There was a time in my life when I was actively involved with my church youth group. I worked as a custodian at the church while pursuing a college degree, both were full time. I was a busy man.
At that time, there was a new youth group director. He arrived in town from California with a good resume and a natural talent and enthusiasm for the position. He even played guitar. His name was Jon.
Sometimes while at work, I would stop in his office and talk about things, upcoming youth events, and such. I began to get drawn into his ideas. I had ideas of my own too. So, we started up a mutual working relationship where I could offer creative ideas, but would be limited to the actual work involved.
This is how we get to Halloween.
The youth group enjoyed a full summer of fun events and gatherings. But now autumn is here and we need something, something big.
I think the idea first started around the dining room table on Liable Road. My wife and father and mother were in attendance. The conversation started with the question in hand. What could we do for Halloween?
“We have a forest behind our house. What if we had a campfire in the dried lake out in the woods?” My mother started.
“I like that idea. There’s plenty of wood for fuel and we can tell ghost stories.” My dad inserted.
“What if we had a spooky walk through the woods, you know, with flashlights and all?” Carrie was beaming with the idea.
“I love it! We can paint fluorescent directional signs throughout our old trail. It starts at our house and goes all the way around the forest and comes out the other side of our property.” I said.
“Oh and we can have a graveyard in the open prairie.” Carrie added.
“I can build a flying scarecrow with water balloons.” I continued. We were getting quite inspired.
I pitched the idea to Jon and he loved it.
***
We picked the weekend before Halloween to be the day, Saturday night at dusk. We opened our home to thirty young church going kids. What could go wrong?
My dad and I had been gathering wood for the campfire earlier in the day. As the children came into our home he was starting a roaring bonfire. My mom had put out a lot of Halloween treats and some more plates of food were coming through the front door. The stage was set.
Carrie was moving the kids into the woods to the bonfire where my dad sat with a long list of very scary ghost stories. I know them well, I remember them firsthand. As he worked the kids into a scary state, Carrie began handing out flashlights and guiding the group across the dried lake and deeper into the forest.
That was it. Group One was now on the path. And that meant a lot to everyone who were lying in wait for them along the way. Directional signs were painted on various trees and the flashlights worked well to find them. Group One had wandered out of a thick brush of old forest trees and into an open grassland. Just then a large brown bear (I believe this was our close friend Mark in a bear suit) shot past the group with loud threatening roars. One of the girls in the group turned and ran back to the bonfire, leaving one of her sneakers behind. The bear disappeared into the grassland to perhaps reap further damage up ahead.
The grasslands gave way to another forest, this time with completely different tree species. Suddenly the new thick forest opened to a small round area void of trees. Flashlights gathered to the center of this ring. They highlighted a small cemetery filled with tombstones. Funny and ironic epitaphs sparked some giggling from the kids. No reason to be afraid and overreact. Then with no warning the graves began to explode with dead arms and lifting bodies. Zombies, baby!
That’s when the group took to foot and ran out of the cemetery and right into my hands! Hah hah!
I could hear them approaching. I was perched up 30 feet in an adjacent tree and had an excellent view of all that lay in front and below me. I could see the bear returning back to the group for one more good scare. By now Group Two would be ready for a bear sighting too. 30 feet up the tree I had constructed a small perched floor. I could sit or stand. I would be standing tonight though. That was the only way I could set up my trap for them.
As a kaleidoscope of flashlight beams hurried toward me I checked my gear. My scarecrow was brightly dressed and sporting a terrifying grin. He was attached to a line, actually a long line. It swooped across the open field before me and that’s where the scarecrow was going to go. My job was twofold, one to time the release and allow the scarecrow to arrive in front of the unsuspecting group. And two, I had to reach down into my large bucket filled with water balloons and load up for the delivery.
They never saw the scarecrow coming. This caused sudden fear and disorientation. Beams of light started moving in all different directions. I launched one balloon after another. I was impressed with my hit rate. Eventually with lots of screaming and crying they regathered and ran away following bright painted arrows. I retracted my scarecrow and lay waiting for Group Two. Plenty of balloons lay in the bucket.
Eventually four groups had successfully made it back to our home. One girl called her parents in an exacerbated fit and went straight home. The rest gathered in the well-lit garage where my parents were hosting an apple dunking contest. Yes, once I was active in a church youth group and I had a lot of fun.
To get email notifications when I publish new stories, just enter your email address below, click “Subscribe” and follow the instructions. Then click Subscribe to make sure you have completed the process.
Those were the days. What a thrilling night.
Comments are closed.