22 July 2021 – I Love Creepy Films, especially the ones that are suspenseful, unexpected, and scary. The best are the ones that could be true. Some of my favorites include The Shining, The Ring, Pet Semetary, The Blair Witch Project, The Conjuring series, anything M. Night Shyamalan, the Jordan Peele films, and my very favorite, The Strangers. I am not easily scared, but I can get anxious if the movie is just right. I am always more scared of what might happen than what really happens. Despite my love for creepy movies, I don’t believe in ghosts or hauntings. I am sure that people experience strange things but I am sure there is a logical explanation for it that they can’t easily figure out. I do believe in evil. So anything is possible.

While on my latest adventure, I had the opportunity to visit and stay in two different “spirited” places. The first was in St. Anthony, Idaho, on the property of the former Idaho State Reform School. The hospital is believed to date back to the early 20th century, and many people have claimed that they’ve experienced paranormal activity in some form at this creepy destination. Many of the children died from suicide or illness, and there is a cemetery on the property. Witnesses state they have seen real apparitions, mostly of young girls, and there have been instances where the lights, sinks, or shower mysteriously turn on by themselves. Ghost Adventures even featured it in Season 17, Episode 5. The property has several buildings on it. I stayed in the school building, which has been converted into a family home with a couple of AirBnB rooms. I didn’t experience any paranormal activity.

Just last night, I spent the night at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Stephen King’s visit to this hotel and the nightmare he had there inspired him to write The Shining. The exterior of the hotel was used as the exterior of The Overlook in the movie, and two of the interior rooms were used in the movie as well. The fourth floor of the hotel is famous for its haunting children and paranormal activity. People hear children running and playing and laughing or bouncing a ball down the hall. I stayed in room 407, in which people have experienced being tucked into bed after throwing off the blankets or the feeling of someone sitting on the bed and even leaving an indentation. Again, I didn’t experience anything paranormal, and the bed was so comfortable I slept really well. Maybe because I don’t believe in the paranormal I didn’t experience it.

I tried paranormal and it did nothing for me, but I didn’t think it would. I am one of those people who is more scared going up the big hill on the roller coaster than going down. If you ever go into a haunted house with me, I will try to hide behind you, and I will hold onto you really tight. Not because I will actually be scared by something but because I am afraid of being scared. It is the anticipation of fear and the unexpected that scares me the most. This is why I don’t put myself into situations where I might be ridiculed or rejected, or hurt. I am scared of what might happen…I should think it will probably be just like a scary movie, a haunted house, or a roller coaster…the fear of the anticipation is the true terror…what’s over the hill is the reward. But until I get over my fear of what might happen, I am going to continue to miss out on the greatness.