Adrenaline Rush

a·dren·al·ine rush

noun

a physical feeling of intense excitement and stimulation caused by the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands

That feeling-- you know the one. Something just scared the crap out of you. You thought it was the end. You were going to die from the fright. Then, the moment passes, and you break out in a fit of giggles. Euphoria. You want to do it again. Being scared is fun.

Halloween and horror have been a part of my life since childhood. When I was a kid, my friend Maria's mom owned a video store. No. Not Blockbuster. I'm talking about those old-school, hole-in-the-wall video stores owned by individuals, not a mega-corporation. If you are a senior millennial, like me, you know what I'm talking about.

This one was called Atlas Video. It was a little green building located just down the street from us. When Maria's best mom was working, we would sometimes hang out in the back room. There was a couch and a tv. Sometimes we would play with Barbies. Mostly, we would watch movies—basically, anything we wanted. We would just take it from the shelf. That's how I discovered horror movies. I think Poltergeist was our first. We were six, I guess.

Probably that same year, my parents started our annual tradition of checking out all the haunted houses they could find in Boston's North Shore, where we lived. My Dad always scoped out the best ones. And we would do one, or more, every weekend in October.

That first year on the haunted house circuit, we visited one in an old convent in my hometown. I remember going through with a big group. Maria was there. She was MUCH braver than I was. She was out at the front of the group, with no fear at all. I, on the other hand, was trying to stay sheltered between my family. At one point, a creature with a grotesque snout crawled out from beneath a bed and GRABBED my ankle. I think I jumped 5 feet in the air. I ended up wrapped around my father's neck. When we were done, I asked if we could do it again. That's the first fear-induced adrenaline rush I can remember. I was hooked.

About a decade later, my Dad found a haunted house being held at an old bunker. I think this was at Fort Heath in Winthrop, MA. But I cannot confirm that to be true. It definitely was not on the North Shore. The line was massive, and I distinctly remember us talking about waiting or staying and deciding we had driven too far and it was worth staying.

We waited for at least two hours. Some of the actors were out and about in the line, scaring and entertaining the guests. There were a lot of us there that night-- primarily teenage girls. We came in at least three carloads. My family was hosting a French girl named Martha for the week as part of an exchange program for French teens to experience American Halloween. We were going all out.

While we waited, I noticed one of my friends staring nervously over my shoulder. I turned to find a hulk of a man. He was absolutely ginormous and had the craziest eyes. He was wearing a straight jacket and must have been just inches from my face. I think I wet my pants. Just a bit. We all laughed. It was great.

We finally made our way into the depths of the bunker. I remember that this one took a while to go through. There were a lot of rooms. The second or third room featured a cell. The cell contained the same hulk of a man I had encountered in the line. He was playing a mad man. Of course, he escaped. The group of us stood around watching the action play out, and my Dad, ever so helpfully, decided to remind the madman how much he scared me. I think he said something along the lines "Hey, remember her?" as he pushed me playfully forward.

The "madman" took the bait. And I was literally chased out into the hall until he had me up against a wall. I can still remember the over-the-top terror I felt at that moment. When we got out, I asked my Dad if we could do it again. Too bad the line was so long. The answer was no.

Horror, Halloween, and all things spooky will always have a place in my heart. I haven't even covered the sleepless nights reading horror novels or the times my Dad brought my friends and me to horror movies at the theater. Then there were the Halloween parties I hosted for my Harry Potter meetup group in my twenties.

For me, Halloween is full of memories, so my perfect Halloween playlist needs to be a little nostalgic. And, it needs to get my blood pumping like an adrenaline rush. But, mainly, it needs to be irresistible to dance to.

I dare you not to dance to this playlist. These songs are bound to get your feet moving and your heart pumping. Not quite as much fun as getting the life nearly scared out of you, but a close second.