True story: As I was driving to Haunted Graham Mansion this past Sunday evening for a media preview night I was invited to attend I called my husband asking him to track me in Find My iPhone just in case anything happened to me so he'd know where to find my body. He laughed. I was completely serious. The older I get the more I hate things that scare me. Roller coasters. Snakes. Scary movies. And yes, haunted houses. Yet here I was driving myself to one. On purpose.
You can read all about the history of Major Graham Mansion here, and it is widely believed that it is actually haunted and has been investigated and officially deemed "haunted" by SyFy Channel's Ghost Hunters in 2012. What does that mean to you and I? This is not your ordinary haunted house attraction and every year this privately owned property is transformed into one of the scariest haunted houses around attracting thousands and thousands of visitors to see it first-hand. And I was fortunate to be one of the first to experience it this year.
A few words of caution. This is NOT for children or those with limited mobility. They actually will not admit anyone under the age of 9 and kids 10-14 must be accompanied by an adult. My kids are 10 and 12 and they are not ready for it. If you're on the fence I would suggest doing it yourself first and then deciding. I knew instantly my kids aren't ready. There were some tight, very dark and uneven passageways to get through so if you have limited mobility it's not for you. You can read the full rules for everyone's safety here because it really it is about the safety of the guests and those working the attraction.
Ok, now that we've got the rules out of the way, I can get to the nitty gritty (though I promise I won't give too much away.) It's really scary. Like scream, jump, grab the person in front of you (even if they are a complete stranger) heart-racing, sweaty palm scary. My heart rate was 118 when I finished and my whole body was so tense it felt like I had just done an intense quad workout. Things (and by things I mean scary people) jump out at you. They will follow you and talk to you. There are scary noises. You will walk through some dark and questionable areas. And you'll love every second of it. Say what? You'll love every second of it? YES!!!! It was SO MUCH fun. I laughed a ton and I'm so glad I did it. It took about 45 minutes to go through it all and it just kept getting better and better until we were literally running screaming out of it the end. I know that doesn't sound fun but I promise our screams quickly turned to laughter at how much fun we just had.
I went with some girlfriends and when I got home I told my husband to find a sitter because I want to go back with him. Haunted Graham Mansion would be a fantastic date night or a fantastic night out with a group of friends. Though one word of caution, do not be the first one in your group. You do a lot of single-file walking and you definitely want someone else go first. And maybe someone else to go last, too. I was nicely planted in the middle of our group so I was surrounded by people to grab on to at any moment.
Haunted Graham Mansion is open this weekend to the public and every weekend through Nov 4th on Friday and Saturday nights. Ticket sales start at 7pm with tours beginning at 7:30 and ending at 10:30. Depending on the size of the crowd you may have to wait for 30-45 minutes to start your tour but I promise you won't be bored waiting because the haunted happenings and scary stuff starts right away when you get there! Be warned!
You can learn more about Haunted Graham Mansion at hauntedgrahammansion.com and be sure to follow them on Facebook for updates.
Macaroni Kid Roanoke is really excited to have a 4-pack of tickets to giveaway to lucky Mac Kid Roanoke subscriber! Please remember this attraction is not for little kids so if you're interested in a fun date night of have older kids this giveaway is for you. Tickets are good for the weekend of your choice. Click the box below to enter...
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES RECEIVED. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. DO NOT ENTER THIS SWEEPSTAKES IF YOU ARE NOT EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AS OF Sept 26, 2017 AND A LEGAL RESIDENT OF AND CURRENTLY RESIDING IN ONE OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Click here for complete rules.
