OCTOBER: Time to get scared!!

October. My favorite month of the year. Why? One simple reason ... HALLOWEEN!! I am major fan of all things creepy, scary, spooky and weird, so this is my month to shine. I look forward to decorating my house as strange as possible to work up to the 31st. The greatest night of the year to get your scare on.

Also, what’s great about this month is the slew of horror films that get aired and my absolute favorite thing about the holiday... haunted house attractions. As much as I love scaring people with my decorations, I also love going out and getting scared myself. And, this past weekend, I got the bejeebus scared  out of me at the Bane Haunted House in Livingston.

Now, let me tell you something.  I can quote lines from every horror film from THE EXORCIST to THE EVIL DEAD. Heck, my daughter was watching and critiquing NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD before she was 12. So, when I tell you the Bane Haunted House attraction not only scared me but made me face some major fears, I’m not kidding. I think I experienced everything that I’m afraid of except for the one about seeing my grandma naked. (Trust me. That is a major fear in my soul. Sorry, NaNa!!) For the price of a ticket, you spend almost a half hour laughing, screaming, praying and asking yourself what the hell did I get myself into here. This is not some namby pampy lame animatronic spook house. You don’t see the robot skeleton hiding behind the box 10 feet before it pops out at you. At this haunted house, there are no robots. There are, however, some real scares hidden in every dark corner and around e twisty turn.

Bane started years ago in a tent in Livingston and then moved to a empty store space in Rockaway for the last few seasons. This year they are set up in the old Katherine Gibbs School space on Route 10 in Livingston. This larger permanent space has allowed them to create a major Halloween attraction. The haunted house itself is immense. A labyrinth of dark halls, creaky staircases, mazes that will have you trying to figure out where you are and lots of lots of scares. Once again, this is a grown-up scare. There is no nudity or excessive gore but it is not for very young children. In fact, before you enter the attraction, you have to agree by the posted rules.  One of which is, if you chicken out, you’re out. They are right up front with telling you that they are going to scare you and they do a great job of it.

Hopefully, I will get to check out some other haunted attractions this October and take the family along to scare them, as well. Until the 31st, I will be watching horror films and planning on how to scare the neighborhood kids.

Bane Haunted House is open on weekends until November 1st.

www.banehauntedhouse.com