How Many Haunted Houses?

How many haunted houses do you visit each year?

I remember one year my daughter, Amber, was still in school, not sure if she was in high school or in middle school. I told her that she could be bring a friend. Amber brought her friend, Shanna. We drove all over town checking out haunts. I believe we probably saw about 5 haunts that night.

There was a couple inside a mall. One was outside in a strip shopping center. One was near a racetrack. One was out in a farm like yard. I believe I got them all.

I can't remember all the details of all the haunts. There's just a few things that I really recall. I do remember when I went through the haunts that when I got back to the car, I would write down all the really cool stuff that I saw inside that haunt.

Inside one haunt, there was a person that looked like they didn't have a bottom half of their body. They had this person up high and in back of a room so that the guests couldn't mess with her. I remember stopping, staring and wondering, "how in the world was that done?" My daughter would just say "hurry up MOM!!" She was scared and wanted me to go but I couldn't help myself and had to look. I know now how it was done but back then... it was amazing (still is actually).

There was another haunt that had all this fog and you felt like you were walking through a swamp. All gurgle-ly and murky sounding with the cricket sounds and "plant life" around you. The scare-actors would hide behind the walls and get your feet as you walked by. That was pretty cool because you always expect someone to jump out in front of you so you don't think about your feet all the time.

The haunt that was outside in a farm like setting. I really liked that. You wandered around their yard on a path. They had a wagon with their skeletons in it. I can't remember some of the other stuff but then you get to a small building. You had to go up some stairs and there were a few scares in that and then back outside. I loved the outside part but it gets really cold here in October (sometimes, not this past year though) and outside could get pretty miserable. But the adrenaline was pumping pretty decent so you don't think about it too much.

Another one in the strip shopping center had a TV playing for the people in line to watch. It was the original 13 Ghosts!! I saw that when I was younger. It was one of the first scary movies that I can recall. I was ohhhhhh about 8 or 9 then. (Oops, did I just date myself?) Anyway, funny how that's what I really recall from that haunt.

The best part, I also remember between haunts that the girls would be asleep in the back seat. Even though they were tired they still trudged on!