty much bored. The guy didn't tell us anything about the history of the mansion or about the ghosts that haunted it. When I finally went inside the house, I was still pretty cocky and brave feeling. I walked through and sidestepped all the creatures and people trying to scare me; I recognized many of the rooms as being scenes from movies. I got a little nervous going through "The Ring" but didn't really get scared until we had to go through a tight, narrow hallway with a low ceiling. There was a guy with a chainsaw (Mike Myers from Halloween I think...) following close behind us. I freaked out. I held on tightly to one of my friend's hands and tried to rush through the tunnel as quick as possible. I could feel the vibrations from the chainsaw on the back of my neck, and it made really nervous and scared. Oh there was a creepy clown too. I made it through the rest of the house no problem. In the end, I was a little scared but never terrified. Nevertheless, I don't want to try my luck in a scarier haunted house.

Recently I watched a couple documentaries on the History and Travel Channels about the top, scariest haunted houses in America. I was scared silly watching it. The effects and costumes and sets some of them have are amazing, not to mention horrifying. They're far from the predictable cheesiness of the haunted house I went to. One haunted house I would be tempted to brave would be the Headless Horseman hayride in New York. There's a story and most importantly you stay on a truck bed, nice and safe while you watch all the creepy things on the side. There's a real headless horseman that chases you, but I don't think he actually gets on the truck and neither does anyone/thing else. I'm big on distance and personal space.

I keep thinking I'd like to do a corn maze haunted house, like Field of Screams. It just kind of sounds fun. Then again, I lack any sense of direction and with scary people chasing me with chainsaws, I think the scare factor would outweigh the fun factor. I'd be lost in there til close, and then the people would be thinking, "Man, now we gotta go in and get this dumb girl who can't find her way out and is too easy to scare."

There's some really scary haunted houses with actual, horrible histories located in Louisville. The Baxter Avenue Morgue and Waverly Hills Sanitarium are two of the most well known and scariest places nationwide. There's the Haunted Hotel which is a haunted house  which is worked on all year and located close to campus.  Many people I know rave about its awesomeness and scare factor. Thinking of local haunted houses reminds me also of Paducah, where I used to live. The houses well known to locals are the Judgment House and Talon Falls. I would imagine the Judgment House to be very scary and over the top. It is a very conservative, Christian, Heaven and Hell themed haunted house. The story changes every year, but it's meant to scare teens out of their wits so that they all become or remain good, moral Christians and go to Heaven. I've never been to either, but my sister has been to Talon Falls. She told it was corn maze and really fun to go through.

I've always been fascinated with the rumors of the haunted house that you have to sign a waiver before entering. At minimum it has 7-10 rooms or floors and at max up to 100. You pay around $100-150 to get it, however it you make it through the entire haunted house you receive a full refund or a refund plus extra--up to $500. The people inside can touch you and do pretty much whatever they can do to scare you. I've heard that a group of marines went in and made it to the 20th floor or room before getting so scared they had to leave. No one I know has ever been to this haunted house. I always hear about from friends who hear about from their friends. Again, nobody personally knows anyone who has ever been in such a haunted house. It's one of those Halloween urban legends.

So anyone a frequenter of haunted houses? How many have you been to? What types have you gone through? Is there a favorite? What's the allure or turn off of haunted houses? Do you enjoy being scared? Or do you like to see other people, specifically close family or friends being scared? What's the scariest room in a haunted house (i.e. kids room, insert horror film room)?

It's Candy Time!

I love the movie Monster House; it was actually pretty scary for a kids movie. Thinking about the movie, obviously makes me think of Trick-or-Treating. I was never allowed to Trick or Treat by myself or even walk around the neighborhood. My mother had to drive me around from house to house; we also didn't get to go to many houses because my mom didn't want to drive that far. The only exception to this was when I went Trick-or-Treating with a friend or relatives. In those cases, I usually got to walk around in a group and the parents just maintained a distance from behind. The last time I went Trick-or-Treating, I was in 8th grade.  I went with my sister around our small neighborhood (by ourselves) and we took our cat along in a bag. He wore a bandana around his neck; we said he was a biker kitty. I have two vivid Trick-or-Treating memories from my childhood.

The first: I was a mermaid for Halloween. It was one piece dress with a light, blue long sleeved top, gold seashell bikini, long, shiny green skirt. I guess I thought the dress was too open or loose to look like a tail. I remember my aunt sewing it tighter around my legs which made it difficult to walk fast or run. I remember me, my sister, and cousins all going out and racing to this one house. My skirt being constricting and my shoelace untied, I tripped and fell face flat in the wet grass. By the time I got up, everyone was back with candy.

The second: I was in 5th grade; I think I was a witch or something generic. I went out with my sister, my mom's friend and her two daughters (about the same age as my sister and me). We were in a large, rich neighborhood, and there was one house with a two door garage turned into a haunted house. There was a clown running a popcorn machine outside. We got a bag of popcorn and ate it before going inside. There cobwebs and purple and green lights all over. There were people in scary masks and costumes lurking in the corners, jumping out and growling at us. I remember my friend saying, "Just stick out your hand, and they'll give you stuff." So I stuck out my hand while closing my eyes, I got a Halloween pencil with a purple bat eraser and candy. It was pretty neat. To this day, I still think of it as the best house I ever visited Trick-or-Treating.

After I got home from Trick-or-Treating, I dumped out all my candy out on the floor. I carefully sorted it into piles. I separated them into name brand candy bars, Reeses or peanut butter candies, suckers, chocolate coins or other plain chocolates wrapped in colorful tin foil, and Nerds and other fruit flavored candies. There was pile far off to the side of the reject candy; it was filled with cheap, bad candy or candy I didn't know the taste of. I always threw out those orange and black wrapped candies. I never knew what they were and always assumed they were bad. I just recently saw a bag of them at the Dollar General and learned that they are peanut butter taffy candies. I also threw out the black and white striped rectangle candies, which I eventually learned were Mary Janes. Then there was some yellow, red, and blue wrapped rectangle candy I threw out.

I always made my candy last, and rationed out certain candies so all the good ones wouldn't be gone first. My mom never checked my candy either. I always remember the warnings about razor blades and poison being put in candy or apples; I never heeded them though. I ate my candy as soon as I got back from Trick-or-Treating.

What's one of the most vivid Halloween memories you have? How did you go Trick-or-Treating; what were you allowed and not allowed to do? Did you ever sort your candy or just eat it all at once? Were there any candies you shunned and automatically threw out? Did your parents have to check your candy before you ate it? What's the oldest you've gone Trick-or-Treating? Do you take your younger siblings or relatives out and mooch of their candy?

Halloween: Couple Costumes

I always like the idea of couples dressing in coordinating costumes. However, I'm all about the nerdy, more unconventional couple costumes. Since Dustin and I have been together, we've always coordinated costumes on Halloween. The first year we were together we "Masqueraded," second year: Janine Melnitz and Louis Tully aka the secretary and accountant from the Ghostbusters movies, and last year...oh wait we didn't coordinate...I was a gothic lolita and he just dressed remotely gothic...this year of course we're going as Professor Layton and his boy assistant Luke. Yes make all the jokes you want about ancient Greece and man-boy love. I've made them all myself, actually that's how the costume idea came about. Dustin says we should make out in public when we're at Sugoi Con so we can make all the yaoi fangirls squee. My Luke costume is pretty much finished; all I need is a white, oxford shirt and suspenders. Dustin has to get an orange, collared shirt and make a top hat. I'll post pics where we're done. Even if you're not part of a couple, coordinating costumes are fun. So what are you all's Halloween costume ideas? Anyone coordinating or matching with a friend or group? Opinions on coordinating costumes for couples or groups or pairs?

Here's a few pics of my and Dustin's past coordinating costumes:

Okay, not really a costume, but one of my fave photos taken in October when looking in a vintage store (Queen of Rags) for a costume. 2006

"Masquerade Plastic Faces on Parade." We bought the dress and the tail coat in Queen of Rags (both on sale for $3). We made our own masks by going to Hobby Lobby buying a basic, plain masks and then coloring them sharpies (Dustin) and adding sequins and feathers (me).  2006











Yay, the ultimate nerdy couple! My glasses are fake; I got them in the clearance bin at Claire's. Notice how Dustin is wearing his real glasses inside of the frames of another pair of glasses. We went to see Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D and got the idea to punch out the lenses and just use the thick black frames. I just used cheap, colored hair spray for my hair.

Gothic Horror Party 2008 Yeah, we don't really match except for the black. It's okay though. Dustin's friend made the tie and he sewed the little black x's on his collar--the outfit is actually for a cosplay. My GL skirt I bought at Queen of Rags and the fantastic hat I bought on Ebay.