Halloween is my favorite holiday and I love everything that comes with October: changing leaves, cooler weather, carving pumpkins, apple cider, even the cheesy Halloween decorations. However, I always find this holiday to be a difficult time because I am easily scared…by everything. Ok, so maybe not everything, but definitely all of the scary, gory things that resurface every spooky season. I really enjoy mysteries and suspense, but jump scares and gore make me hide my face in movie theaters and only visit haunted houses in broad daylight. But with Halloween quickly approaching, I have decided to push myself more and experience some of the scarier things this season has to offer.
This is a journey that I started a while ago, as I slowly began to watch some disturbing and suspenseful, but not quite terrifying things, like The Shining and A Quiet Place. I even pushed myself to visit Scarowinds once with a group, but spent the entire time running away from any and all creepy staff members who tried to approach me. But a few days ago I decided to dive into the new series that is taking over Netflix and giving people lasting emotional trauma: The Haunting of Hill House.
I had read up on this series long before watching it and I was very excited to see the excellent camera work and intricate story details that I heard so much about. But nothing could have prepared me for how scared I would be within the first few minutes of episode one. I have yet to make it through the entire series, but there are already so many things I can appreciate about it. First, some of the scarier moments happen without any build-up and can catch viewers very off-guard. Unfortunately for me, this means I did not have a chance to turn away before seeing horrifying images that will for sure stick in my head for a long time. Also, the vague allusions to backstories and things to later be revealed keep you coming back for more each episode.
While Halloween is not always easy for a scaredy-cat like me, this year it has given me the chance to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. Although I may not be able to make it through a scary movie for more than 5 minutes at a time and I refuse to go anywhere near a haunted hayride, I am still finding new ways to celebrate Halloween. I hope that this inspires some of the more timid people out there to have a proper spooky – but not too spooky – season this October!