Zombies and Ghosts and Serial Killers, Oh My!

Last night I drove out to Meridianville, Alabama in the dark to find another haunted attraction.   This haunted attraction was made unnerving by its emptiness.  I'm assuming because it was Thursday night,  the parking lot was eerily empty.   We were the only ones going through this attraction and the loneliness certainly added to a feeling of fear and dread as I walked in the attraction.

The Haunted Gin is a mile long corn maze in rural Alabama.  It is filled with costumed actors and affects that jump out of the corn at you in the darkness.  My favorite affects in this maze included a hideous, giant monster thing that hung from the wall, a zombie actor reminiscent of the oil zombie from Return of the Living Dead, and an unnerving fat, bulbous serial killer that looked dead himself with a chainsaw.  The fat guy really put me off.  His costume was very, creepy.

I think this corn maze should have been scary.  All the ingredients for terror were there.  It wasn't as extravagant as Disturbia.  The props were cheaper and fewer, but the factors that contribute to fear were there in the darkness, waiting for you.  However,  last night was a beautiful night.  It was the kind of night us city dwellers see only when we are camping or backpacking.  There were so many stars in the sky I could navigate with them and the moon was full and brilliant.  The air was just cool enough to send a chill down your spine and make you long for winter.  It was perfect.  It was so perfect I found my eyes drifting up to the stars and away from the zombies.   Also, by the light of the full moon, nothing could really take you by surprise.  I might as well have been walking through the corn maze in the daylight.

So, The Haunted Gin had potential, but lighting is everything and with an outdoor attraction a beautiful night can spell destruction.