My heart beats loudly. Anxiety fills my head. My eyes are welling up with tears. Feelings such as these consume my 7-year-old self while waiting outside the haunted house my neighbor Don constructed every Halloween. The inflatable black cat taunts me, beckoning me toward the entrance of Don’s two-car garage where I know a fake, stuffed spider waits to be dropped on my head. Maybe this year I will make it through the entire route without panicking.

I never did make it through the entire 22 feet of the garage without breaking down into a fit of tears. And, I would soon come to realize that terror was not for me. I have learned to brush the suggestion of a horror movie or haunted house off as stupid idea and a waste of time. These negative speculations towards fright and thrills has since left me with a general distaste for Halloween. However, have I pronounced myself a hater of Halloween too soon?

This year I decided to take a new approach to Halloween. The past two weekends I have attended both the Haunt at Worlds of Fun and the Beast in the West Bottoms.

While at the Haunt, waiting in line for Lore of the Vampires, a thought suddenly occurred to me. I had not been in a haunted house since my traumatizing experience 10 years ago. While I attempted to suppress the panic rising in me I sought assurance from my friends that none of the monsters were allowed to touch me, and they made sure I knew what to expect.

I screamed so loudly when the first vampire jumped out of a corner that I am positive I put a target on my back. The volume of my screams let the entire staff know I was an easy scare. While journeying through the vampire house, I began trailing behind the backed up line and was stalked by a vampire who cornered me, leaned against me and hissed in my face. Um, is there not a rule that explicitly states they are NOT allowed to touch me? After exiting the house, I reminded myself that all the characters were only employees and came to admire the construction and imagination that goes into creating these heart stopping scenes.

The next four houses were a breeze, and I enjoyed the new experiences. My only complaint would pertain to Urgent Scare, a portrayal of a morose Insane Asylum. In this house a blood covered and mad doctor leapt out at me with such force that he ended up smacking against me. The employee immediately broke character to apologize and ensure that has never happened before. I was able to laugh off the incident after I jokingly threatened to sue.

Though I was surprised with my ability to survive the Haunt, nothing could prepare me for the Beast. After being told by an 11 year old that it was not scary, I allowed myself to relax until arriving at the old, sinister building. Upon arrival my senses were overwhelmed by the intimidating appearance of the building and blaring of punk-rock music intermingled with werewolf howls.

Before entering the Beast, I was required to give my fingerprint and essentially sign away my life in case there was an unfortunate accident. The journey through the house commenced, and I would be spending the next 40 minutes of my life in pure terror.

The first scene was not terribly frightening and was solely occupied by an insane lady yelling at my group to leave her room. However, the pitch-black werewolf forest around the corner gave me the chills. The search for the exit of the forest was terrifying while attempting to avoid any creatures lurking in the shadows.

The rest of the haunting consisted of extremely loud sound effects, terrifying werewolf sightings, dead ends and hitting my head on a pole due to my lack of night vision. But, by the time I arrived at the end of the maze-like house of horror I did not want the experience to end.

Customers choose their final thrill of the Beast. The escape options are a two story jump, a four story slide or if you have had enough excitement for one night, stairs. I took the slide because the line to jump would have taken an hour. The slide and stairs both led to a shop that sold snacks and Kansas City merchandise.

Overall I am proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I would recommend the Worlds of Fun Haunt and the Beast to anyone who loves terror or wants to try something new.

What once was a fear and an indifference towards Halloween has become a respect for the holiday and appreciation of the thoughtfulness that goes into making everyone’s nightmares a reality.