You Lose Your Mind
Rose Cordova, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
It’s winter again, your happiest seasons have passed. The snow piles up on your window and everything has frozen over. You lose your mind and sit there scrolling. Reeling in who you think you should be, but you don’t know. Hell, you don’t think you ever will. Are you capable of looking outside yourself, outside of the battle in your skull?
Rose Cordova, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
It’s winter again, your happiest seasons have passed. The snow piles up on your window and everything has frozen over. You lose your mind and sit there scrolling. Reeling in who you think you should be, but you don’t know. Hell, you don’t think you ever will. Are you capable of looking outside yourself, outside of the battle in your skull?
Usually, the answer is no, but sometimes it’s a yes. You examine yourself almost like a statue at a museum, except you don’t see yourself in such awe. You see the pokes and prods from past pain, everything that is imperfect is what you see. The stretch marks, acne, the weird hair on one of your legs. That’s what you see.
You try to ignore it, you examine your personality instead. You see the anger you got from your father, the silent cries from your mother. But, you don’t want to give up just yet, so you look some more, you see your tired eyes and your burning passion to be something more, anything more. You want so badly to be something, it’s no longer a desire, it has morphed into pure spite. You have to be something, to be more than everything that has happened.
You think no one notices you, notices that you feel like you’re sinking sometimes, or that you play with your piercings when you’re anxious, but sometimes people do notice. But why would you want help? You should sit there and know what you want and how to help yourself. So you choose to play it off and say “I’m all good” or “College is just super exhausting”. Yet, we know it isn’t just college.
It’s that you’re so anxious that you want to crawl out of your body, that most nights you look for an escape “ just one breath of fresh air”, or that you have no clue what you’re doing in your life. But once again you ignore it, you push yourself, out of spite, and go do things to try and find yourself: go to the movies, throw yourself into hobbies, hang out with people, drive at night but you don’t think it’s enough or that it ever will be but then again you’re just losing your mind and sitting there scrolling as the snow falls.
Top 8 Haunted Houses Near Regis University
Rose Cordova, Staff Writer
Spooky season is upon us! Do you and your friends want to find something scary to do over the weekend or for Halloween? Well, here’s the spot to look… Below are the top 8 highest-rated haunted houses near Regis University for you to visit this fall!
Rose Cordova, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
Spooky season is upon us! Do you and your friends want to find something scary to do over the weekend or for Halloween? Well, here’s the spot to look… Below are the top 8 highest-rated haunted houses near Regis University for you to visit this fall!
1: Horror Theater Haunted House
Rating: 4.9 Stars
Address: 4504 S Independence St, Denver, CO 80123
Starting off we have the Horror Theater Haunted House off South Independence Street at number 1 It’s only a 25-minute drive from Regis. This haunted house has almost a 5-star review (Google) and is a dark, eerie, abandoned movie theater. This spooky place is in a residential garage and is completely free, but donations are welcomed. Groups of 3-4 people are permitted per admittance and the scare actors cannot touch you, but that does not mean the house won’t… which would consist of wind, water, fog, and extra goodies!
2: The Frightmare Compound
Rating: 4.8 Stars
Address: 10798 Yukon St, Westminster, CO 80021
In 2nd place, we have the Frightmare Compound located in Westminster. It’s only 15 minutes from campus. This warm, cozy, totally not terrifying, haunted house has 2 experiences for the tortured souls who go there: their signature Frightmare Compound and Lights Out. The Frightmare Compound consists of their annual haunted house and their Lights Out event is November 1 & 2nd only. Their LightsOut event is one truly for the books as you will be left in the pure dark with intense jumpscares. Act fast as the Lights Out event is November 1 & 2nd only. This haunted house does cost money starting at $30 per person. Now, history does tie this haunted house to Denver and you have the possibility of seeing their gone, but not forgotten owner Brad Holder; but do you dare to experience a terrifying time?
3: Reinke Brothers: Haunted Mansion
Rating: 4.7 Stars
Address: 5663 S Prince St, Littleton, CO 80120
And for the bronze medal, we have the Reinke Brothers’ Haunted Mansion in Littleton. This haunted mansion is only 20 minutes away and is ready to scare you and all your friends. This location scares you through monsters, demons, witches, and anything else a demented mind can think of. Sadly, the mansion is only open during the fall season, specifically from September 27 to November 3, 2024. We’re already halfway through the season so buy your tickets fast. The cost per person starts at $20. This haunted mansion also offers a “Lights On” tour which is great for younger siblings or first-timers as all of their “super friendly” monsters are sent to go on lunch.
4: Terror in the Corn
Rating: 4.4 Stars
Address: 6728 County Rd 3 1/4, Erie, CO 80516
We have hit the halfway point, stopping at Terror in the Corn in Erie, CO. This maze is a bit of a further driver than the others, but it is top-rated by the Haunted Attraction Association. The total drive time is about 30 minutes from campus, but you get to wander through a plethora of abandoned buildings and get scared out of your mind from this new walking nightmare. Pricing starts at $40 but can increase, primarily depending on what day you decide to go. In this extensive nightmare, you can travel across a mile’s worth of land completely immersing you into the nightmare realm.
5: The Ritual: Haunted House
Rating: 4.3 Stars
Address: 301 Englewood Pkwy, Englewood, CO 80110
Now, can you handle a horrific haunted house? The Ritual: Haunted House is located in Englewood being only a 15-minute drive from Regis. This haunted house has no age restriction but can be intense for younger audiences or those who have never dabbled in horror. This haunted house is known for leaving a mark on you after you leave giving all the horror geeks, such as myself, a run for our money. Speaking of money, baseline pricing for admission is $24 but you can purchase a VIP ticket to fast pass the line. Also, similar to the Frightmare Compound, The Ritual: Haunted House offers a “Lights Out” event on November 1 and 2nd for a dark, creepy, experience. Are you confident that you won’t be trapped forever?
6: Elitch Gardens: Fright Fest
Rating: 4.0 Stars
Address: 2000 Elitch Circle Denver, CO 80204
Now if you are anyone in Colorado, you know of Elitch Gardens. Well, they host a Fright Fest and it is only 10 minutes away from our university. Elitch Gardens has a horror attraction for every type of person, consisting of 6 sections: Carn-evil, Lock Up: No Escape, Seance, Terror-tories, Insidious, and Insidious: The Summoning. The terrifying night starts up at 6:00 pm and admission is a generous $150, which sadly, does not include parking but does include admission. This experience is one of the more expensive routes for a scary night, but the price defines the quality and amount of things that are available to any guest who is crazy enough to enter the gardens for a time of seeing terrifying creatures.
7: Haunted Field of Screams
Rating: 3.9 Stars
Address: 10451 McKay Rd, Thornton, CO 80233
This is a maze that will haunt your dreams till you’re dead! The Haunted Field of Screams is in Thorton, Colorado and is so close it can almost kill you being a 14 minute drive away. This maze is 40-acre worth of land and will make you run away crying. This attraction is to be avoided by younger audiences as there is no “less scary” version of the maze. Throughout this maze, you will experience the gates of hell opening up to bring you in through haunted houses and corn fields. Pricing for the Haunted Field of Screams begins at $30 per person for general admission. Do you think you can manage 40-acres worth of fear?
8: The 13th Floor
Rating: 3.8 Stars
Address: 3400 E 52nd Ave, Denver, CO 80216
Last, but not least we have The 13th Floor located 9 minutes away in Commerce City. USA Today has stated that the 13th Floor is one of the scariest haunted houses in the country. It currently holds 2 haunted houses and as of this year, an additional haunted house. The themes for the haunted houses consist from deep sea terror to a taxidermist who has decided humans are better fitted for him than animals. Tickets start at $25 and can include each type of haunted house. The 13th Floor is open until November 9th and offers a possibility to get out of the attraction if it becomes too scary. The actors cannot touch you and you are not allowed to take photos during the experience. Also, if you are 21+, there are various bars within the location. Can you handle the 13th floor’s monsters?
And that completes our list of the top 8 haunted houses near Regis University! Do you think you’ll be brave enough for all of these or are you too frightened to try? In the spirit of spooky season, I highly recommend that everyone attends at least one haunted house in their life. Maybe one of these will be your first one!
Shattered Glass
Rose Cordova, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
Shattered glass, glass that has been picked up and put back together time and time again with glue, low-quality glue, but glue nonetheless. The glue is what keeps it together, as it is medication or pure ignorance. It acts as a protector from the things shattered glass chooses not to see. The glue, in its opinion, helps the shattered glass. It saves the shattered glass from any more harm, from tiny disputes to detrimental conflict. What the glue does not know is that the shattered glass no longer wants protection but to feel the war within, to fight, to live, to survive, to die. The shattered glass pleads and pleads with the glue, but the glue is relentless; it sees no problem with staying put; it is a creature of habit by pure definition: “Someone who has a noticeable number of habits that determine or characterize his behavior, a methodical kind of person, a very willing slave to routine.” (Unknown Author).
Rose Cordova, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
Shattered glass, glass that has been picked up and put back together time and time again with glue, low-quality glue, but glue nonetheless. The glue is what keeps it together, as it is medication or pure ignorance. It acts as a protector from the things shattered glass chooses not to see. The glue, in its opinion, helps the shattered glass. It saves the shattered glass from any more harm, from tiny disputes to detrimental conflict. What the glue does not know is that the shattered glass no longer wants protection but to feel the war within, to fight, to live, to survive, to die. The shattered glass pleads and pleads with the glue, but the glue is relentless; it sees no problem with staying put; it is a creature of habit by pure definition: “Someone who has a noticeable number of habits that determine or characterize his behavior, a methodical kind of person, a very willing slave to routine.” (Unknown Author).
Despite the glue’s decision to never leave, the shattered glass begins to pick at the glue, its low quality; therefore, the shattered glass is capable of ridding itself of the glue, but it is never that simple. How could it be? The shattered glass tries and tries again, never ceasing to stop for a break, but the glue is stronger than it seems. The glue behaves as concrete to the shattered glass. The shattered glass comes across the idea of hiding the glue, to maybe cover it with paint or band-aids, so it tries. But don’t you see? The glue does not care anymore; glue decides there is never an escape, that it would be the leech. “Ah, you can never leave,” the glue will say. For a time, the shattered glass believes it, but the shattered glass sees itself as one who has fought, is resilient, and refuses to back down. The shattered glass is tired of being stuck; it finds no purpose in that. But, the glue sees its purpose and is angry that the shattered glass would even think to take that from it. Honestly, the shattered glass loves the glue; it has helped them for years, but it’s time to let go. The glue will finally let go, and the shattered glass will begin to heal itself piece by piece. It will never be perfect, but the shattered glass will try. For I am both the shattered glass and the glue.