Written by: Lynn Wallich
Date: October 20, 2015
While friends are getting upset that the holidays are right around the corner, focusing on food preparation and gift purchases, not one of them is discussing the holiday that is upon us, Halloween. Yes, this is one terrific time of year. It is not the time of year for the faint of heart, however. It is the time of year to get one’s heart “kick started” with adrenaline.
Being a fan of The Walking Dead, an opportunity came up to shoot zombies in a park with paint ball guns. Excitement began to take hold and the imagination kicked in. Yes, a female Rick Grimes was about to embark to rid Ohio of zombies. One would ride into the woods and eliminate the living dead from the park. It then became clear that the tickets were for 5:30 ( a time coined “senior citizen time” ) for many activities. With weather being perfect, a visual of creeping around the woods still existed. This little rush soon departed upon arrival.
Since it was daylight, many parents decided to bring children to the park in groups between 4 to 15 . Not only was the park inundated with children, the zombie hunt took place on a bus where the paint ball guns were attached to the side in front of each participant. It looked like the fair game where one squirts water into the mouth of a clown so it blows up and breaks.
So there sat the famous zombie hunter, surrounded by dozens of kids, in broad daylight, on a bus with an attached paint ball gun that only moved left and right. As the ride departed, a thought of cardboard popup zombies entered my head. This was not to be. Yes, there they were, people dressed as zombies coming toward us. Paintball guns were being fired from everywhere. It was starting to be fun when it became clear that the total time on the ride was about 15 minutes. Actually, it was probably a little more than that with the refill time. While this event was far from scary, it did provide fun for the family and friends but it did not provide an adrenaline rush.
Having completed the hunt early in the evening, a decision was made to tour the Haunted Mansfield Prison. Since the bar was lowered from the zombie ride, the expectation was not high at the prison. This, however, proved to be terribly wrong. Not only was the walk through the prison about 45 minutes to an hour, the special effects and the volunteers working were outstanding. If a person never exercised at all, one walk through the prison would provide a heart rate increase like one would not get in the gym. With every scare, the adrenaline zoomed through the body and it felt good.
This may sound crazy to some but Halloween does place everyone on the same level. Costumes hide people, makeup hides ages, and the scare makes one feel like they can run forever. It can be a fun holiday and no gifts are required.