“Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing.”
– Hunter S. Thompson
BOO! I can’t believe it’s week 50 of 52 of my adventure blog- where every week I set myself on an adventure, big or small, to get myself out of my comfort zone. Time flies when you’re having fun! This week I got coaxed by my friends to go to the Fright Nights at the PNE in Vancouver. I was really terrified of going as I don’t like being scared and I don’t like things running towards me- however it turned into an awesome evening.
I grew up in France where Halloween was not a thing. As such, I still am bewildered every Halloween how everyone dresses up, watches scary movies and overall enjoys this holiday. This year- however- I was tempted by my friends to go to Fright Nights at the PNE where they have 7 haunted houses to scare the crap out of people. They also have rides. After some not so gentle encouragement, I agreed to go. I also invited one of my besties for additional support.
Thursday night came around and we all headed out. When we got there, the air was thick with fog, reflecting the red and green lights projected into the sky. It was like walking onto a super spooky set for Ghostbusters. Once we got in, we headed to the first haunted house- The Haunted Mansion. Some spooky teenagers employed by the park were dressed up as zombies and other scary creatures. They would jump out at you, spooky the hell out of you. I jumped into my friends as one zombie girl shouted “HELLO! Waant to be my friend?!” No…no I don’t. The first house was pretty scary- very well done in my honest opinion. My friend who I had brought for support preferred to walk behind me and laugh every time I got spooked. I felt pretty alive after the first house. I saw a crazy looking ride that looked fun…so I got everyone to agree to go on it. BIG mistake. We all sat in a line, heavy harness were lowered on us and then….we rose into the air and then we started spinning. I was screaming the entire time. What a dumb idea!
After the ride, it was time for the next haunted house- Hollywood Horrors. This was terrifying. You walk through various sets of classic horror films. We got to a room with a girl writhing on a bed- I covered my ears as her sounds were scary. Out of the corner of my eye- the cupboard opened and someone sprung out. I thought it was one of those robotics…but then I realized they were coming closer. I turned and running towards me was a masked man with a knife! I screamed, jumped and ran as fast as I could. I ran through the rest of the house- until I got to the exit door. I waited for my friend. We then walked out and someone jumped at me- I froze in fear. Enough! That was it. I was not doing anymore of them- just rides.
I haven’t been on fairground rides in years- I seem to remember that I loved the rides. Well- now that I’m an adult I can honestly say the rides aren’t as fun as I remembered- in fact they are terrifying. First, we went on these swings that so really high- like 20 stories high and swing you faster and faster. The view was beautiful of Vancouver- however being that high on a swing, going so fast…it was as exhilarating as it was scary. Back on the ground, looking windswept and rosy cheeked- I was seriously buzzing. I felt really alive and bold. I’m the one who suggested we next go on the wooden rollercoaster.
Rollercoasters used to be my favorite rides in parks. Particularly the looping ones. I loved the feeling of speed. My friend had never been on a wooden one- so this only added to the fun of going on it. We queued for what felt like hours but was probably more like 45 mins. Then, my friend and I got on. I swear I don’t remember those things going so fast. In fact, i was so scared I grabbed my friend’s arm for dear life. I was screaming for my life- laughing every time the ride slightly slowed down. When the ride finished- I was buzzing, adrenaline pumping. I was done for the night- there was just so much excitement and fear I could take.
All in all though- I had an incredible night with my friends. I’m glad I went though I would be happy never to enter another haunted house again. I’ll never love being scared- but I understand it’s appeal as you feel so alive and buzzing due to the adrenaline. I also left feeling closer to my friends 🙂 How about you- you like scary movies and haunted houses?
Next week for my 51st adventure- quite a lot lined up: haunted trolley car ride (yeah- I know…scary!), Bollydazz class (Bollywood meets Jazz dancing workout!) and going out to celebrate my friend’s birthday!
(Picture by Nicholas Cardot)
52 weeks...52 Adventures 