Halloween hints
By Liane Kaneko
of real hauntingsIS Halloween supposed to be the scariest time of year? I thought Christmas was scary -- the thought of dishing out all that dough for gifts ... But seriously, when this time comes around, ghost stories, haunted houses and movie thrillers are everywhere, and on All Hallow's Eve, the dead walk the earth, not that I've ever seen it happen. When it comes to haunted houses, I'm pretty much the type of person who's ready to charge in to check for faults, but then I end up being chicken and freaking out over everything.
One of my scariest moments in a haunted house happened 10 years ago, when I was about 8, my sister Tara was 6 and youngest sister Kyle was 3. The house was at Bishop Museum and at first, everything seemed "normal": people in costumes were yelling "Boo!" and witches were laughing wildly in a graveyard scene.
Then we came to a dark hallway lined with black garbage bags. A camouflaged door creaked open and a mummy appeared. The mummy picked up Tara and started growling. She started screaming and crying and then Kyle started crying and I was so scared I started to scream.
I think the mummy got scared and immediately put Tara down, saying how sorry he was. I think he was just a student. My dad grabbed our hands and we ran out an exit. We hadn't even gotten halfway through the house.
Ever since then, we've all been hesitant about going to those things. My mom had to really coax us into going to one at Disneyland. She assured us nothing would come out and touch us.
But something did happen. The ride's safety person jumped in front of our Haunted House car with a flashlight and yelled "Boo!" just before the ride started. That just made our day.
NOW, I try to avoid acting scared in front of my friends. It's kind of hard when it comes to the very public act of seeing horror/thriller films. Some of this year's examples are "Kiss the Girls" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer." My favorite scary movie was "Scream," which actually did make me scream.
Deep down, the memories of these movies and Halloweens past have left their mark. Even so, I always thought those make-believe fears would never cross over into real life.
People talk about other-worldly experiences and I hoped I would never have such an encounter. But something started happening around my sophomore year. Late at night, I'd be sleeping when suddenly I would feel a pressure over my body. My limbs would freeze and I would find myself unable to move, scream or even open my eyes. And I could hear funny noises, not loud, but little sparkly sounds.
At first it didn't happen often, but it got to a point where it happened almost every other night. I got really scared and told my parents, who were skeptical. They thought it was stress, or that I was dreaming. I tried to believe that.
It continued to happen, and my parents started to worry that a spirit might have attached itself to me. I was blessed by a priest and told to say the Lord's Prayer every night before bedtime. It helped.
At times I would feel the pressure again, but I'd quickly say the prayer and it would go away. Similar things have happened to people I know. They suspect that they've been visited by spirits too.
Some people may think that it sounds really corny, but occasions like Halloween help to remind us that there are things we don't know and questions we can't answer. Halloween may be spooky, and to some it may seem silly, but to me it's one outlet for facing our fears and dealing with them. There's nothing wrong with that. Although I think I'll stay away from any more haunted houses.
Liane Kaneko is a senior at Castle High School graduate. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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