A Humorous Halloween Memory

The first unlucky souls were Cindy and Heather. They claimed that they wanted to go first so they could get it over with. They also refused to go alone and became permanently attached, arms tangled, as we walked toward the barn. It was my first Halloween party and my family had spent nearly a month turning our barn into a haunted house. It was something my family was well-known for. For years, even before I was born, the buildings my family owned were transformed into haunted houses and people came from all over to dare to enter. I had grown up hearing the humorous stories, and being a part of them as well, as it was a tradition that had continued, and now wanted to have my own party with school friends.

And here they were, about to enter our haunted house. It was dark outside, a little cold, and Cindy and Heather were staring into a pitch black doorway and looking at me like I was insane to make them go before me. I urged them on, and they pleaded that they couldn't see. I told them to use their hands to feel their way, and pushed them on again. The first part of the haunted house was a maze. It twisted and turned and didn't have an ounce of light. Cindy and Heather had to feel their way, and as they did they would run into hanging bats or step on floor mats that screamed. My friends squealed, squeaked, and begged for me to let them turn around and leave. I made them continue.

They showed some relief when they moved into some light. Of course, it was only a strobe light and a few orange string lights. The one person that was Cindy and Heather shuffled along in the direction I pointed to. When we came to a door that led to a stairway, I told my victims that we were going to the upper level and they shook their heads at me. I opened the door and ushered them towards the doorway. They didn't get far before a giant gorilla jumped out and started shaking the bars we had placed there, and reaching out to try and grab Cindy and Heather. The girls screamed, but didn't move because they were frozen in place.

Laughing, I told them that we weren't going upstairs and to keep walking. Again, they shuffled along, whimpering, until they saw something sitting in the corner of the barn. They stopped short and refused to move. I assured them it was just a dummy, for decoration purposes, and that they just needed to walk right past it. Believing me, although I have no idea why they did, they tried to walk past the dummy, but he yelled out and grabbed at them before they got far. My friends screamed, again, and I laughed, again.

The next area had a fantastic scene. A giant statuesque grim reaper stood behind a veil of spiderwebs. He had an axe, and a victim was sprawled before him. My friends, feeling safe because of the spiderweb wall, stared at the scene and stopped screaming. That was, until the grim reaper dropped his axe and chopped the head off of his lifelike victim. Cindy and Heather jumped back a good few feet and screamed for the umpteenth time.

I had a hard time getting them to continue after that. I practically had to push them. They were getting smarter, too. There was a table with two dummies sitting in chairs across from each other, and they were playing with an Ouija board. I urged Cindy and Heather to read what was written on the paper, what the spirits had proclaimed. They refused, adamantly telling me that the dummies were real people. I kept pushing, and they slowly leaned over to the table, their eyes watching the dummies warily. Just as they started reading the paper, a hand reached out from under the table and grabbed their ankles. My friends moved from that table with speed.

By the time I allowed them to leave the barn they were shaking uncontrollably, and spouting to me how much they hated me. Once outside, they sighed with relief to finally be free. They told me that they never wanted to go near that barn again and there was no way I would get them to. As we started walking back to my grandmother's house, so I could gather up the next victim, a chainsaw roared to life somewhere near us. As was expected, Cindy and Heather screamed. They were so frightened that they untangled their arms and ran for their lives toward my grandmother's house and safety. Just as they reached the porch, they stopped dead in their tracks. Standing on the top step of the porch was someone in a large, heavy army coat, their face painted black. The person stood, unmoving and silent. After a good ten seconds of staring at the person, Cindy and Heather screamed and ran BACK to the barn they claimed never to go near again.