The Haunted Circus

I guess the peer pressure got to me (plus a little begging from Tayshaun).  For the past two years, he has been asking me to take him to a haunted house.  

Maybe I never got over my experience at 8 years old (??) at Lagoon in their Haunted House.  I'm certain that experience contributed to my claustrophobia, today.  All I remember was being lost in the pitch black, 101 degrees, smelly maze of hallways, with 20 people pushing up behind me.  I'm sure we were exceeding the capacity limit in that joint.  All I could think of was, time-out!  I need to know where the EXIT is LET ME OFF THIS RIDE!  But instead I pretty much cried and hyperventilated all the way to the end.  I don't remember who I was with that day or how I got out of that damn maze.  But I'll never forget the feeling I had while in there.

So when Char emailed me about a great discount for the Haunted Circus, I was skeptical.  I thought we'd be going to a haunted circus, sitting down, eating popcorn, while some comical, but bloody looking, clowns did some tricks or something.

I'd driven by the location several times in the weeks prior to the event and noticed only semi-truck beds with advertisement on them.  I kept wondering where the circus tent was.  NOT!  On the day of the event it was raining so I googled the damn event to see if we'd be walking in the rain from semi- to semi-.  Feeling pretty satisfied that we'd be covered, I couldn't use the bad weather as an excuse to not go so I tried to be excited for the gored evening we were in for!  I didn't know how to prepare Tayshaun for the event since I'd never gone myself.  But another of my friends had mentioned she took her 7 year old son last year so I felt pretty sure that if a 7 year old could handle the Haunted Circus, Tayshaun and I could as well.

Tayshaun was pretty brave as a woman with a bloody scar across her face took our entry tickets.  Rain was sprinkling a bit so Tayshaun and I waited under the entry while the others showed their tickets.  At the entry, it was semi-dark and we were greeted by a bloody clown.  Tayshaun immediately panicked and insisted that we should leave.  When the rest of our group met up with us, Tayshaun wasn't feeling any braver.  He let me take a quick pic of him and Alex, standing as far away from a mechanical, drooling clown, as he could manage.

As we waited in the VIP line (hey I thought VIPs didn't have to wait), Tayshaun started crying.  Marc tried to make him feel brave but it wasn't happening.

We entered the first semi-, immediately entering darkness.  Tayshaun wasn't just weeping, he was full out crying.  Nothing had happened yet.  What the heck!?  So I suggested he man-up.  Char offered to carry him but Tayshaun wasn't light so that lasted for about a second.  We stumbled through a smoky hazed and strobed lighted and barred maze.  We guessed ourselves out of a room of locked doors.  All the while, we were greeted by screaming clowns. Tayshaun was crying and with his head smashed against Char's back and my arms wrapped around him. I suggested he keep his eyes closed and we'd lead him through this creepiness.  But there were many distractions with other groups screaming and bloody clowns in our face and scaring us along the way.  I guess he couldn't help taking sneak peaks which only caused him to cry louder and beg to get out of there.

We rounded a corner and entered a very narrow pitch black hallway.  At this point, our group of six had pretty much been walking arm in arm and taking turns leading the group (everyone except me & Tayshaun).  But when we reached this narrow hallway, our group bunched up as closely together as

possible walking like a human catepillar, leaning against the wall and trying to find our way to the light, or to the next corner, or to the next room of doors, whatever... just out of that frikkin' hall!

We briefly encountered a doorway with a purple fluorescent light glowing and showing us our way to the next hallway of dangling plastic heads, leg and arm limbs.  But what was worse was the gel like hallway walls sucking us in.  PITCH BLACK! All of a sudden, I was back at Lagoon and 8 years old.

All I wanted to do was get out.  And there's Char obviously uncomfortable and dealing with her claustrophobia and Tayshaun screaming in Char's back.  Not the best time to panic, so I quickly recovered and lifted my bent elbows out to keep the gel-like walls from rubbing to closely to my body.  And offered Char the same advice.  Ok, so Tayshaun is really panicking now 'cause he's feeling our anxiety. I tried to calm him with my fake bravado.

Finally we walked up and down some stairs which led us outside.  But that wasn't the end. A screaming clown badgered us while we looked for an opening where Tayshaun and I could leave from.  At this point, I was as anxious as him to hit the highway.  When the bloody clown changed to his natural voice, I was relieved that he offered to help us to escape.

Tayshaun and I stumbled to an non-gated area which led to the parking lot.  I could only hope the rest of our crew enjoyed that crazy experience.  All I knew was Tayshaun and I could breath a little easier.

On the walk to our car, Tayshaun bravely recanted our journey as though he'd enjoyed the walk through the semis.  He obviously was peeking more than I thought he was.  He wanted to experience this event but was just too terrified.  I had to call that little boy on his cowardly behavior.  "Whatever Tayshaun!  You were terrified.  Don't act brave now."  He had to agree.

I thought I might have scarred him for life...like my experience at Lagoon when I was 8.  I let him sleep with me in case he had nightmares.  He was still talking about the Haunted Circus the next morning but we slept peacefully.

The good thing out of this is I won't have to go to a haunted house with Tayshaun ever again.