Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.netOkay, first off, I tip my hat to haunted mazes nowadays. They do a great job of scaring the crap out of people. The campier, the better, because they definitely have to try harder. Sure the make up and the costume helps to make a maze frightening, but really, it’s the stuff you can’t see that make it worse. For some all it takes is an attractive girl, sitting in an electric chair, looking sweet and innocent, begging in a soft voice to free her from her torture, before ZAP! The smoke clears and she’s “dead”. That’s acting and great production. If that doesn’t scare you, then you probably prefer gore. I’m just guessing.
Then there are the movies. If you prefer your scares on the big screen, then there are plenty to choose from. I know people don’t find the Paranormal Activity movies very scare enducing, but really, I think it’s pretty good. It’s the subtle things, the creepy things that freak me out the most. You can tear a person limb from limb and sure it’s disturbing, but I guess, for my mind, the real tremors come from the things I fear can happen in real life. A murderous monster? Well, maybe that can happen. A rampaging psychopath who can’t be killed? Okay, that’s hardly possible. Unexplained phenomena when screwing with things in the natural world? Much more plausable and scary. I mean, ghosts, spirits, things that go bump in the night seem much more realistic compared to an alien who kills everyone in sight for the sake of doing so. Not that scary in my opinion. Of course, I’ve never really “experienced” a ghost. I’ve experienced things I can’t explain and may be paranormal…but ghostly things that are going to happen? Oh man, that’s just Halloween spooks, outside my window, with Halloween spooks, behind a tree. Sorry…
Then there’s doing something scary that has nothing to do with this pseudo holiday. I’m talking about actually doing something that really frightens you. Whether it be speaking in front of an audience, parachuting form a plane, or going deep sea diving, I think that doing something “scary” is definitely something that’s worthwhile. Though the things that go bump in the night may be fun for some laughs and some candy, I’m hoping that taking the scary risks, like putting yourself out there to be judged ala acting, singing, whatever, is much more heart pounding than anything Halloween can throw at you. And the rewards are greater…possibly. You can’t win big with all your risks.
The reason why I bring all this up is two fold. Firstly, I miss going to the haunted mazes and whatnot. There’s always next year. But there’s nothing like that feeling of dread when you walk the corridors, anticipating the next scare. Then there’s the real life horrors of putting yourself out there. I’m starting a project that is definitely going to put myself out there and it freaks me out more than any rollercoaster or creature jumping out form the shadows can ever produce. It’s scary because people are brutal, honest, and above all, unforgiving.
Once I dig my feet deeper into this project a bit more, I’ll give away more of what I’m trying to do. Until then, what scares you? What freaks you out? What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen in those haunted mazes and in real life? Do you like being scared? Are you willing to do those things that scare you if it means a possible awesome future? Do I ask too many questions? Am I done now? Oh yeah…yes I am. BOO!
