A haunting memory of love in Henderson

By Mandy Walton

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:23 a.m.

I despise Halloween. There is nothing much about ghosts, goblins, or mummies that appeals to me. I've always been a "scaredy-cat" – I jump during horror movies, scream on roller coasters, and believe ghost stories. For me, Halloween is torturous.

However, as a general rule in the universe, everything must have its opposite. Just as much as I dislike Halloween because of all the ghoulish tactics aimed at frightening me, I am also cosmically forced to love it.

A drive down Sunset Road sparked my memory last week. In front of the Sunset Station, across from the Galleria Mall, sits a haunted house, next to a pumpkin patch and activities for kids. Thinking about my own visit that haunted house years ago sent a warm chill up my spine.

It was early October 1999, and I had just met this great guy at my friend's house. Because teenagers are always bored, we were driving around Henderson, looking for something to do. This new haunted house had just taken its spot in a dirt lot in front of the new Sunset Station, and it was decided that the group of us would check it out.

Knowing how much I hated anything scary or haunted, I really didn't want to go. But he was going, and I had to be with him. I even lied that I didn't have the $7 required for admission, but when he came back with a ticket for me, there was no way out.

As I walked through that haunted house, I jumped at every single move or sound. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I reached out for the closest thing I could grab, which happened to be his shirt. He would just look at me and laugh.

Little did I know, but that was only the beginning. Years later, as we prepared for our wedding, we talked about what made us fall for one another. For me, it was love at first sight. For him, it was, "the second you grabbed my shirt in that haunted house."

So, thank you, Halloween, and the haunted house on Sunset, for scaring the living daylights out of me and into love. Without you, I wouldn't have the great guy or the beautiful baby I have today.

If you'd like to take your chance at horror or love, the Freakling Bros. Castle Vampyre is once again set up in front of Sunset Station, across from the Galleria Mall on Sunset Road. It runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., today through Thursday, and 7 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, through Nov. 1.