THE MILLIONAIRE'S CHRISTMAS WISH—a conversation with Chance and Marcie

In honor of the season, I'd like to introduce you to Chance Fowler and Marcie Roper from The Millionire's Christmas Wish (available from Harlequin in ebook) and tell you a bit about their Christmas romance story.

Good morning Chance and Marcie.  I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today.

Chance:  Thank you, Shawna.  It was nice of you to invite us.  So…what would you like to know?

My first question is for whichever of you wants to answer it.  How did the two of you meet?

Chance:  (Winks at Marcie) Do you want to take that one?

Marcie:  My pleasure.  I was minding my own business, doing a little window shopping on my way back to my car from the book store, when he came along and accosted me in broad daylight.  He grabbed me against my will then proceeded to kiss me.  I was truly shocked and also a little frightened.  I had no idea who he was or why he had forced himself on me.

Chance:  Wait a minute…in my defense that wasn't quite the way it happened.

Marcie:  (grins) My way sounds more mysterious…and more interesting.

Did he literally grab you on the street, a total stranger, and kiss you for no reason?

Marcie:  Oh, yes…that's exactly what he did.

Chance:  Well…not really…not like that.

Ah, ha!  What's the true story?

Chance:  I was being followed by another one of those tabloid photographers who were always trying to get candid pictures of me that they can exploit, things taken out of context and blown up into something they aren't.

As sole heir to the Fowler Industries fortune, an eligible bachelor leading a very high profile life including yacht racing and making the rounds of the club scene always with a beautiful woman on your arm, I can see where there would be an interest in your activities.

Chance:  Since I was on my way to one of my special projects, I had to lose the guy following me.  I was looking for a place to duck away from him…hide in plain sight, so to speak.  As soon as I rounded a corner and was out of his sight for a few seconds, I turned my reversible jacket inside out to a different color, but there wasn't any place for me to hide.  I spotted her standing in front of the store window. My intention was to put my arm around her shoulder so it would look like we were a couple window shopping together, but for some strange reason she objected.  So I did what I had to do.  The photographer ran on down the street without paying any attention to a couple kissing in front of a store window.  I tried to apologize, explain to her, but she ran off without giving me an opportunity.

Marcie:  It was later that I discovered who he was…Take-A-Chance Fowler, as the media referred to him.  Major playboy, always being photographed with different women, yacht racing, seen at all the trendy clubs.  In other words, a spoiled rich guy living off the family wealth who had never done an honest day's work in his life.

Chance:  Definitely not a very flattering assessment of someone she didn't even know.  I was determined to set her straight and change that erroneous assumption.

Take-A-Chance?  Where did that come from?

Chance:  One of those stupid tags the press pinned on me.  "Always willing to take a chance on some wild stunt."

Marcie:  I can't begin to tell you how embarrassed I was when he told me Chance was his legal first name, not some cute little nickname.  It was his mother's maiden name.  And the more I found out about the real person behind all those tabloid headlines, the more impressed I was and the more I liked him.

You mentioned your special projects.  What did you mean by that?

Chance:  I have several projects I finance and am actively, hands-on involved with, things I don't want the media to know about.  I don't want the other people involved to find their pictures and names on the front page of some tabloid newspaper.

What type of projects?

Chance:  (flashes a sly grin) You can find out all about them in the book.

Marcie, did you encounter any unusual problems when you began dating someone of Chance's…uh…notoriety?

Marcie:  (furrows her brow in a moment of concentration) Well, there were some uncomfortable moments with his family, such as the Christmas dinner at his father's house—

Chance:  (laughs) Merely uncomfortable?  That's an understatement!

Is there more to the family story than you're saying?

Marcie:  You mean other than his father being responsible for driving a wedge between us that nearly destroyed our relationship?

Chance:  My family is synonymous with the word dysfunctional.  They're the personification of that old joke…look up the word dysfunctional in the dictionary and you find their picture.  You'll find out all about them when you read the book.

I'd ask you to explain, but I already know what you're going to say.

Marcie:  (laughs) You have to read the book!

Thank you, Marcie and Chance.

Blurb:

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…

When millionaire Chance Fowler first kissed the pretty stranger in his arms, he'd only meant to dodge the photographers who'd tailed him. Then she ran off—but he couldn't forget her tempting taste on his lips. So he sought out the tantalizing woman who'd ignited his long-dormant desire….

Lovely Marcie Roper was the first woman to close her eyes to Chance's fortune. And though she'd captivated the jaded tycoon, Marcie yearned for what his wealth couldn't buy—a man who would say "I do" and mean it forever. Could Marcie convince Chance that love—for the right woman—would last a lifetime?

Publisher Excerpt:

She was certainly different from the type of women he usually encountered. Her eyes sparked with the fire of emotion and her stance declared a very appealing independence. Yes, indeed. Marcie Roper was quite different—a breath of fresh air. He recalled the way she felt in his arms, the taste of her delicious mouth. He fought the almost overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms and kiss her again.

He watched her walk away from him—for the second time since he first encountered her. She had turned out to be a very intriguing woman. He already knew about the golden flecks in her hazel eyes, her soft pliable lips, her addictive taste and how good she felt in his arms. And now he knew she was certainly a challenge—and Chance had never been one to back down from a challenge.

****

Harlequin has reissued 17 of my backlist titles.  THE MILLIONAIRE'S CHRISTMAS WISH was originally released by Harlequin in print and is currently available in ebook.

THE MILLIONAIRE'S CHRISTMAS WISH, a Silhouette Desire by Shawna Delacorte reissued by Harlequin in ebook and available at http://ebooks.eharlequin.com.  Also available from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for Nook, and other online vendors.  Additional information and excerpts available on my website   www.shawnadelacorte.com   Information and excerpts from my other books also available on my website.

December Bizarre And Unique Holidays

Like every month, December has its share of bizarre, whacky, unique, and unusual holidays in addition to the legal ones with no mail delivery, banks closed, etc..  Here are just a few of these bizarre offerings.

1  Eat A Red Apple Day

2  National Fritters Day—perhaps apple fritters, a way of using the left over apples from Eat A Red Apply Day?

3  National Roof over Your Head Day

4  Santa's List Day—hopefully you're on the "Nice" list

5  Bathtub Party Day

Fill the bath tub with warm water, add some bath oil beads, hop in, and soak—soothing and relaxing! Don't let anything disturb the peace, quiet, and serenity of your bath. Turn off your cell phone and play your favorite CDs.

6  Put on your own Shoes Day

7  National Cotton Candy Day

8  National Brownie Day

9  Christmas Card Day

Christmas Card Day honors Sir Henry Cole (1818 - 1874) of England who created the first commercial Christmas Card in 1843. Just a few decades ago, sending Christmas cards through the mail was a holiday must and it continues to be very popular. However, in today's society the cost and time involved to write and send cards has caused many people to stop mailing them. As a result, free ecards have surged in popularity.

10  Human Rights Day

11  National Noodle Ring Day

12  National Ding-a-Ling Day

National Ding-a-Ling Day—a very special day to "Ring your Bell". On this day you need to brace yourself for bizarre and crazy behavior from all of the people you encounter. Even normally refined and quiet people have been known to go a little crazy on this day. Some people say this is a day for wackos, lunatics, and others who are off their rocker. Maybe it's simply a day to cut loose and act a little weird. For the record: Ding-a-Lings and Ding Bats are not quite the same thing.

13  Ice Cream Day

14  International Monkey Day

15  National Lemon Cupcake Day

16  National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Its a great day to indulge, binge, pig out, and consume your favorite food to excess—chocolate. The timing of this day, during the holiday season, couldn't be better. Today, we get to enjoy our beloved chocolate by covering something—just about anything—in a generous amount of chocolate. Pour, spread, or drizzle chocolate over cakes, cupcakes, pies, pancakes or waffles, nuts, raisins, even ants (yes, some people actually eat chocolate covered ants!). It's up to you to decide what's too extreme and how much is too much. Does anyone really need any added incentive to enjoy chocolate?

17  National Maple Syrup Day

18  Bake Cookies Day

19  Look for an Evergreen Day

20  Go Caroling Day

21  Humbug Day

This is the holiday that allows everyone preparing for Christmas to vent their frustrations. Venting frustration over the stress of Christmas is appropriate for this day, but Humbug Day is much more. It brings out the Scrooge in all of us. Many Scrooges are negative towards Christmas in general, and can put a real damper on your Christmas spirit. Use Bah Humbug Day to release the stress of the holiday season, but avoid becoming a real Christmas Scrooge.

21  Look on the Bright Side Day

22  National Date Nut Bread Day

23  Festivus—for the rest of us

Are you feeling a little left out!? Then experience the joy and the miracle of Festivus. It's non-denominational so everyone can participate. The Festivus slogan is "A Festivus for the rest of us!" And, that means you. Festivus came into being as the direct result of a Jerry Seinfeld television show episode that first aired on December 18, 1997.

24  National Chocolate Day

Hopeful you haven't had your fill of chocolate with National Chocolate Covered Anything Day on December 16th. Why are there two practically identical holidays so close together? The reason doesn't matter. What's important is that a celebration of chocolate exists!

25  Christmas Day

26  Boxing Day

27  National Fruitcake Day

28  Card Playing Day

29  Pepper Pot Day

30  Bacon Day

In addition to December 30th Bacon Day, the Saturday before Labor Day is International Bacon Day. Bacon Day and International Bacon Day celebrates crispy strips of salted pork--bacon! This is a day to thoroughly enjoy bacon at every meal. Snack time, too. It is recommend that you enjoy bacon today in social gatherings. So, go ahead. Have a bacon party!! It appears that Bacon Day in December and International Bacon Day evolved separately. Remember—everything tastes better with bacon!

31  Unlucky Day

Hopefully December 31st is not unlucky for you, although it will be unlucky for some people. It seems fitting that Unlucky Day is the last day of the year. You get the chance to get all the bad things out of the way so next year will be happy, healthy and prosperous.

Have you noticed?  As with the bizarre holidays for each month, there are more holidays dedicated to food than anything else.  For December, this list shows 15 of the days connected to food.  The complete list (multiple holiday celebrations for a specific date) shows even more food holidays.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. And Peace On Earth.

Turkey Trivia…Just In Time For Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again…the Thanksgiving season. This year the fourth Thursday in November falls on November 22nd, the day of celebration in the U.S.  Americans cook approximately 45 million turkeys each year for that Thanksgiving dinner.  So, in honor of the holiday, here are a dozen known and not so well known bits of trivia about turkeys.

1)  All turkeys do not taste the same.  The taste has to do with their age.  An older male is preferable to a younger male (the younger tom is stringy).  And the younger female hens are preferable to the older ones.  Hmmm…that older man and younger woman thing again. 

2)  A turkey less than 16 weeks old is called a fryer and a turkey 5 to 7 months of age is known as a roaster.

3)  Turkeys are a type of pheasant and are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere.

4)  Wild turkeys are able to fly for short durations attaining speeds up to 55mph.  Domesticated turkeys raised on farms for food are too fat and meaty to achieve flight.

5)  We've all heard that Benjamin Franklin argued in favor of the turkey as the national symbol of America rather than the Bald Eagle (see last week's blog—Eagle Vs. Turkey).

6)  The first turkeys to be domesticated were in Mexico and Central America.

7)  The male turkey makes the gobble sound and the female clucks.

8)  A mature turkey has about 3,500 feathers, which is a lot of plucking before it can be cooked.

9)  The most turkeys produced annually come from Minnesota and North Carolina.

10)  The skin that hangs from a turkey's neck is called a wattle.  The fleshy growth on the base of the beak is the snood.

11)  Each year 90 percent of Americans have turkey for Thanksgiving compared to 50 percent on Christmas.

12)  The most turkey consumed per capita is not eaten by Americans.  Israel holds that honor.

One thing that's marvelous about the Thanksgiving turkey dinner is all the terrific leftovers!  Anyone out there having something other than the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving dinner?

Eagle Vs. Turkey: America's National Symbol

We all know that the bald eagle is America's National Symbol…a proud and majestic bird.  And turkey is what we serve every year at Thanksgiving dinner…a tasty bird made all the more appetizing when accompanied by dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy.

But did you know that if Benjamin Franklin had gotten his way, the turkey would have been our national symbol?

In 1776, right after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress appointed a special committee to select a design for an official national seal.  This committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin.  They each had their own ideas, none of which included the bald eagle.  They finally came to agreement on a drawing of a woman holding a shield to represent the states.  However, the design did nothing to inspire the members of Congress.

So Congress consulted a Philadelphia artist named William Barton who created a new design that included a golden eagle.  At the time we were still at war with England and the fierce looking bird was deemed an appropriate symbol…with one small change.  The golden eagle also flew over Europe so the federal lawmakers declared that the bird in the seal had to be an American bald eagle.

On June 20, 1782, they approved the design that we recognize today.

From the start, the eagle had been a controversial choice.  Benjamin Franklin was quite vocal in his objection to the selection of the eagle.  He considered it a bird of "bad moral character."  A year after the Treaty of Paris officially ended the war with Great Britain, Franklin argued that the turkey would have been a more appropriate symbol.  "A much more respected bird and a true native of America."

Unfortunately for Franklin, Congress was not convinced and the bald eagle remained our national symbol.

Whereas both the bald eagle and the turkey are native to America, we can't lay exclusive claim to either species since both traditionally ranged in Canada and Mexico as well as the U.S.

And all of this leads us to one important question.  If the turkey had been chosen as our national symbol, what would we serve as our traditional Thanksgiving dinner?  Somehow roast eagle just doesn't have the same appeal as the turkey.

November's Bizarre and Unique Holidays

November is a month with a couple of legal holidays in the U.S., specifically Veteran's Day on November 11 and Thanksgiving on November 22 this year (4^th Thursday in November)  There are other recognized days such as All Saint's Day (November 1) and All Soul's Day (November 2).  And with a tip of the hat to our British cousins, Guy Fawkes Day (November 5).

The entire month of November is:  Aviation History month, Child Safety Protection month, International Drum month, National Adoption Awareness month, National Epilepsy month, National Model Railroad month, National Novel Writing month, Native American Heritage month, Peanut Butter Lovers month, Real Jewelry month, and National Sleep Comfort month.  There's also Chemistry Week (first week of the month) and Game & Puzzle week (third week of the month).

But that's only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.  November, just like all the other months, is filled with bizarre and unique holidays.  I hope you enjoy these November offerings.

November 1:

All Saint's Day

November 2:

All Soul's Day

Book Lovers Day—this is celebrated either August 9^th or the first Saturday in November.  Book Lovers Day, as the name implies, encourages us to find a place to relax with a good book.  Not only is reading a great hobby, it's an important one.  Reading is educational, informative, and relaxing.

Deviled Egg Day

Look For Circles Day

November 3:

Housewife's Day

Sandwich Day

November 4:

King Tut Day—this celebrates the date of the discovery of King Tutankhamen's Tomb on November 4, 1922, in Egypt's Valley of Kings.  King Tut became King of Egypt in 1333 B.C. at the age of 9 and ruled until 1324 B.C. when he died at age 19.  The cause of his death is uncertain with murder and innocent accident being the two main theories.

November 5:

Gunpowder Day

Guy Fawkes Day (goes hand-in-hand with Gunpowder Day)

November 6:

Election Day—mid term elections for both federal and state. Many heated election races this year.

Marooned Without A Compass Day—do you often find yourself going around in circles?  Do you feel hopelessly lost?  Which direction will your life take?  Being marooned without a compass for a day could be a good thing.  Our busy lifestyles seldom leave us time to relax.  We can enjoy being marooned…until tomorrow.

Saxophone Day

November 7:

Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

November 8:

Cook Something Bold Day

Dunce Day

November 9:

Chaos Never Dies Day—this day recognizes the turmoil in everyday life.  Just when your hectic surroundings seem to calm down at work and home, along comes something to disrupt your life.  Disorder is everywhere.  This holiday is designed for you.  Pick one thing that is really disrupting your life and change it for the good.

November 10:

Forget-Me-Not Day

USMC Day

November 11:

Veteran's Day

November 12:

Chicken Soup For The Soul Day

Young Readers Day

November 13:

National Indian Pudding Day

Sadie Hawkins Day—originated from a 1930s comic strip, Al Capp's Lil Abner.  In the strip, the mayor of Dogpatch desperately wants to marry off his ugly daughter, so he creates the Sadie Hawkins Day race where all the single men are given a short head start then all the single women chase them.  If a girl catches a man, then he has to marry her.  The Sadie Hawkins Day celebration basically ended 40 years later when Al Capp died and the comic strip was discontinued, however it can occasionally still be seen celebrated on some college campuses.

World Kindness Day—the day encourages us to be kind to others, helping to create a nicer, better world.  The holiday is intended to build a kinder and more compassionate world.  Kindness rubs off on others and generates even more kindness.

November 14:

Operating Room Nurse Day

November 15:

Clean Your Refrigerator Day

America Recycles Day

National Philanthropy Day

November 16:

Button Day

Have A Party With Your Bear Day—is your teddy bear a real party animal?  Hopefully so because today is the day you get to party.  Invite all your teddy bears and your friends and have them invite their teddy bears for a fun day.

November 17:

Electronic Greeting Card Day

Homemade Bread Day

Take A Hike Day

World Peace Day—encourages us to be kind to others and teach others to be peaceful.  The creator of this holiday believes world peace starts with individuals and if we all do our part to promote peach we can make war and strife obsolete.

November 18:

Occult Day—this is a mysterious day, something outside the realm of the normal and natural world.  Lots of words can be used to describe the occult…concealed, secret, hidden, mysterious, unnatural.  Astrology and alchemy also could belong.  Many secret groups are occult.  Celebrate this day by not sitting back and waiting for something to happen.  Have fun with it.

November 19:

Have A Bad Day Day

November 20:

Absurdity Day—is…well…absurd!  Some days are illogical and senseless which is exactly the definition of Absurdity Day.  Celebrate this day in an absurd manner, have fun with it.

Beautiful Day

Universal Children's Day

November 21:

False Confession Day

Great American Smokeout

World Hello Day

November 22:

Thanksgiving

Go For A Ride Day

November 23:

Eat A Cranberry Day

National Cashew Day

National Adoption Day

Black Friday—shopping day

November 24:

Evolution Day—Today is the anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species, in 1859. His controversial theory turned the world upside down in its thinking of how we came to be.

November 25:

National Parfait Day

November 26:

Shopping Reminder Day

November 27:

Pins And Needles Day

November 28:

Make Your Own Head Day

Red Planet Day—honors the fourth planet from the sun…Mars.  On this day, take a few minutes to look up into the sky and gaze at our celestial neighbor.  This day commemorates the launch of the Spacecraft Mariner 4 on November 28, 1964.

November 29:

Buy Nothing Day

Square Dance Day

You're Welcome Day

November 30:

Stay At Home Because You Are Well Day—this is the day to stay home from work because you feel well, taking an unofficial day off to enjoy yourself. Warning…doing this might get you in trouble, possibly even costing you your job.

So…there you have it.  The bizarre and unique holidays of November.  Pick the ones you like, or celebrate all of them!

Horror Movies For Halloween

What has happened to the scary horror movies from the past that traded on the atmosphere of fear rather than the visual of spurting blood and flying body parts?  The tingling sensation that made the hair stand on the back of our necks and goose bumps on our arms as our imaginations ran wild.  The spooky ground fog that slithered over and around the tombstones, cloaking the cemetery in an eerie silence and spectral glow.

I'm talking about the traditional horror classics from decades gone by such as Frankenstein from 1931 with Boris Karloff's brilliant performance as the monster.  Also from 1931, Dracula with Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the vampire as both elegant and mesmerizing which left the horror to the imagination of the viewer.  The next year gave us 1932's The Mummy with Boris Karloff once again turning in a stellar performance, this time as the two thousand year old mummy in search of the reincarnation of his mate.  Then came 1941's The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney, Jr., as the stricken and cursed Larry Talbot.

True to Hollywood tradition, these classic horror movies spawned numerous sequels—Bride of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter.  And as long as Hollywood was on a roll, they added to the profit factor by capitalizing on the popularity of the characters by having them co-star in such movies as Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.  Then there were the myriad remakes that came over the ensuing years, some serious attempts and others totally ludicrous.  Each one pushed the envelope in its own way in order to hopefully make it better (as in more box office dollars) than its predecessor.

And the award for the most remakes over the years goes to Dracula.  Some were serious films and others were more on the ridiculous side with titles such as Dracula's Dog.

With all four of the above mentioned original movies, the remakes never really captured the essence of the originals…in my humble opinion.

But these classic horror movies have done more than provide us with entertainment.  They have given us some valuable lessons for handling real life as well as those evil things lurking in the shadows.

Here are 9 important lessons Halloween season horror movies have taught us.

9)  When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead.

8)  If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination with blood, glowing eyes, or increasing hairiness, get away from them as fast as possible.

7)  Do not search the basement when the power has just gone out especially if it was NOT knocked out as the result of a storm or if yours is the only house on the block without power.

6)  If appliances start operating by themselves, move out.

5)  Stay away from certain geographic locations such as: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog, the Bermuda Triangle…or any small town in Maine.

4)  If your children speak to you in any language which they should not know or if they speak to you using a voice which is not their own, be afraid…be very afraid.

3)  When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off (are you listening to this advice Scooby Doo gang?) or worse yet go it alone when searching the spooky old mansion for the source of the strange noises.

2)  As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to hell.

And last, but not least…

1)  If you find a town that looks mysteriously deserted, there's probably a good reason for it.  Take the hint and stay away!

Haunted Houses Are Big Business, Part 2 of 2 (Professional Haunted Attractions)

Last week I talked about the history of haunted houses as staged events and ended with some Halloween facts.  This week I'm talking about the big business of professional haunted house attractions.

In the U.S., there are approximately 4,500 professional haunted house attractions opened to the public during the Halloween season—300 theme parks that operate a seasonal haunted house venue, 1200 large-scale haunted houses, and 3000 such attractions operated by and/or for charity organizations as fund raisers.  And, of course, Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida have the year round Haunted Mansion ride.

What is America's oldest and largest commercial Halloween haunt?  That honor belongs to the Knott's Berry Farm theme park in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles, California.  Or as it's known this time of year—Knott's Scary Farm.  It's the world's first Halloween theme park event, the largest Halloween theme park event, and the largest special event in the amusement park industry.  The park makes it clear that the event is not recommended for children under thirteen years old.

It should be no surprise that many of the professional haunted houses/scare attractions have an organization of their own.  Many of the most famous haunted house attractions in the U.S. have formed America Haunts.  They even hold a national convention every summer.  The attractions that belong to America Haunts are as diverse as the people who operate them.  These attractions have been consistently reviewed and are rated as excellent by scores of media sources and considered safe, fun, and an extremely scary show for horror and haunted house fans.  These are amazingly detailed, cutting edge attractions that rival many Hollywood horror movie effects.  Definitely not for the faint-hearted.

The many America Haunts attractions [located across the country from San Diego, California, on the Pacific coast, to Baltimore, Maryland, on the Atlantic coast], annually draw in millions of brave souls during the Halloween season.  The haunted house industry, like most other industries, has its own trade shows, experts, consultants, suppliers, magazines, associations, education seminars, gatherings, and events.  Haunted attraction owners annually spend millions of dollars with haunted house vendors for supplies such as fog machines, animatronic monsters, lighting equipment, and costumes and masks.  In recent years, the overseas market has provided the biggest growth in business for the haunted house vendors of supplies.

The Otis Elevator Company estimates that 85% of the buildings with their elevators do not have a named 13th floor, with that actual floor being given the number 14.  Some businesses don't want to be associated with the stigma attached to the number 13 as being unlucky.  Some don't want to take a chance on losing customers/clients due to them having an aversion to the number 13.  And that probably explains the basic reason for the name of one of the largest haunted house attractions in the U.S.—The 13th Floor Haunted House in Denver, Colorado.

In the 1940s, the building that houses The 13th Floor Haunted House operated briefly as a hotel located across the street from the Sunset train station.  A group of children arrived at the station on their way to their destination south of Denver.  The weather had turned bad, so the bus driver taking them from the station to their final destination decided it would be better to wait until morning to complete their journey.  They checked into the hotel across the street and in the morning continued on their way.  The school bus became stalled on the tracks just south of town and was struck by a train, killing 10 of the children.  Legend has it that those children continue to haunt the hotel, protecting others from a similar fate.

Several of the large, professional attractions, such as The 13th Floor Haunted House, offer more than one venue as part of a specific location.  Each of the venues has a different theme.  And some of the attractions have both indoor and outdoor fright areas.

One such outdoor attraction is Hundred Acres Manor in Pittsburgh.  The attraction boasts 6 haunted attractions for 1 price.

Another outside offering is The Haunted Trail in Balboa Park, in San Diego, California.  It's a mile long trail through a twisted grove of pines and gnarled oaks.  This year, Horror Icons are a big attraction at the Haunted Trail—Freddy, Michael Myers, and The Nun. It’s Friday the 13th every night with Jason who has pitched a tent at Camp Crystal Lake. When you follow the red balloon, ”IT” will lead you to PennyWise the Dancing Clown. The Ghoul Bus has made an unplanned stop in Derry, Maine and Georgie is trapped inside. Enter the upside down world through the Stranger Things house, and get snowed on at the Island of Misfit Toys.  The Haunted Trail also offers the 3500 sq. ft. haunted maze

And this barely scratches the surface of what the large, professional Haunted House attractions have to offer those looking for the ultimate scare.  So…have a happy, sane, and safe Halloween.

And be sure to watch your back or you, too, could become one of the ghouls who haunt the land every Halloween!