Ahhh, Halloween… Years ago it was undoubtedly my favorite holiday of the year. More than Christmas, St. Patricks Day, and a close winner over the 4th of July.
Then I grew up, and somehow Halloween lost its luster. Maybe it was the realization that eating 42 bite sized Butterfingers in one night would give me both acne and a stomach ache. Maybe it was outgrowing trick or treating. But after much consternation, I now know why Halloween has dipped so much in my holiday pecking order.
The steady decline started when I was 19. A handful of friends and I went to the Bricktown Haunted Warehouse, a staple of my Halloween, and on this fateful night, I learned many things. Pinhead was the greatest horror movievillain in person, chainsaws with cardboard blades feel like reel ones when being chased thru poorly lit hallways, and I really, REALLY hate clowns.
My friends put me at the end of our group, little did I know, that person gets the worst of it. Early in the tour, an evil clown stationed in a strobe-lit room jumps out, everyone screams and laughs and moves on. I become stricken with fear, and proceed to look around every corner for clowns. I walk past the electrocution chamber, evil doctors surgery table and the possessed kids room, and I barely bat an eye because of some guy making $6.50 an hour in makeup and a wig scared the bejesus out of me, and I KNOW he’s coming back. The next 10 minutes is a blur, but evidently I stopped to tie my shoe, got left by my group, the clown came back, I punched him, and was politely asked by management to not return. Bad way to end the night.
THEN I find out that two of the greatest urban legends of Haunted Houses around here don’t even exist. Anyone remember hearing about the “13 stories of hell” haunted house that was supposedly so scary that if you made it all the way thru the top floor you got your money back. Yeah, doesn’t exist… or about the Haunted Orphanage in Guthrie that 74 kids died in a fire in… a fake as well.
It was so much more fun when the fear was imagined and fun. Then you grow up and realize that there are some sick people in this world that inflict real fear and torture, and suddenly it’s doesn’t seem the same.
Haunted Houses lost their luster on me, but movies for some reason still do the trick, if they are done right. The horror genre has had its moments over the last few decades. The good (Rob Zombie’s “Halloween”, The Ring), The Bad (All of the Final Destinations), and the Ugly (The Lizzy McGuire Movie), but few have done as well for me lately than The Haunting in Connecticut, House of 1000 Corpses, and Paranormal Activity.
The documentary setting of Paranormal Activity adds an interesting twist to the movie. So much of television now is reality based, that this almost seems real, add in the element of the paranormal (which I fully believe in) and it is a mixture of enough relatable elements to scare most anyone. I am usually not one for watching horror movies in theaters (too many distractions), but for the sheer panic some people get from this movie, it’s totally worth it.
Do yourself a favor, go see it in the theater, then go again a few weeks later and just watch the people around you! You might ruin the movie for someone else with your laughter, but the fun of watching someone fling popcorn orMike and Ikes into the air when they are scared is one of the simple joys in life.
Coming next week; Movie Reviews from Michael Jackson: This Is It, my first Thunder blog, and a restaurant review from wherever the UrbanSpoon application on iPhone sends me.
To find out about upcoming events like Chevelle at the Diamond Ballroom, Celtic Woman at the Ford Center, or Coupons to area businesses be sure to hit www.360OKC.com!
