With Halloween only a few weeks away, many people have started visiting local haunted houses to celebrate this season, including myself.

Last weekend I took it upon myself to go to my first ever haunted house. Originally, I had planned to go to Chainsaw Massacre, considering anything associated with the word chainsaw sounds frightening. Unfortunately, the attraction was closed for the night, and I was forced to pick a different attraction. I decided on Van Buren Frightmare, and the rest of my friends agreed it was a good choice.

Inside the lobby of Van Buren Frightmare, many friendly employees greeted me. I wasn’t nervous at first because the decorations around the room did not seem scary at all. After paying for my ticket, I was led to a room where I waited patiently to proceed into the haunted house. The beginning portion of the haunted house consisted of only a few jump scares that didn’t seem too scary to me. Eventually, I was led through multiple rooms, each containing a different theme. My favorite room out of all was the room containing the fortune teller. A man with a ton of makeup on his face held two small, orange lights that he traced across your hand when he was reading your palm. I found this fascinating because he could guess some character traits I have correctly, and even guessed my friend’s zodiac sign just by looking at his hand.

As you went further throughout the house, the employees would separate you from your groups, which made the experience even more terrifying. Towards the end of the tour, I was left alone with only one of my friends, despite having started off with five people in our group. We were both led out of the room and to a door that led us to the exit of the haunted house. We both assumed this was the end of the house, but we were incredibly wrong. At the end of the street, two guys, one holding a chainsaw and the other one holding a taser were awaiting our arrival. With epic speed, the both of us ran away from them as they continued to chase us to the front entrance of the attraction, which marked the official end of the tour. 

Although I was extremely terrified at some points, the tour was fun and I enjoyed the incorporation of different events. For example, you travel through a laboratory and a forest in a single tour! The employees are very friendly, and would even joke with you after scaring you. This is definitely a place I’d recommend to my peers if they’re seeking a spooky adventure.