No, I’m not gonna partake of this. I’ve seen the movie THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT, in which a group of thrillseekers, bored with the typical Halloween haunted attractions, seek out the touted “most extreme,” which turns out to be SO extreme that it’s real and all members of the group are killed. The organizers of the FRIGHT NIGHTS CAMPOUT experience coming to Birmingham, Alabama on August 5th promise not to actually kill you, but they do plan to scare you silly. Participants will take part in outdoor challenges while being stalked by monsters and slashers through the pitch-dark Alabama woods in an overnight camping trip from hell. There is a “safe” word a camper can use if he becomes too scared: “I’m a big pansy!” This will get the monsters to back off.
Now you might be thinking this would be right up my alley, and you’d be right. I could totally participate—if I got to play one of the monsters or killers. As a camper, though, it wouldn’t be prudent. My suspension of disbelief is TOO good. I might well forget that it’s all just an illusion, all just for fun, and when the monsters start menacing me en masse I’m liable to pull a Bruce Campbell ala EVIL DEAD and start fighting back for realz. I’m fairly certain the event organizers would frown on that sort of thing.
