With the Pandemic, everyone is landlocked and depressed, searching for a way to spend their Halloween. Only some states are canceling Trick-or-Treating, and many creepy events are postponing until next season or restricting all our fun. But this doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the fun from Halloweens that have already come; our memories and traditions belong to us. All it takes is bringing them to life in a way no one ever thought of.
About three years ago I spent the month of October in Germany going to historical bunkers, castles, and Octoberfest. However, none of that compared to Frankenstein’s Castle prepared for All Hallows Eve. The event took place in Darmstadt, Germany with my family and I enjoyed a night of absolute horror. The night was full of monsters who threw people into boxes, prisons, and even ripped off my mother’s wig.
We started the night in the VIP section, which laid out a haunted feast for guests and allowed guests to return to ward off the chills of the night. Once we left the protection of the lounge, we entered the cobbled road that continued from the gated of the castle. The road continued to a bed and a stage before stopping at one of the towers. At the bed, they chained two women who walked around and even detached themselves from said bed to follow unsuspecting victims. We obtained this information while watching a performance at the stage because she appeared beside us with her head tilted catching us off-guard.
Connected to the cobblestone path was a dirt path that led around the castle with many attractions along with it. Guarding the entrance was a horde of zombies, one of which backed my sister against the side of the castle and prevented her from falling in her six-inch heels. All the events are put in place to scare guests but not harm them, physically at least.
After the Zombies, we entered a makeshift cornfield filled with scarecrows who played tricks on those who passed by. For my family, they picked up my sister and threw her in a wooden box with other people, and then they stood on top to prevent escape. I loved the look on her face as they took her away. Who doesn’t wish for their sibling to be carried away every five minutes? While we were leaving the section, they played with our wigs and removed my mom’s in the process. (We even found straw in the wigs a year later!)
The path was full of prisons, torture chambers, and even a forest of werewolves with a cottage right out of Red Riding Hood. The actors had permission, mostly, to touch and pick on the guests; they had something for everyone from hardcore scares to funny tricks because every character and station of the event had its own vibe or personality. But the thing I remember the most is spending it with my family, which sounds like a Christmas or Thanksgiving thing only its apart of Halloween too. It’s always fun to play pranks with friends and family(or on, it’s the same thing) and enjoy the fun together. So while spending Halloween in a “safe manner,” remember all the people you enjoyed Halloween with and continue to enjoy that time with them.