XL about The Haunted House of Torment, Published in the Austin-American Statesman

The clunk of the heavy exit door as it closed behind me was heaven sent. After being mentally pummeled and provoked for 30 minutes, the Haunted House of Torment finally vomited me back into the real world. We quickly rejoined the rest of the group, checking to see if everyone made it out alive and with dry pants intact. At the suggestion of a group photo, we arranged ourselves dazedly before the gargoyle statue at the front. I didn’t even have time to flash my cheesy smile before the picture had been taken. As we stood awkwardly waiting for the next flash, a high pitched screeching noise exploded from behind us. Everyone turned to see the gigantic gargoyle lurch to life above our heads, flapping its long, ripped wings in all of its animatronic glory, threatening to clobber the taller people in the group. I stumbled back, losing my balance and stepped on someone’s toe in the process. Fed up and a little more than disoriented, I speed-walked to the car.