Apparently here in Ohio is the longest haunted house tour in the country. An abandoned mine in Lewisburg, outside of Dayton, is said to be some 800 feet long. Now that isn't going to be on my itinerary any time soon. Not because of the haunted house part. I'm not much of a haunted house fan. I find them gaudy and predictable and usually rather dull. But because it's in an abandoned mine. Underground. Like a cave. And that's all you have to say to get from me a fast exit, stage right.
Claustrophobia is my one bona fide phobia. I'm not a fan of spiders, though I feared them more when I was young. As I got older, I came to appreciate the work they do in keeping out the insect riffraff. I have a rule of thumb with spiders. Any spiders smaller than my thumbnail and I let them go - within reason.
Heights are also a thing, but only on shaky ladders and precarious landings. I could go to the edge of the Grand Canyon or look out from the Empire State Building and it wouldn't bother me. Just don't put me on an unbalanced step ladder. But I don't consider that a phobia as much as common sense.
But claustrophobia? You bet. Years ago, before our oldest was born, we went with my wife's family to Disney World in Florida. They talked me into getting on the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride. Now I knew I wasn't in a real submarine, nor was I a million feet under the water. I got that it was all an illusion. Nonetheless, my wife's niece was sitting beside me and for the entire *blinking* time she rattled on about how it was really like being stuck in a closed in submarine, far under water, with no escape. I finally told her if she didn't stop she'd be going out the torpedo tubes even if there weren't any.
While I'm not fan of haunted houses, I do appreciate spooky locations. And if someone ever came up with some understated, subtle form of a haunted house I might just go and check it out. But an 800 foot tour through an underground mine? You, my friends, can count me out.
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Been to Waverly Hills in Louisville?
ReplyDeleteI've heard of it, but I think after I moved away to Ohio. There are plenty of spooky spots around our neck of the woods. The most famous being the Mansfield Penitentiary (made famous as the shooting location for The Shawshank Redemption). But there are other, lesser ones too, that we've explored over the years.
DeleteGenuine question: what interests you in seeking out supposedly haunted places on purpose? If it’s actually haunted it can’t be by anything good, and that’s a big no-no for me to even consider putting myself in such a vicinity!
DeleteI enjoy going to places that have the reputation and seeing what they're all about. Often they are nothing more than something mundane that someone, at some point, said was somehow haunted or such. Sometimes I can see why a place would get that reputation. I recall going to a small, out of the way cemetery that was supposedly haunted. We never made it to the cemetery itself, since each attempt always seemed to lead us in some stray direction. But even then, with the state of the surrounding woods, it wasn't tough to figure out why the cemetery gained that sort of a reputation.
DeleteIt’s funny I what bothers us and why. I have 0 spider issues and will kill them with my fingers if I have no tissue available. (I’ll add though, in the house or car. Outside spiders can live.) My kids are terrified of spiders but love all the frogs and toads they can find. Which is weird to me because I am TERRIFIED of reptiles. Could possibly be because my older brother liked to catch bullfrogs and stick them in my face for fun when we were growing up, and we had garden snakes everywhere that could surprise you at at moment. But, ugh! Yeah, give me a spider any day over an icky frog!
ReplyDeleteI must correct my above comment, it was written pre-coffee. I’m terrified of reptiles AND amphibians.
DeleteWhen it comes to reptiles and things like that, I don't fear them. I have a sort of 'I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone' approach. Which is my approach to most wildlife.
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