the haunted circus

i was excited to be heading back to texas.  i love texas. i'm a lot more country than i think i've previously realized.  but i was also excited because i'd finally be in the right texas town at the right time, to meet up with my friend old virginia friend, stephanie.  to clarify, she's not old, i'm not old, but our friendship is old. old like a fine wine that just gets better with time.

so, i had a lot to look forward to, and when i got a text from a relatively new co-worker asking if i'd be up for a haunted house while we were in texas, the ante got upped!

the decision was made to visit the strangling brothers haunted circus.  i'd like to tell you that i selected it because it appeared on 'top haunt' lists, or that i am particularly terrified of clowns, but really, i selected it because it was the ONLY option on a monday night.  which makes it a happy accident that it is hands down the scariest haunt i've experienced!

since i'm not especially bothered by clowns, i expected it to be 'okay', but it was beyond memorable.  being there on a monday night meant very short lines.  which should have moved faster.  but when i realized why it was slow going, i forgave the delay.  it turns out that they were staggering each group so that you were only going through with the people you came with. that alone made it stand apart.  i hate being lumped in with a larger group and depending on where you are in that larger group, you may actually see everything coming before it comes.  this was not the case at the circus.

also setting it apart was that rather than being set in some kind of building, in line with it's circus theme, it was actually roughly 30 big-rig size trailers linked together in some case and with some outdoor scenes happening between every 3 or 4 trailers.  this was also most excellent for me as i tend to get very hot in haunted houses and the outdoor vignettes gave my body a chance to regulate it's temperature.

but even beyond these seemingly subtle differences, the quality of the scares was far above average.  while not every 'scene' made me react, there was literally something for everyone. in fact, it was this experience that made me realize that my quirky 'cabin fever' --the one that would make me go driving around the neighborhood in three feet of snow, just to know that i could,  is actually a fear on some level.

there was one area in particular that tapped into the fear.  dense with white fog and populated with people wearing white masks and white clothing so that you could not see them until they were inches from your face, it was also impossible to find a way out.  we were in that trailer for probably 6 or 7 minutes, at least two of which, i spent curled up in a standing ball in a corner. our exit was finally made possible by one of the whiteys with a finger point, and i'm not sure we would have found it without the help.  we couldn't even figure out where we had come from!  it was soooo good!

i recently read a review on yelp where the reviewer, referring to some haunt or another, said he considered a haunt a good value if you got at least a minute for every dollar you spent.  we spent 25 dollars and it took a little over 45 minutes for us to go through the entire experience, never running into or being bumped into by any other participants.  they were truly excellent minutes.

and the texas fun was not over.  the following evening gave me a chance to spend a few hours with stephanie.  she had picked fred's texas cafe, a ddd joint that, it turned out, i hadn't been to. we grubbed and gabbed, and i was reminded just how much i love seeing old friends. i love that they come with a shared built in history.  i love that you share certain understandings and don't have to cover old ground, but can go on the same nostalgia trip should you so choose. and i love that you can just pick up where you left off.

needless to say it was a most excellent tuesday night in texas.