In Focus

I am glad the haunted houses have returned this year. Every year a small group of friends comes with me to check out various spooky attractions. This year we went to the Wadena and Staples haunts.

I don’t scare easily but I greatly enjoy them for the setup and also watching the reactions of my friends who get frightened. It’s a lot of fun.

We started our adventure in Wadena just as they opened for the night. I loved their spooky maze-like setup and their creative ideas. I’m not about to give anything away, but one of my friends in the group didn’t make it through the whole thing and bailed out at her first chance. That was funny. We still drug her to Staples with us. A good portion of the spooky creatures scaring the unsuspecting attendees were kids. I don’t know about you but I think kids can act out creepier than adults. Overall, Wadena’s was pretty great!

We then headed to Staples, saving that for our last stop for the night as we knew from previous years the wait to get inside was long. We got there about 8:30 p.m. and the wait began. We eventually made it inside a building that was offering snacks and beverages while we waited. I enjoyed some Dippin Dots during the tedious wait.

At some point, people began batting around a balloon. Pretty much everyone waiting was playing with the balloon, keeping it from hitting the ground. Sometimes the balloon popped to everyone’s disappointment, but another balloon soon took its place. It really helped with the boredom of waiting.

I’d say we waited over an hour before our numbers were called but after going through this haunted hayride/house/woods combo it was well worth it. At one point we were in a pitch-black maze and I felt a hand from the friend behind me, a boxer, brush against mine. So I grabbed it and he screamed and jumped. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.

It was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to do it again!