Halloween tales

Name something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark forest or in an abandoned building. “I would say someone wearing a mask. I don’t think that’s a good thing to see.”

Favorite horror monster or villain? “I don’t know why, but I like Slender Man because when I was younger, I used to play this game called ‘Slender.’ I would always get jumps and scares.”

What is the creepiest thing that has ever happened to you? “Once, when I was a kid, I was sleeping and I kind of woke up and I looked to the side. I don’t know if I was in that station where you are kind of dreaming, but you’re also awake, and I kind of saw someone in my room walking towards my window. That was the creepiest thing ever. After that, I kind of woke up and I said, ‘OK, there’s nothing here,’ but I got super scared.”

You’re home alone but you hear footsteps in your house. What do you do? “I hide in my room. Yeah, definitely.”

If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose? “I don’t know, maybe ‘The Shining.’ OK, then I’ll say the ‘Slender Man,’ but then I’ll have to run. I don’t know, hide somewhere in a forest because I wouldn’t want to see him.”

Would you ever go to a graveyard at night? Why or why not? “The graveyard? No, why would you go to a graveyard at night? I wouldn’t go. There’s nothing to do there.”

You’re in a horror movie. Are you the final girl, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one or the killer? “I would say the comic relief.”

Would you spend a full night inside a haunted house if someone paid you? “I don’t think so. A million dollars is something to talk about. Only if it’s like a lot, a lot of money because I get scared super easily. Super, super easily.”

In the zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice? “I think a huge sword.”

Do you think there are real witches, ghosts, monsters and creatures living among us? Or are those things just from our imagination? “I would say imagination. I don’t think they’re real.”

Name something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark forest or in an abandoned building. “A clown.”

Favorite horror monster or villain? “I don’t really have one.”

What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to you? “I’ve been in a hotel and I heard something in the closet before. It wasn’t a good hotel. It was a bad hotel, so I feel, like, something was really in there, so you know, like, a ghost or something.”

You’re home alone but you hear footsteps in your house, what do you do? “I grab the sharpest, most dangerous object closest and I close my door and lock my door.”

If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose? “‘The Conjuring.’ When I watch scary movies, they don’t really scare me, but ‘The Conjuring’ actually did. So, I actually want to be in that. If I want to be in a scary movie, I would want to be in it.”  

Would you ever go to a graveyard at night? Why or why not? “No, that’s creepy.”

You’re in a horror movie. Are you the final guy, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one, or the killer? “Either the last one to live or the comic relief.”

Would you spend a full night inside a haunted house if someone paid you? “Depends how much. I am going to start high. Might be about $5,000.”

In the zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice? “A sword.”

Do you think there are real witches, ghosts, monsters and creatures living among us? Or are those things just from our imagination? “I think ghosts are real. I don’t think monsters and all that. I think that’s our imagination.”

Name something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark forest or in an abandoned building. “Oooh, probably, like a hobo, like a homeless person. I don’t know or just, like, I probably wouldn’t want to run into anyone there ’cause, like, why would they be there?”

Favorite horror monster or villain? “Like, I hate all scary movies. Probably, well, my first scary movie I saw was ‘The Ring’ and that scares me. I don’t know if she’s a villain, but she scares me to death.”

What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to you? “Well, I went to, like, a haunted house once with my friends and we ended up getting split up and I was yelling, like, ‘Please take me out of here’ and they actually escorted me out. So, that was pretty creepy for me.”

You’re home alone, but you hear footsteps in your house. What do you do? “I would run out punching and then just run out the front door.”

If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose? “Probably the least scariest one. ‘Scary Movie’ ’cause it’s funny and I could let that ease the pain of the fear.”

Would you ever go to a graveyard at night? Why or why not? “I would with people. I wouldn’t go alone.”

You’re in a horror movie. Are you the final girl, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one or the killer? “I’m the comic relief. I’m pretty sure.”

Would you spend a full night inside a haunted house if someone paid you? “Is there a price? OK, I guess so if I’m getting paid ’cause, like, one, I’ll get money and I don’t have a job. And, then two, I’ll know it’s fake, so I guess so and I can do therapy after with the money. The price would probably be a million.”

In the zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice? “I would just want a full armor of spikes and knives. I don’t know. Something where I don’t run out of ammo and can just, like, go around and run through people.”

Do you think there are real witches, ghosts, monsters, creatures living among us? Or are those thing just from our imagination? “I think it’s real. I think that ghosts are real. I believe in ghosts ’cause I think spirits can be around. I don’t know, I get scared at night in the dark. So, I don’t want to upset anyone, you know, in the dead. So, they’re real even if they’re not.”

Who started Halloween and why do we wear costumes? “I do not know.”

How did you celebrate Halloween when you were a child? “Every year, my parents were the ones that stayed in and handed out the candy. Me and my sister would go around.”

What is the best Halloween memory you have? “I can remember participating in a haunted house and just scaring people. Like, getting that thrill was really fun.”

What is the worst Halloween memory you have?  “I don’t think I have a worst memory. I like Halloween.”

What has been your favorite all-time Halloween costume? “The bloody ‘Scream’ mask.”

If you could only wear one Halloween costume for the rest of your life, what would you be? “The Joker because he’s just mysterious. I like that one. It looks cool.”  

How are you spending your Halloween this year? “My parents are actually coming in to town for the World Series, so I’ll probably end up spending it with them.”

Are you superstitious? “Somewhat. I like to have the same routine before I come to the field. I like to keep things similar. I’ll cook the same breakfast before game days and then showing up to the field on time to get my pre-workout. Keeping it similar.”

What is your favorite urban legend?  “I don’t know. I don’t have one.”

Which horror movie scarred you for life? “‘The [Texas] Chainsaw Massacre.’ Yeah, that one was scary. Don’t want somebody chasing after me with a chainsaw.”

Who started Halloween and why do we wear costumes? “I have no idea who started Halloween, but I feel that the costumes–no, I have no idea who did this.”

How did you celebrate Halloween when you were a child? “We would go to a church, like fall festival, and we would just, like, trick-or-treat there, you know. Me and my family would have a little booth there. That’s how we would celebrate Halloween back in Abilene.”

What is the best Halloween memory you have? “Probably when I had a whole pillowcase filled with candy. Everyone just kept giving me candy that day. The church was full with people. I grew up in the church, so it was cool to have all those people. All my friends came home from school, so it was, like, a good environment. That was probably my favorite Halloween memory, was at church.”

What is the worst Halloween memory you have? “When my mom was deployed and my dad had to work, so I had to stay home for Halloween. It was really sad. It was probably the worst Halloween.”

What has been your favorite all-time Halloween costume? “I am a big fan of Mickey Mouse, so I went to Disney World and I went and bought the hands and the ears and then I made the shorts and the shoes. Dressing up as Mickey Mouse is probably my favorite Halloween costume.”

If you could only wear one Halloween costume for the rest of your life, what would you be? “Mickey Mouse. I’d be Mickey Mouse for the rest of my life.”

How are you spending Halloween this year? “This year we are actually participating in the festival, the team is. We’ll be here at the Trunk-or-Treat. I think we have class on Halloween, then we’ll probably have practice, so we’ll spend it as a team. We’ll be here together at the gym. If we see some little kids, we might give them some candy, but I don’t think we really have a plan, yet.”  

Are you superstitious? “Yes, like stepping on a crack, the bad luck. I believe in those superstitions, like when a ladybug lands on you. I believe that means someone is thinking about you. I believe those kinds of superstitions.”

What is your favorite urban legend? “Probably the candy man one. The one where you’re in the bathroom and you gotta turn the lights off and you say, ‘Candyman,’ three times. I’ve never done it. I’m too scared. It’s like a Halloween-type thing, where if you’re in the bathroom you turn the lights off, then you gotta say, ‘Candyman,’ three times and evidently, he’s going to poof–like appear. It’s scary. I’ve never done it before. They made a movie about him. … That’s probably, like, the scariest one. I’ve never done it before and I don’t want to do it because I believe in that stuff right there.”

Which horror movie scarred you for life? “Probably the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ because they based it off of a true story and they say that the house is really in Texas. So, that is probably the one that has scarred me because that could be like a real situation.”

Who started Halloween and why do we wear costumes? “I don’t know.”

How did you celebrate Halloween when you were a child? “When I was little, we used to trick-or-treat. Myself, my sibling and my cousins. So, we would go around and trick-or-treat all together throughout our neighborhood.”

What is the best Halloween memory you have? “I would say when all my friends got together. We decided we were going to wear funny costumes that year. … I was actually a sumo wrestler, so I had a big inflatable sumo suit. So, that was pretty fun.”

What is the worst Halloween memory you have?  “We actually got scared one time. They had an airhorn, so they scared us pretty bad.”

What has been your favorite all-time Halloween costume? “I would say, probably, when I was a sumo wrestler. I just saw it and I thought it was pretty funny, so that’s basically it.”

If you could only wear one Halloween costume for the rest of your life, what would you be?“I guess a soccer player.”

How are you spending your Halloween this year? “Hopefully, we’ll still be playing.”

Are you superstitious? “No, I am not.”

What is your favorite urban legend?  “I don’t have one.”

Which horror movie scarred you for life? “I don’t like scary movies with dolls because they’re pretty creepy to me. I’m not a big fan of scary movies, but whenever I do watch them, I don’t like any of them that have the dolls because they’re creepy.”

Do you know who started Halloween and why do we wear costumes? “I don’t, actually.”

How did you celebrate Halloween when you were a child? “All my cousins would get together. Our families would do a big barbecue. We’d all dress up and get ready together and then go trick-or-treating.”

What is the best Halloween memory you have? “Probably when I dressed up as a witch and I painted my whole face green. I had a fake nose and then trying to take the nose off, we had to glue it on my face and then we couldn’t take it off. So, I was, like, crying because it hurt, but it was fun.”

What is the worst Halloween memory you have? “I don’t think I have a bad memory with Halloween.”

What has been your favorite all-time Halloween costume? “For me, when I was Bubbles from ‘The Powerpuff Girls.’”

If you could only wear one Halloween costume for the rest of your life, what would you be? “A blueberry. Every year, I say I am going to be a blueberry, but I don’t know why, so I’d probably just be a blueberry.”

How are you spending Halloween this year? “This year, I think we’ll be traveling with the team, so I think we’re gonna try to all dress up at the airport together.”

Are you superstitious? “Yes, I have superstitions before a game. If I don’t put my right sock on, then my left sock, then my right shoe, then my left shoe, then I don’t play well.”

What is your favorite urban legend? “I don’t think I have one.”

Which horror movie scarred you for life? “‘The Shining.’ Whenever I go to hotels and I look down the hallway, I think of those girls.”

Name something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark forest or in an abandoned building. “A murder, I guess.”

Favorite horror monster or villain? “Probably Jason, Jason is pretty cool.”

What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to you? “I don’t know. Nothing really creepy has happened to me.”

You’re home alone, but you hear footsteps in your house, what do you do? “Picking a weapon up. Gotta have a look around. Whatever is closest.”

If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose? “‘Halloween,’ I guess.”

Would you ever go to a graveyard at night, why or why not? “No, that’s not a smart idea.”

You’re in a horror movie. Are you the final guy, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one, or the killer? “Probably a combo of the final man and the comic relief. I’d try to find the light in the situation and still survive.”

Would you spend a full night inside of a haunted house if someone paid you? “Hell yeah. Yeah, it’d have to be a lot. We’re talking about five or six figures at least.”

In the zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice? “Probably some sort of sword because you can’t run out of ammo. Maybe a sniper, something like that.”

Do you think there are real witches, ghosts, monsters and creatures living among us? Or are those things just from our imagination? “I may not want to believe, but nah, probably not.”

Who started Halloween and why do we wear costumes? “I mean, people back in the day started Halloween. Oh, no, it has something to do with, like, Day of the Dead or something. No, that’s in May, actually, March, I don’t know. I don’t know. Don’t ask me this. I’m not that smart with history.”

How did you celebrate Halloween when you were a child? “Me and my sister would dress up in our costumes and then we’d go door-to-door getting candy, which sounds really weird, but that’s what everyone did. So, that’s what we did. Went to haunted houses. It was fun.”

What is the best Halloween memory you have? “I think, maybe, when I dressed up as a fat hobo and I chased little kids around, but then afterwards, I would give them my candy ’cause I was too old for candy.”

What is the worst Halloween memory you have? “When I ate too much candy and I ended up getting sick from it. Probably that.”

What has been your favorite all-time Halloween costume? “When I dressed up as a bumblebee when I was a little girl.”

If you could only wear one Halloween costume for the rest of your life, what would you be? “Oh, I don’t know. That’s hard. Probably, oh, I have an idea. Probably the bumblebee, I guess, ’cause that’s my favorite one.”

How are you spending Halloween this year? “Playing soccer.”

Are you superstitious? “Yes, very superstitious. Like, black cats are bad luck and number 13 is bad luck. I have to wear certain jewelry during warmup before I take it off to go play in a game. I have to have my hair a certain way for my games. I have to have everything set out, like, the night before my game before I play. Otherwise, it’ll, like, mess up my routine. Stuff like that.”

What is your favorite urban legend? “I have no idea. I don’t know if I have a favorite one. I can’t even think of one right now.”

Which horror movie scarred you for life? “Oh, I don’t know. This one wasn’t that scary, but it was just weird because I remember, like, a lot of hair and after that, hair creeped me out. ‘Mama,’ it was called ‘Mama.’”

–Compiled by Juanita Maldonado