Last night The Little Guy had a football buddy stay over. It was Hubby's idea that we all go to a haunted house after football practice and dinner had passed. I was supportive of the idea... while trying to block out that I hate being scared.
So at 9:30 we finally headed to Hangman's House of Horrors. There were four spooky houses to tour. And lots of spooky costumed characters roaming around jumping in our faces and blowing in my hair. Yuck. The Little Guy and his 11-year-old-self was certainly not entertained at first. He didn't want to go through any of the houses. (This was totally opposite from his behavior earlier... he couldn't wait to get there!) We started small and went into a blacked out labyrinth first, and he realized it wasn't all that bad if he kept his face buried in the back of Hubby's jacket. (He emerged from the tours with big smiles and lots of conversation, so I'm guessing he wasn't traumatized.)
So we toured the spooky trails in this formation: Hubby in front, The Little Guy, Me and Football Buddy bringing up the rear. FB was a great sport... he talked to the grizzly characters instead of being spooked. In the main house that we toured at the very end, an insane asylum which literally took 30 minutes to get through, the four of us were split into two about half-way through the house. That freaked me out. Big time. I had to play leader with FB's hands on my shoulders. I had to navigate through dark hallways with things hanging from the ceiling that touched my hair (major yuck) and be the first to get spooked around every corner. FB gave me a few pointers as we trudged through the mazes, telling me someone was coming up on the left or if I was going the wrong way. I was so grateful for his help! I kept thinking, as I was sweating bullets, that I couldn't wait to get through this place and out into the fresh air. Finally, we made it to the end, through the chainsaws being thrust around in the air by hillbillies, and I could remove my coat and let my sticky self breathe.
Then we headed home. My shoulders ached. My neck was tense. And I laughed a lot the entire night. It was a lot more fun for all of us than we thought it would be. As it turns out I've entered a new level of tolerance for being spooked. Don't get me wrong, I still don't want the guys in my household jumping out of dark spaces causing me to dribble in my drawers. But, I think I can add haunted houses to my list of things to do before Halloween each year.
