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Not a fan of haunted houses

By Catherine Toth Fox • October 25, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

The last time I went into a haunted house, I decked the guy who scared me.

I’m not kidding.

That was back in intermediate school. Some guy jumped out at me and I hit him — then torn down the wall to get out.

You could say haunted houses aren’t for me. I never got into them, even in high school when all my friends were hanging out at the old Kress Store on Fort Street Mall. I refused to go in, despite how uncool that made me look. I didn’t care. I wasn’t doing it.

My students have been trying to get me to go to Nightmares Live, a haunted attraction at the Dole Cannery run by one of my coworkers at Kapiolani Community College. (Photo, above, was taken by Sean Nakamura.) They raved about it — including the new Claustrophobia that, in name alone, doesn’t appeal to me.

Here’s the thing: I get spooked out easily. And I don’t need to go to a haunted house to feel frightened. I get scared just walking from my office to my car!

So you tell me: what’s the appeal of haunted houses? Or scary movies for that matter? I don’t watch those either!

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About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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10 Comments

  • Reply David Jackson October 25, 2011 at 2:05 am

    It is all about the adrenaline rush, just depends on how you like it served up. I can do without scary movies or Halloween but parenting doesn’t allow for that flexibility 🙂

  • Reply MaxMaxMax October 25, 2011 at 5:21 am

    When I was growing up, there was a haunted house in a neighboring town that everyone in the county went to… and maaaaaaan, all I can say is that my friends and I were real jerks when going through it. We were very rude and basically just jerks to the people working inside doing all the scaring and stuff. I’m sure we ruined it for everyone else in the group with us trying to experience it.

    So, that’s the feeling I get when thinking of haunted houses… shame! Certainly it’s one of those things you do when you’re young that you regret when you’re older.

    • Reply MaxMaxMax October 25, 2011 at 5:22 am

      So with that, I’ll say, “thanks for the therapy session Dr. Dish!”

  • Reply jaydee October 25, 2011 at 5:56 am

    I used to live with my grandparents in an old plantation home in Pearl City near Leeward Community College back in the day. That house was haunted enough for me so I don’t need to go see another. There was always some old man on that used to “visit” that house… used to freak me out! The last Horror movie I saw was The Exorcist. ‘Nuff said… I’m such a wuss!

  • Reply matt October 25, 2011 at 6:16 am

    I don’t get scared at them but I just don’t see the point. same with roller coasters. they’re not scary; just pointless. with HH’s, you know that they’re designed by other people, so you know, going in, that they’re not real. takes the edge off a little bit for me.

  • Reply M October 25, 2011 at 8:13 am

    Hello Cat, being scared to a point of peeing in your pants is not what I call having fun.

  • Reply Pantygirl October 25, 2011 at 8:24 am

    I hate haunted houses, feels like I may get a heart attack from fright. Last time I ever went to one, my son was 10 years old (he’s now 33). As we walked thru the haunted house, there was a coffin in the room, as we tried to sneak past it, the corpse jumped up and scared us. In a panic, I pushed my son aside and just ran for the door, didn’t even check to see if my son was behind me. After that, never again!

  • Reply hawaiiobsessed October 25, 2011 at 10:54 am

    Do NOT enjoy haunted houses and being scared and will never watch a horror or scary movie. I am kind of worried about the next Hawaii Five 0!

  • Reply DIO October 25, 2011 at 8:49 pm

    Forget the haunted house. Where’s a good place to go eat? 😆

  • Reply Bruss October 26, 2011 at 5:42 am

    Growing up we used to go to the Massie house in Manoa. We all new the story of the man beaten to death in the upstairs room, and then the house was then abandoned for a long time. We would dare to see who could go in the farthest. Spooky and eerie. They tore it down about ten years ago because too many damn kids like us were going in there, especially around Halloween haha

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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