On Halloween

Jaycees Haunted House has been a long held Halloween tradition in my hometown. Young volunteers from the community converge with one goal in mind - scaring the crap out of people.

I remember my first trip to Jaycees' local haunted house. I must have been around thirteen, a group of my friends had the nefarious idea of going to the haunted house that Friday night. Each had been there previous years, I was the only haunted house virgin.

Honestly, I was scared. I didn't really care for the idea of a haunted house attraction. There was a fear in my mind that some physical harm would actually befall me. I would be hacked to pieces by a maniac, drug below ground by a zombie, or entombed forever with the blood sucking undead. As my imagination ran rampant, I was terrified of what I had gotten myself into.

Like a creeping ghoul from the shadows, Friday night arrived. The small group of friends had turned into a large group, including several of the cutest girls in school. Now, my fears turned from being disemboweled to wetting myself in fright in front of my junior high school crush, Emily.

As my friends cheered and giggled as the line shortened and we came closer to the entrance I was full of dread. I believe that I was actually hyperventilating, however, I was able to disguise it as laughter. Weird wheezing laughter, but laughter.

Inevitably, it was our turn to make our way through the horrors of Jaycees haunted house. Instantly, all of my fear, all of my worry was alleviated by one simple act.

Emily grasped my arm and buried her clenched eyes into my chest.

This was awesome! For that one wonderful night I was Emily's protector, guiding her through the strobe lit passageways and past latex masked hooligans. Screams and laughter resonated throughout the halls and passages.

Finally, we exited past an unchained werewolf, chasing us to the well lit exit, only to make our way back to the entryway for another trip through the horrors.

It's a great memory, and one that would not have been possible without the Jaycees haunted house.

Around this time of year I become nostalgic, and I did a bit of internet research about my hometown's Jaycees haunted house. I was pleasantly surprised to seen that the local paper did a great job covering the Jaycees' latest offering.

It's a really funny video, edited to perfection. It features the Wolfman (Jason Eddinger) recounting tales of past performances, while Jaycees' chairman, Ted Weiscope, details specifics about this years haunted house.

Watch it here.

Have any great haunted house memories? Post them in the comments.