The walls of the haunted house at Haunted Halloween Island are covered with stained and peeling Victorian wallpaper, and spooky, cobwebby ghosts float in the air. A series of portraits on the wall morph into really ugly clowns as you walk by.
As in the other attractions, most of the images are drawn from horror or slasher films. The room with Freddy's victims is terrific; no matter where you stand in the room, the children are facing you. Creepy!
But while I enjoyed exploring these attractions, they all had a predictable quality to them, which is pretty much the opposite of the spirit of Halloween. The holiday is about the scary, the supernatural, that which is out of the ordinary and scares us precisely because we cannot predict it. But then I visited Silent Scream Haunted House. Wow! This is without a doubt a don't-miss attraction.
Unlike in the other attractions, you can explore the rooms of the house in any order you like. What is more, the house is full of surprises. The place is completely unpredictable. I had a blast!
We'll let the pictures tell the story:
When I first entered the house, I went up the stairs, randomly chose a door, and walked into a room. I was completely unprepared for what happened. The floor was rotted, and I fell through it into a Hell Hole. The surprise was so much fun! And this was a well-designed place. It definitely put me in mind of popular visions of hell.
I found my way out of hell, and returned to the porch of the house for a fresh start.
This time, I decided to check out a room on the first floor. Striding purposefully, as one does in Second Life, I headed for the door at the back. But before I got there, I fell through the floor! The room below contained all kinds of horror toys, including a stake for impaling. So here I am, impaled on a stake.
There were plenty of other things to do, like hanging myself on a meat hook. In case you can't tell, that's Freddy lurking behind me.
Strolling down a hallway, I saw a sign that warned me to absolutely not touch it, so of course I did! This is me with my head crushed.
These attractions, and many others, will be busy all day on Halloween, so they'll be good places to meet friends and have a laugh. But don't look for anything serious from Second Life. These designers are all about the fun, and I hope you will be too. Happy Halloween!
Thanks for looking at my holiday pictures! See you next time.
Beth Davies-Stofka teaches courses on comparative religion and the philosophy of religion. She has also been an online columnist and critic and contributes regularly to the Patheos site.
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