Halloween is my favorite time of the year; yes, I fully admit to being a weirdo. One of my favorite things to do during October is go to the haunted houses, whether it is Phobia, House of Torment, Ripley's Haunted Adventure or the 13th Floor; but back in 2012 I was introduced to the hands-down best.
Scare for a Cure is an interactive haunted house that is put on by volunteers. It is a non-profit organization just outside of Austin, Texas that donates the net profits to local cancer related charities and organizations. In 2010 alone they were able to donate $20,000 to the Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas.
Being able to combine a unique interactive haunted house experience with the chance to give back to organizations that helped people like my grandmother and mother when they were diagnosed with breast cancer is an incredible opportunity.
Where Phobia and House of Torment don't change from year to year, Scare for a Cure never stays the same. Each year the haunt is a different theme. Past themes have been Zombie Apocalypse, Summer Camp Massacre, Fairy Tale Nightmare, Carnival of Lost Souls and Blood Ritual. This year's theme is the Dread Asylum where you will receive a tour of a mental facility, meet the patients and be cured of your own phobias. Maybe you have a phobia of the dark, children, spiders, snakes, blood or clowns...you will face these phobias in the asylum.
When I say Scare for a Cure is interactive, I mean you are part of the show just as much as the actors. You don't just walk through and get scared by actors jumping out at you. You play a role with those in your group and will have to run, crawl, climb and dodge. You will be touched and you will get fake blood on you so don't wear anything you really care about getting stained. The experience lasts an hour long so be ready!
After going through the haunted house you take pictures and have the opportunity to go through a maze, buy merchandise or sit down with a beer and a $1 hot dog to chill out.
I highly recommend Scare for a Cure. The people who put on the show are all volunteers and some of the nicest people I've met. The show itself is unlike any other in every way from length to overall experience and the money goes to a great cause.
I went through the Summer Camp Massacre haunt and this year's Dread Asylum haunt on Saturday night and I will say I didn't think they could outdo Summer Camp Massacre and they did. It was an amazing and terrifying experience. At the end I looked like Carrie at the prom with the pig's blood, no joke.
Grab a group of friends and go to Scare for a Cure -- you won't be sorry! To purchase tickets or find out more about the organization visit their website www.scareforacure.org.
