Halloween 1988

An experience at a 'Haunted House' that I will never forget.

793 Words

Halloween 1988

         I thought I’d share with you one of the best (funniest) Halloween’s I’ve ever had, the Halloween of 1988. I was 34 at the time with 4 young children. My oldest daughter was 8, her younger sister was 6, my oldest son had just turned 4, and my youngest son was 10 months.

         I was stationed at the Submarine Base, Bangor Washington where I was an instructor at the Trident Training Facility. My command was hosting a haunted house; my three older children were into Halloween things, as well as ‘all things scary’, especially my son.

         Now my two daughters were typical girls, they loved doing things that most girls at that age did. My son was a boy through and through, but nothing scared him it seemed. I know this might sound like we weren’t good parents, but he loved to watch scary movies. One of his favorite was Stephen King’s “Silver Bullet”. So the haunted house seemed to be a natural place for us to visit.

         One night before Halloween, I took two of them (my son and younger daughter) for a short walk to Trident Training Facility. It wasn’t too cold yet, and the walk through the wooded area of the base helped set the mood for the haunted house. When we arrived we found that they had roped off one wing as the haunted house. We entered through a door that was usually only an emergency exit and walked down the long dimly lit hallway. Along the way you could feel spider webs dangling from the ceiling, brushing across your face. So far, I was disappointed. That was all to change soon.

         We finally got to the end of the hall, and entered a large open room, well lit, but the lights were turned down very low. There on a gurney was a man, feebly moving his arms back and forth, asking us to help him. A ‘doctor’ in a long white robe walked from behind him and explained what was going on.

         “He came to us today saying he had a tummy ache, so I had to take a look to see what might be causing it.” Saying this, he reached into the man’s ‘stomach’, and pulled out a large handful of fresh meat and said, “I think I found what his problem is!” At this point, my younger daughter was pulling back, trying to hide behind me. Seeing her, the doctor said, “You don’t look so good either, maybe I should find out why you’re not feeling good.” Now my younger daughter is pulling me away from there, saying something like, “C’mon Daddy, let’s go!” All the while, my son was really interested in what the doctor had done, and was trying to peer in to his stomach so he could see.

         We went on to the next display, and it must not have been too much, because I don’t remember it at all. However, the third place was a large room that contained a Trident Submarine’s Diesel Generator. This is very large, standing about 15 feet high, and 30 feet long. As we entered, I heard a chain saw start up, and from behind the diesel appears a man in a hockey mask. It’s 1988, and the big ‘slash em up’ movie out about then was Friday the 13th. If you were around then, you’ll remember that Jason was the killer, and usually wore a hockey mask. Needless to say, my daughter was scared beyond description. She pulled on my arm, she wanted to get out of that room as soon as possible! Meanwhile my son was interested in what was going on, and how they were doing it.

         Leaving the Diesel Generator room we came to another hallway. There against a wall, was a werewolf, chained against it (A plastic chain duct taped to the wall). He was roaring and trying to break free. Finally, my son started to show a little fear. Werewolves were something he was really afraid of, but they also fascinated him. My younger daughter was really losing it now. Suddenly, one of the chains on the werewolf broke! Okay, the duct tape holding it to wall came loose. My son made a bee-line for the exit, and my daughter climbed up my arm like Batman climbed the sides of buildings. Next thing I know, she’s on my shoulders screaming for me to run, all the while beating my head over and over with her little hands. To this day I still remember her shouting loudly, “Run Daddy, Run! Run Daddy run!!” Somehow, we got to the exit and thankfully made our way home, where we laughingly told Mom about our adventure in the haunted house.

Jim Dorrell
05/15/25