As mentioned in my last post, I reinstated Halloween costumes this year, as well as some holiday fun. Over the years, our go-to festivity was always Soup-O-Ween at my friend Rob’s house. Picture yummy, homemade soups and bread dippers while giving out candy to kiddos in Southern Village. It never disappointed, and the poblano soup was always my favorite. I tried a few times to recreate Rob’s hot soup goodness, but it never came close to being as good as his, and my family was not shy in giving me this feedback.
For costumes, I decided on Tiffany and Chucky from the Child’s Play movie series. I even hit up the local Wal-Mart for some bloody make-up, black eye liner, and knives complete with liquid blood. I tried my costume on and sent a pic of me as Tiffany to the husband at work, and he sent a laughing response back which was a bit insulting. I was supposed to be scary, not funny.
For our Soup-O-Ween replacement activity, I got us VIP tickets to the Boone Hall Fright Nights. VIP tickets mean you get “faster to the fear,” which is a spooky way to say you are paying for the Fast Pass version of the events. Yesterday was the day, and I was getting our costumes ready when I decided to check the website to see what time we could check in and when the events started. In the FAQ section in tiny print it said “no costumes, masks, or props allowed.” What?? No costumes? When I asked about this policy at my new Kava Bar (I do miss you Carrboro Krave), the barista said that one guy probably ruined the concept of costumes for everyone. Then it kind of made sense. How would the actors know who was a part of the show if everyone was in costumes? Plus, how would Fright Night goers know a “real” police officer from a person in costume? So bummed about no costumes, then a friend texted me a picture of a horrible accident at the intersection we would need to get through to go the event. An hour before we were supposed to head out. Picture multiple fire trucks, ambulance, stretchers. I was considering just bailing on the whole event. It did not feel like it was in the cards. But the social husband pushed forward, and we headed out for some fright night fun.
As we were checking in, we saw a Devil and Police Officer turned away. I guess they did not read the FAQ fine print. The VIP tickets turned out to be invaluable on the Saturday night before Halloween, which I am sure is shocking to readers. There were TONS of people there. We decided to start with the Carnage attraction, which was an old hospital Emergency Room. The jump scares were no joke, and it was pitch black in some places. I literally stopped walking at one point because I could not see where I was going. The husband had to turn on his phone light to come back and find me. After that, I decided to walk behind him, clutching both of his arms. The second attraction was Freaks Unleashed. It was the scariest, probably because we were the last 2 people in our group, so the actors followed behind us to continue making me scream long after we were out of their scary space. By this point, my old lady asthmatic lungs were not liking the fake smoke, and I was wishing we had taken my car so I could grab my rescue inhaler for a few much needed puffs.
After attraction number two, we joked that neither one of our kiddos could have participated in this kind of fun, but for different reasons. My guy would have had to use one of the Emergency Exits, which we saw plenty of people using. My girl would have assaulted every single one of the actors who tried to startle her and ended up in jail.
I took in some much needed breaths of fresh air before we headed to the last attraction…. The Last Ride…. a haunted hay ride through the corn fields of the Boone Hall Farm. We put away our phones, as instructed, and were ready for some serious scariness as the finale. I noticed a mom and a small child in the front of our hay wagon and thought he looked a little too young for these kinds of events. The husband was told multiple times at work that it was NOT for kids. The venue did not recommend younger than 12 years of age, and this kiddo had face paint on which did not jive with being 12 or older. Next to us sat a very talkative SC family. They would end up being the most entertaining part of the hayride…. in a super annoying way. In the most Southern of all Southern voices, the youngest kid asked questions or made comments to Every. Single. Actor that boarded our wagon. Repeating over and over “Can we be frandz?” “I like your dress.” And my favorite…. “Do you luv Jesus?” I will admit the first time he asked that question, I muttered “Jesus Christ” under my breath. The small child in front was traumatized to the point that our guide was telling the actors not to go near him, and the only reason I knew the finale was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was because the guide told his mom this one was going to be really bad and to cover him up as much as possible. I cannot even begin to estimate his therapy bills when he is a grown up.
The entire drive home (the whole 45 mins back to The Chicken Creek Compound) we kept asking each other if we could be frandz and if we luved Jesus. Belly laughing the whole time. The husband did note that the scariest part of the evening was when we came home to angry Appa Bear after being left home alone for four hours…. haha. A fun night out, a new Halloween tradition, and time together with the husband, which is a just a weekend thing for quite a few years.