7   +   8   =  

Once upon a time, when my teenage angst and I’m-bored attitude were fully intact, I went through haunted houses and sighed. “That’s it?” I would say as I exited the haunted house/forest/asylum. Perhaps with age I have learned to truly appreciate all that is going around me, or perhaps the 13th Floor San Antonio is just really bad ass. Last night after an intense 25 minute walk through, I exited the 13th Floor covered in sweat. Yes, I was blanketed in sweat and it was slightly embarrassing!

Zombie at 13th FloorOctober and Halloween makes my heart warm and fuzzy just as the Christmas season does for many. I enjoy the scares, the dark nights and the decor in every shop. This year as I drove to the 13th Floor San Antonio Media Night, I felt a sense of fear and excitement. Although the sun was still shining, as my boyfriend and I crept into the doors of the haunted house, I was a bit nervous because there was no one else in our group! Usually I find myself comfortably in the middle of a group of 10 or so strangers also going through the dark, one way halls, but this season I was single file with one person in front of me, and no one to guard my back.

After the first portion of very (very) dimly lit halls and blood soaked actors, I let out a sigh of relief. We had made it through and my fear of tight spaces was behind me! Nope, the area in which I thought was the exit was really just another line for the second portion of the 13th Floor.

This is when I really started sweating.

After making a wrong turn and lapping another circle around the second round of haunted walkways, I was relieved when the door to the outside was in sight. Honestly, the actors and actresses are not truly what makes my skin crawl. The darkness, the endless darkness, and the fact that I have no idea when the end is near is what frightens me. If you’re like me and in your twenty-somethings, go into the 13th Floor fully aware of your surroundings. Take it all in and you’ll leave exhilarated, and sweaty.

The 13th Floor Haunted House runs until Halloween, October 31. General admission tickets start at $24.99. For more information about the 13th Floor, visit www.13thfloorsanantonio.com