Diehard Tryhards: Haunted House

By: Staff Writers Kevin Li, Deeksha Raina, Carolyn Ge and Victor Zhou

In what may have been a grave miscalculation, the Smoke Signal dispatched three scaredy-cats and one thrill-seeker to undertake the most daring Smokie mission–surviving Fremont’s Candle Lighters’ Ghost House.

Background Blurbs

Carolyn:

No one is more easily scared than I am. Even with a simple tap on the back, I will shriek, jump a mile, and have a heart attack all at once. My past experience with a haunted house was traumatizing (it involved a hooligan chasing after me with a chainsaw), but I’m determined to make up for it this time. Candle Lighters’ Ghost House, you don’t scare me. Ready or not, here I come!

Kevin:

Call me crazy, but my idea of a fun time is getting scared silly. I’m an avid thrill seeker, scouring YouTube for horror movie trailers and sometimes even horror game playthroughs. Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m no seasoned warrior numb to scares–in fact, I still get the creeps when I see my cat’s eyes glowing in the darkness. This haunted house will be my first one, and hopefully it can get my heart racing and adrenaline pumping!

Deeksha:

There’s only one thing in this world that I really despise–jump scares. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what most haunted houses are made up of. It’s time to pluck up my courage and enter the darkness. I’ll admit it though – even though I’ll probably scream my head off, the minute we emerge into the sunlight I’ll want to go once again.

Victor:

Let’s get this out of the way—I hate being scared. I like to think that I am not easily spooked because I can stomach most horror movies, but the truth is that I stare at the corner of the screen whenever things are about to get hairy. My last haunted house experience was in the third grade, and I don’t remember much except for dressed-up witches wishing me a happy Halloween. Candle Lighters, come at me!

 

After House:

Carolyn:

I was somewhat confident going in (although my fellow Smokies may tell you otherwise), but after the first jump scare, I knew I wouldn’t last. The whole time, my screaming never ceased and my heart kept pounding faster and faster. My blood pressure reached its peak when the spine-chilling yeti roared and jumped out at me. I must have cut off the circulation in Deeksha’s arm by the end of the two minutes. Call me an over-reactor, but that haunted house truly lived up to its name.

Kevin:

Phew… that was heart-pounding! I nearly jumped out of my skin upon seeing some of the horrifying displays, such as the one of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. About midway through the house, I honestly considered ditching my fellow Smokies and making a break for the exit. However, as my life flashed before my eyes, I steeled my resolve and braced for the worst. Kudos to the best (albeit the only) haunted house I’ve ever been to!

Deeksha:

Now that was terrifying. I’m pretty sure I damaged my vocal cords with all that screaming. The teenage volunteers were all dressed up in themed costumes to match the eerie background decorations. Each room had a different theme, ranging from a ghoulish Alice in Wonderland set up to a  bloodcurdling butcher shop set. Whenever I thought we had a moment to catch our breath, the next freakily dressed person would pop out and I would relapse into another round of shrieking. To be honest though, I would love to go do that again! It was really fun and definitely has made me a fan of haunted houses.

Victor:

I’m so out of breath I don’t know what to say. With jump scares and creepy props like glowing tarantulas lurking around every bend, I never got a break. Even hiding behind Kevin, I frantically rushed through the rooms, right into the clutches of the costumed witches and ghouls. This haunted house was so full of scary surprises that I spent most of my moments wondering when it would end. With both a scary and “good fairy” tour option, I would recommend this attraction to any Halloween enthusiast.

 

Bean Bag Toss:

Carolyn:      

Because I was 15, I had to stand behind a line an absolutely absurd distance of 20 feet away from the target. The problem is, I don’t have even the slightest bit of hand-eye coordination. As you can tell, that game was quite the disaster.

Kevin:

My self-esteem as a sharpshooter was shot to bits after participating in the bean bag toss. If I’m going to apply for any Ivy League schools, I guess I’ll have to cross sharpshooting off of my list of potential majors—or should I just aim lower?

Deeksha:

My tosses were just a bit underwhelming—some flew entirely out of the arena, while others flopped miserably just a few feet away from me. There’s a reason I’m glad I’m done with PE forever.

Victor:

I’ll just put it this way: though I managed to land next to the target a few times, even Kevin, who jokingly attempted to shoot like Stephen Curry, got closer than me. Looks like I’ll have to step up my game next time.

 

 

Ring Toss:

Carolyn:

Although the concept of tossing rings over coins scattered on the board was simple, I had a feeling that I needed more than pure talent to triumph in the match against Kevin. To my delight, my first toss won the huge jackpot of 30 cents! No matter what Kevin claims, my luck always trumps his skill.

Kevin:

Lucky and bad, that’s what my friends call me. My performance in the ring toss would have made them proud; I was able to get my ring around one or more coins exactly half the time! However, I still couldn’t out-luck Carolyn, who got 30 cents on her first try—I’m still wondering how she rigged her ring.

Deeksha:

I have the worst luck. Even though I had six tries to get the miniscule rings to land over the coins scattered across a table, I didn’t get a single one. I ended the game with a record-breaking zero dollars and zero cents.

Victor:

With six rings and what looked like hundreds of coins scattered on the board, I should have been sweeping in cash like a Vegas poker player. As (bad) luck would have it, I just barely avoided Deeksha’s fate, earning one measly nickel.

 

 

Caramel Apples:

Carolyn:

I was eager to try these big apples with an even bigger reputation, and they didn’t disappoint. The combination of warm, gooey caramel and the crisp, tart flavor of the green apple was absolutely perfect!

Kevin:

Going into this, I was really excited for these caramel apples. While they didn’t disappoint, the novelty also wore off really quickly—right around the time when my teeth got stuck together.

Deeksha:

Caramel apples are the quintessential carnival snack, and these were certainly no exception. The caramel apples were absolutely heavenly and the perfect sweet treat for a Halloween carnival.

 

Victor:

After seeing countless kids walk by with caramel apples in hand, I decided to try one. Though the caramel was tasty, it was so thick and sticky that I could barely graze the apple with my teeth.

 

Face Paint:

Carolyn:

To display my undying love and dedication to the Smoke Signal, I had the words “I ♥ Smokie” delicately brushed onto my cheek. I think the pink glitter on the heart really brings out the color and sparkle in my eyes.

Kevin:

What better way to showcase my Smoke Signal spirit than to have the iconic green mountain emblazoned on my face? I like to think that its pointy peaks, artfully painted onto my cheek, make me look sharp as well.

Deeksha:
Since I am clearly the most mature member of our group, I decided to take one for the team and represent all of the Smoke Signal staff with a glittery “I ♥ J123” drawn on my face.

Victor:

As the sole member of the Smoke Signal from second period, there was no better motto to paint on my face than “I ♥ P2 J1.” No degradation without representation, right?