Hell House

My very first Halloween celebration was when I was 19 years old. I heard my mother say she did dress me up for Halloween when I was 9 months old. But that was before she KNEW BETTER. As Halloween gets a bad rap mostly from the evangelical Christians and really from this new wave of fear started in the early 80's. Back when no one knew any better....   (I chuckle here)
I think it's sad to have this new wave of fear, this strong determination to NOT join in the fun of Halloween. Just like with Christmas or Valentines day some people in society can display bad behavior on any holiday. Maybe we should boycott Thanksgiving for if we only knew better we wouldn't celebrate a holiday like that! If we talked about all the yearly suicides that happened with each holiday or the broken homes along with the added stress of a holiday brings about even more abuse? If you stand against Halloween for all it's evil then really you should stand against all the holidays. I know it is much easier to choose Halloween for it looks scary, it can easily be the holiday you pushed aside. Even if you really don't know why.... but if your Pastor and your church say it's wrong then by god it is! I spent my whole childhood NOT joining in Halloween, I use to looked down my nose at my friends who did. I stood in judgment over Halloween. For if it is known to be Satan's Birthday then How very sinful of you to enjoy it!  
This kind of fear along with feeling of being left out around Halloween would often bring out a very preachy Debby. If you can't join in the fun of dressing up, hanging out with friends on a freshly crisp fall night or get the biggest bag of candy ever. Then why not complain or I mean preach against other people's freedom? One of those Halloweens as a child was interrupted by the visit of my Father's parents. Normally Dad had the lights out in the house as early as 6pm, we had to be in bed 3 hours earlier then usual and were NOT allowed to answer the endless ringing door in those days of our trailer house. As tiny kids we grew up terrified of Satan, so along with every ring when the tailor park kids came Trick or Treating, we hided under our bedding shaking violently sometimes the next morning revealed a wet bed. But most years my little brother and sister would climb into my bed to sleep with me on that night of Satan's Birthday. I wish I could revisit those scared little children. While their parents seemed happy and relieved to go to bed so early, I would comfort them, sing happy songs and keep a night light on for them. Instead those kids suffered with their imaginations and whimpered by the ding dong noise of someone at the door, in that dark scary home. When Grandma and Papa came for Halloween our home stayed lite up and cozy all through the Halloween night. I was maybe 7 years old at the time, Grandma insisted on us helping her hand out candies to the visitors at the door. I loved looking at all the different costumes, Some kids would state they made theirs all by themselves and then the adults would laugh. But what I loved the most of all was giving, just simply giving candy was the most joyous feeling in the whole world! Because it was the one and only time where instead of hiding from Satan, I got to give out candy to the kids at the door! Halloween celebrated in love, in fun, in laughter and in giving isn't so scary after all. Maybe it even keeps Satan at bay? I knew I would always remember that one fun Halloween in my childhood when giving out candy was such a warm happy feeling that replace the fear usually there! I remembered my Father mumbled "Oh great now they will all think they can come here again NEXT year." 
So when I was 19 years old I got off work with a determination to see what Halloween was really like without all the rules against it. I was sleeping at my best friend Joanie's house that night so when I arrived at her home she had cookies baking and her dad was serving us hot apple cider. I felt a new found excitement in me! Joanie dressed me up as a good witch with a lacy black skirt and a stringy black shawl. I wore a witch hat, I also put flowers in it. When our other friend Sara arrived to the house she was the perfect image of "Alice in Wonderland" The 3 of us girls were not sure yet what we were going to do, Joanie had been in a French Maid costume all day at her high school. "I can not wear these shoes one more minuet!" She exclaimed tossing them to the other side of her bedroom. "Why? they look so cute!" I reasoned as I picked up the little black heels. Joanie continued rubbing her feet and complained "Try running up and down stairs to your classes all day in those!" She put on a pair of black slippers. "I bet the guys were checking you out all day!" I laughed. Joanie curled the back ends of my long blond hair and I touched up my makeup when Sara arrived "Hey there sexy Bitches!" she said twirling around in her perfect look of Alice. "Oh Debby I should take a picture of you! the GOOD witch!" she laughed as she leaned against the door frame. "I have never heard of a GOOD witch but that would be something Debby would do! hahahahaha!" She began to hold up her camera "NO pictures!" I exclaimed as I pushed her camera down, She looked surprised "but My mom wants me to take some pictures?" Joanie sprung to life saying "Let's go see your mom!" 
"No pictures for if my parents found out I was dressing up I could be dead!" I explained. Sara rolled her eyes at Joanie, "Okay lets go Trick or Treat at my house Mom would love to see you....SO Debby doesn't it feel great to brake the rules for once in your life to play on the devil's birthday?" She let out her scary laughter while both Joanie and I threw a couch pillow at her. She squealed and toss them right back at us. It was decided some where in that evening between driving around popping by a few friend's houses to Trick or Treat that we should go to the Christian haunted house. 
"I have been wanting to go the last couple of years and usually I am working at the movie theater." Explained Joanie, from the passenger seat of my big fat old Chevy car. "What is it called?" I asked again through all the noise of the back seat for we had picked up a few more friends to hang out with us, the back seat was packed yet I could always hear Sara squeal and laugh. Once we arrived at the 3 white dome church in Caldwell Idaho, Joanie said  "It's suppose to be really good and has great acting." She had guided me there as I drove but now I was worrying this could be a bit more scary for me. I was never allowed to go into any haunted houses at the State fairs growing up, we had completely avoid the famous haunted mason in our family visit to Disneyland when I was 15. So as I  paid out seven dollars to enter a Christian haunted house I worried about it being way to scary for me to handle. "JOANIE, You owe me seven bucks if this isn't any good!" Sara said as she jumped on Joanie while we waited. Joanie laugh and playfully pushed her back. Joanie said looking at me with a smile as Sara climb on her back "It's called Hell House, and I knew if I told you that then you would freaked out and not come." I folded my arms while mumbling "Great, so now I am freaking out and have already paid!" Both girls were giggling and watching me. Then Sara threw her arms around me as she exclaimed loudly "Hail Debby the virgin Halloween participator!"All at once our group of friends laughed, I just hugged Sara back. Thinking to myself  
"What have I gotten myself into?"
HELL HOUSE
In this charismatic church the building at first felt empty showing a bright yellow rope as we enter the auditorium. This was going to mark the path we took through out the church from scene to scene of all these mini plays. The first scene acted out was of  a real car smashed into the stage with dry ice creating the fresh smoke, it was very realistic as we walked in single file then stop to watch. Our guide made us all stop at the first sound of a blood curling scream. Sara grabbed my arm and began to squeeze it tightly, then at the second scream she threw herself into Joanie. I watched on looking for who was screaming among the bodies. A hurt guy appeared to be moving among the broken car, all the glass and the blood covered his body. Along with empty beer cans laid out on the floor of the church. He cried out "Why oh why did I drink and drive?" then his girlfriend screamed for the 3rd time and then die. He cried and hit himself saying "I will never forgive myself" I stood speechless completely horrified. We kept walking through scenes like that, from One room that had drinking and drugs then showing the same person who got addicted to drugs homeless and gross looking. Another room had spousal abuse where the husband beat his wife as the wife said "My parents warned me not to marry you! I wish I had listen....listen....listen." I walked fearful not really wanting to keep going on with my teary eyes. BUT the one room I became very ill in was the abortion scene. It was a room looking like a hospital where the woman was screaming "Give me back my baby I have changed my mind!" It was also the scene that had the most blood. Which was why I had to look away from it as we stood there. They even held up a bloody looking fake baby doll and I thought I couldn't cry any harder. The second to the last room was Hell it's self. All dark almost painted black completely humid air and hot steam shooting on us as we stood there with the so called demons painted skull faces of people circling us, then Satan comes out and screams at us like we are in the military. He talks of how he will beat God and win our souls.  At that moment a part of me wanted to just punch him in the mouth when he got to close. I stood sweating in that hot enclosed stuffy room, drying my teary eyes from all the crazy drama we had just seen. I thought to myself  at that moment "I think if I said Fuck You Satan, I would have no guilt over it at all." As Joanie leaned into me more and Sara whispered between us both "When can we get out of here?" I stood there glaring down this acting Satan as he continued to scream at us. When the doors finally opened to Heaven I breathed a sigh of relief that in Heaven at least they have AC! This was the final room of the tour, it was all covered in white and gold decor. The angels sang a song for us, then everyone prayed to the sinner's prayer. Some people who had walked through with us were strangers but after coming through a haunted church like that we all felt a bit closer. When one or 2 people felt to their knees in this room called Heaven. They cried uncontrollably and called out to God to save them. Such powerful feelings, such great relief it was to find myself sitting back in my car ready to leave. All of us sat there silent, almost traumatized really. Then Sara broke the quietness stating clearly "Well now that isn't as fun as going door to door for candy." We all broke out laughing at once and continued on to T.P a few homes before calling it a night. 
I think sometimes when you spend so much time trying to protect your kids from fear, they grow up as adults unaware of how deal with that same fear.  Halloween has good things to offer but you have to know how to create the kind of holiday you want. First thing to realize is that there is no Satan's birthday, there is no actual Satan himself......... For I have long since kicked his ass for y'all!