I have an addiction to the adrenaline rush I get from jumping into something I know is going to scare the hell out of me. That being said, I recently got together with some friends of mine and took a trip to Arx Mortis, a 50,000 square foot Halloween attraction located in Killen.

From the beginning I was not there for any of it. The clouds of artificial smoke and dust were looming heavy in the moonlight (there was a full moon, of course). My friends and I could hear people shouting with surprise from the outside and that’s when the butterflies set in.

We walked into the front entrance of the attraction, paid for our tickets and waited in line to enter the haunted house. The attraction itself is split into five stereotypical Halloween scenes: the haunted woods, the battlefield full of zombies, the haunted house, the haunted circus and the haunted hospital.

We got through the door, and the horror began. I had not even set foot on the attraction floor when, all of a sudden, some cloaked fool with a scythe jumped out of a corner and started chasing us down a hallway. There were booms, bangs, flashes of light and shots of air being blasted at our feet — it was just the beginning.

After the front entrance, we came upon the outside portion of the attraction: for me, the worst part. The entire time, there was someone – something, a redneck zombie, walking beside me. He was looking right at me, and I didn’t even notice until the end of the outside portion.

After the outside portion, we entered the actual house. Costumed workers were jumping out of every corner, chasing and scaring us. They were all very good actors. The only complaint I have about the attraction is that sometimes, it’s hard to tell which direction you’re supposed to be going it. There were several times that we had to be turned to the right direction, which I guess could be part of the deal anyway.

Without giving too much away, it was well worth the $20 ticket and if it’s any consolation, I shouted so much that I lost my voice for the entire day after.