The Antlers haunts Newcastle, Part 1

I
t’s funny how a small change in perspective can alter your whole take on something. I initially intended to do a story on stories – other people’s stories. The Antlers hosted the haunted house known as Frightmare on Oct. 25 and 26 and will do so again on Oct. 31. I was intending to do a feature about how other people felt going in, and comparing that to how they felt coming out of the haunted house. But all that changed when I got home.
I’ll come back to that in a bit. First, I had arrived at the Antlers about a half-hour before it opened to the public. Working for the News Letter Journal has some advantages, I guess, because I was welcome in and led through the maze that the basement is turned into for a grand tour. While some of the actors did try to scare me – and frankly they succeeded a couple of times – it was still set up for the benefit of getting good images. The people involved in putting on the show posed for me. I’m glad they did too because I don’t have the best camera in the world by a long shot. Action shots tend to blur. This way, I got good crisp images – well, a couple of them, anyway.
But the camera work wasn’t what I really came for. I wanted the stories. I talked with about four or five groups of people going in. I also got to sit inside the Antlers and watch people as they waited in line. I had to laugh a couple of times, but I also tried to keep it quiet. I hope I succeeded. But it’s funny what time can do to an anxious person. One person I know left, being so nervous about what she was expecting to happen to her. I guess she couldn’t handle it. I’m not sure I helped that out either. For that, I’m sorry, you who will not be named. “Only a few people will actually bite you,” I told her. 
She didn’t look happy, so I reassured her that the rest of it is OK. She didn’t seem to take that very well!
Other people described their feelings going in as “scared” or “nervous.” Still, others apparently lived for gore and horror and were feeling “excited.” As I observed them, I saw that same anxiety build up in several of those people waiting to get in. The staff of Frightmare was letting customers go through in small groups at three-minute intervals. This allowed the actors to reset stuff, so they were ready for the next group. That, of course, meant that the wait was a bit longer then it would have been if they just let them go through continuously. And as people stood in line, the mind got to working on them, and a few times, they weren’t ready for it. Several groups had one or two people leave after a while. 
I understand that. I don’t go to horror films or read those types of books anymore. I don’t like blood and gore, and I really don’t like where horror has gone lately. When a human being is the monster and does what they do now in these movies to other human beings, I have problems. So I understand wanting to leave something like a haunted house, even if it is fake. 
When the people came out, reactions were what you would expect: “awesome,” “really good” and similar descriptions. Many admitted to being scared, and a couple of them were still shaking. I left to write up my column after a few interactions.
And I stared at an almost totally blank screen, unable to put down a word past “On Oct. 25, the Antlers played host to Frightmare.” Great start, huh? And there was where I was stuck. I’m not one to get stuck for words very often. In fact, my editor is always urging me to write shorter columns. How’s that working out?
Here is where my problem was. I didn’t “go through” the haunted house. I was led through, the monsters posed for me and then I went upstairs to interview people. Sure, I had a couple of startling frights, but I really didn’t have the same experience that the other people had. I couldn’t write the story because I failed to get my own story out of it. I needed that raw, visceral feeling, and there was only one way to get it. I checked the time. I could still get back to the Antlers and go through. This time, as a customer, without my camera or note pad. Just me and my guts.
Okay, I’m not going to spoil this for any of you, because there is still one more night after this goes to print, but here’s the gist of it. I was scared out of my wits. I thought I was prepared because I had seen it all before. I was wrong! There was one part near the beginning that I could barely walk forward and go past one of the actors, who I later found out was a little girl. A little girl creeped me out worse than I’ve been in years! What’s up with that? At the end of the maze, I was shaking. 
There is plenty of gore and startling moments to satisfy the most hard-core horror fan. The lighting effects and sound effects are unnerving. There’s a saying along the lines of “That scared the ‘blank’ out of me!” Well, I didn’t “blank,” but I did have a fart scared out of me once. That was also done to me by a little girl. And, I wish I were making that up!
Top that all off with the location. This is the first time it has taken place in the Antlers basement. It’s perfect! The place is creepy to begin with. Add a maze, blood-splattered walls, neon, flashes and loud sounds, plus someone jumping out and screaming at you every 10 seconds, and you have a perfect recipe for gruesome, frightening fun. 
I’ll put out pictures for this after Halloween in Part 2 of this story, because I don’t want to spoil anything for someone who hasn’t taken the trip through Frightmare. But if you haven’t gone and you think you’d enjoy it, I highly recommend it. As I said, I don’t like horror. But I really had a good time in spite of that. But more of that next week, because the story hasn’t finished yet. (Departs with wicked laughter.)