Crisp air filled my periwinkle room, “Did I leave the window open?” Not sure… but my instinct told me to check anyway. My fragile hands reach towards the screen to shut the chilling air out. Curtains breeze through the harsh gale like my rag doll when I bring her outside. My eyes peer towards the street, our gazes meet. “That can not be..” Out the window stood a orange haired, white painted, crazy clothed clown. My mouth was glued shut and before I knew it his teeth stretched out to bite my hand. Immediately, my horrifying screams awaken my sleep. Jolting forward, the tears dripping from my face fill my hands. I was only six.
I have been deathly afraid of clowns ever since my traumatizing nightmare. Last year, I saw the movie “IT” with my friends. Even though I was well aware that watching the movie would not help my mentality at all, I was not going to be viewed as a “chicken” (as any other teenager would relate to). Yes, what you are thinking is exactly what happened. I had nightmares for a week! So when my friends brought up the idea of going to horror nights this month, the fear of facing my demon again after ten years left me frozen still at night. October 28th was our set date to attend Horror Nights. The closer the day came, the more my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach.
October 28th finally came around and my mind had expected the worst. My group and I decided to eat at Panda Express after the opening ceremony which meant that we had to get through all of the creatures that flooded the walking area. I did not know what to expect, “What creatures are they going to dress up as?” “How many of them will be roaming around the walking space?” There was no escape.. I knew I would have to face all of my childhood nightmares at once. As I entered the parks, I felt six year old Elysia pop out. The only security I had was my friend, Sophia, who is half my size. Gripping onto Sophia, our group made our way to the crowd for the opening ceremony. I saw all the savages lined up right before my eyes. Even though I was scared out of my pants, here are five things I learned about conquering my fears once and for all at Horror Nights.
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Do Not Scream in Front of the Actors
My first reaction when I saw clowns running around me with chainsaws was to scream my head off. This is the total opposite of how you should react at Horror Nights, but no one told me that. Every time I showed he actors that I was scared they picked on me. This includes surrounding me with their loud chainsaws and entering my personal bubble. I could not help but scream but that only made the situation worse. So, if there is anything that I could stress more, it is to keep your fears locked in a box with the key thrown away.
2. Go with an Even Group of Friend
This was one of the major issues my group faced while at Horror Nights. We had a solid group of five people. You can only imagine how crazed everyone went going into the mazes. There was always one person who was either left behind or had no one to grab onto. Make sure to enter into Horror Nights with an even amount of people so everyone has someone to grab onto.
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Be Prepared to Feel Personally Attacked at All Times
Trust me the scares get easier to handle! Walking into the park, I expected to feel uneasy the whole time. As the night goes on, the more you get used to people popping up behind you every minute. Attending horror nights definitely helped me realize that I am bigger than my fears, remember that every time you feel one of the actors watching your back.
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Dress Warm
The mom in me had to jump out somewhere in this list. Wearing a thick amount of clothing and warm socks is a necessity. It’s easy to hide in your skin when being jumped out at every five seconds. The warmth provides you comfort which is crucial since everything that you are going to experience is uncomfortable (at least for me).
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Remember Everything is Fake
One important thing I learned about Horror Nights is that everything is fake. Behind the mask of the person who makes you want to pee your pants, there is a person. This caused me to associate the actors to my fear of clowns, maybe there was a person beneath the clown that haunted my nightmares since I was six? All in all, remember to try your best to have fun if you choose to attend Horror Nights next year.
Until next year Halloween,
Sia x
All photos are my own.