Best Friends - Ivy, Damien and Freddy

“Hello, I’m Liz Hayes. Tonight on 60 minutes - a terrifying trend involving people dressed as clowns and stalking…”, mum turned the TV off.

Just then, *Ding dong.

“Trick or treat!”

Rose thought to herself:

Costume on. Check.

Best friends - Ivy, Damien and Freddy. Check.

Horror nights in Hollywood. The worst night of year. She reminded herself not to participate in a dare ever again...not one that would lead her to a lifetime of fear. Rose’s thin, small frame couldn’t handle all the fright from public speaking, so how could she overcome an amusement park filled with masks and facades?

Freddy bragged about his new job at Universal Studios - actors and props really made the night worth it. Sure - worth it if you wanted to die of scare. The engine turned off. Mum left to grab her caffeine dosage. The lingering fragrance of hot chips and frankfurt's filled the air, along with the comforting screams of all the other children ‘enjoying’ themselves on rides.

Hesitantly through the entry, past the decorations and to the first ‘ride’. The haunted house. Uneven cement held up the house accompanied by Toccata and Fugue. Just in it case the inevitable occurred, Rose ensured go to the toilet. Walking back to the line she saw an actor; a clown. He seemed to be holding a hessian sack, and disposed it. As he turned around, Rose saw red stains on his collar while he held a knife. Oxygen slowly became scarce and her Converse slowly started backing away.

Rose prepared a debate with rebuttals of all the reasons why the four of them should return home. Each aspect of the night was peculiar. She was prepared to bare to being labelled a ‘chicken’ yet again. But a dare was a dare and Rose was not allowed to back out. They were in the line - one more family till a world of doom. Hairs started to stand on Rose’s body. It was just a chill. Nothing scary. Her heart was only pounding at 204 bpm. It wasn't a good idea. She had to focus on something else. Anything else. The father in front of her was shouting at his kid, demanding the child to own up to a lie. But the mother...stood there. Expressionless. She took out packaging for a clown wig and put it in the bin. In the family went.

After the generic questioning of how they we feeling by the rider operator, he grabbed Rose’s wrist to scan the band and smiled, revealing cute dimples.The metal plaque on his uniform displayed the name Con Lerkwill. As Rose thanked him, it was hard to miss eye-catching mole. Another staff member came and positioned himself comfortably in Con’s seat, while reading ‘It’ by Stephen King.

A painted white face with blue diamonds and an enlarged mouth greeted them at the entrance. Rose’s coulrophobia kicked in. The same clown as before. Electric pulses were vibrating throughout her body. Zebo the clown introduced himself. Remaining ‘calm’, Rose entered the doorway to hell and started to walk through the house.

The first step in, and a face covered with blood burst out. The interior was dark and had rocky walls decorated with skulls. They kept going..A demonic like creature jumped at Rose. Her palms were moist. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Hanging dead corpses garnished the ceilings. Air came rushing from the pressure plate! Her vocal cords strained as she a C sharp.

Rose inhaled, but air refused to enter her lungs. Out of nowhere an asphyxiated face plunged. Damien was a wreck but Freddy kept it together. They searched for the nearest exit. STAFF ONLY. It didn’t matter - they busted open the door and...pitch black. A beam of light from Rose’s IPhone 6 searched for familiar faces. Everyone was fine

...