Halloween Memories, Scariest Halloween Moment

For as long as I can remember, I've always been enthused about Halloween. My mother started it. She'd encourage my brother and I to help her out with Halloween decorations. One time we even created a haunted house, and my brother stuffed a man in a trench coat and pants to stand on our porch with a Jason mask on. I don't think we got many trick-or-treaters that year though because people were too scared to come on the porch. (This was in the '80s when "Friday the 13th" was the hottest thing out.)

Speaking of Halloween memories, I've had some scary moments of my own with movies, at home and at Six Flags Fright Fest. From cracking my watch to ripping my pants to a crazy phone call to chainsaws and Chucky, I've seen it all.

College party: I'm not a big party or club person, but when I go, the idea of standing around on the wall is not my thing. I will dance. I will socialize. I will absolutely flirt with somebody while I'm there. I've also never been too shy when it came to attention. My first year at Lincoln University (Missouri), I decided I was going to dress up for a Halloween party some buddies of mine were going to. One of my girls went as a baby, got a real diaper and had a baby shirt on. Me? I don't get into cutesy costumes. The grosser, the better. I went as a dead bride (see photo). I ran around the parking lot screaming "My husband is gone!" Crazy enough, even in this full attire, I still entered a dance contest and got low with a couple dudes on the dance floor. Even in the non-sexiest costume, you can still be sexy. Click here to find out how to make fake wounds for Halloween.

Weird Chicago tour / Al Capone tour: Chicago gangs don't phase me so the Al Capone tour didn't do it for me, but I highly recommend the Weird Chicago tour. The Congress Plaza Hotel has this piano that creeps me out, but it was a fence we stood by near the glass house associated with the World's Fair Hotel that really gave me a chill. If you've never done a Weird Chicago tour, I encourage you to try it at least once, especially with tour guide Erica Behringer.

Six Flags Great America Fright Fest: The first time I went to Six Flags for Halloween was in high school. My friends and I spent most of our time talking about boys, and at one point, a friend of mine made a bet with me about whether this guy liked me or another girl. We completely missed out on the whole "fright" part. I was 17 at the time and 10 years later I went back with my older brother for his birthday. I was scared out of my mind. I used to love haunted houses growing up, but apparently I grew up and grew out of it. There must've been a target on my head "scared lady in orange shirt" because the random ghosts and ghouls kept finding me and following me. One guy (who I believe was one of the Seven Deadly Sins) not only followed me to the end of his post but he followed me to the next area. My brother thought that was too funny, and I was (kinda) not amused. When we went into one of the haunted houses, I got chased out by some guy with a chainsaw. I cracked my watch, ripped my jeans and fell flat on my chest, and my brother laughed. I was over haunted houses for the rest of the night, but would I do it again? Probably.

Haunted House with Chucky: Minus that "Halloween" experience, I usually laugh through horror movies minus a few, like "Paranormal Activity," which I saw with my parents last year on my birthday. That film scared the hell outta me. But one movie I've never been able to handle is "Chucky." I've never been a fan of ventriloquists or dolls that have realistic eyes. My mother gave me a doll whose eyes would close when I laid her down and open when I stood her up, and she was my height. That doll went into the attic in no time, and to this day, I still don't like going into their attic because I know that doll is there. When I was little though, I still wanted to go to all the grown-up haunted houses. My mother, a couple of my cousins and all of my friends would go. I always had a good time, but one year, I got to the end of the haunted house and thought it was finally over. Just like that Six Flags haunted house, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, I saw that orange hair and those overalls, and I screamed like someone was killing me. I took off running for about a full block. I left my cousin and my best friend. My mother and my older cousin couldn't stop laughing (see how helpful my family is?) long enough to catch me. Finally, they did.

Oh Halloween, it's been a blast!