"I wanna stay with Daddy!"- A Halloween Memory

As it creeps closer until Halloween (21 days!), I have been flooded of memories from Halloweens past. Even though they were all great, one memory in particular has stuck in my mind. It happened when I was in elementary school (3rd grade, I believe) and Mom worked at Olan Mils when it was still in the area. Every year, they would have a haunted house, and decorate each and every level  in a certain theme.

Instead of trick or treating that year, Mom decided to let us hand out the candy and dress up. At that time, Mom had finally let us choose our own costumes. Twin was a ghost and I was a witch. Dad was a vampire, and Mom was a clown. Dad and I sat in this little alcove made from sheets, cubicles, and chairs while Mom & Twin were somewhere down the hall.

Remember those themes I was talking about? Down one hall and to the left, one room was made up like a operating room gone wrong. It had a strobe light, and scary "monsters" (Hey, I was only in the 3rd grade!). These 2 girls, who were in middle school, were scared to go down the hallway because it was dark, and the strobe light made it spooky. Mom asked my sister and I if we wanted to go with them to the room so that the 2 middle schoolers wouldn't be scared. Since Twin and I still did everything together at that point, I agreed. Not even 5 feet from the room, I heard this roar that sounded like the gates of Hell opening up. The minute that sound hit my ears, I screamed "I wanna stay with Daddy!" and ran to Dad, tears streaming down my face. I think Twin was still a little more brave than me at that point, but I could tell she was just as terrified as I was because when they came back, her eyes looked a little swollen, like she had been crying.

What's weird is that 20 years later, I love Halloween and would love to have a spooky haunted house (As long as it's not gory. To me, that isn't Halloween.). I might have been a child back then, but I still remember that Halloween is about spooks and good ol' scary fun.