Twin Lakes haunted house gets better, scarier

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

TWIN LAKES — Screaming for a way out, lost in a maze with monsters popping out of nowhere — I wondered how I got myself into this.

No, I was not in some horror movie, which I always avoid. I was at the Long family’s haunted house in Twin Lakes.
Usually Halloween for me involves taking my niece and nephews out to go trick-or-treating in whatever is the closest neighborhood. Their costumes were rarely what would be deemed scary, after all they are little kids — at least to me they are.

This year, I decided that I should get more into the Halloween spirit so I looked through Monday’s newspaper with the listing of local Halloween activities. I noticed right away that there was a haunted house in Twin Lakes, which wasn’t too far to drive.

Now I am naturally a scaredy-cat and that is why I have only visited about two haunted houses in my life. I am not one of those who readily invites opportunities to scare myself.

That being said, I convinced my younger brother to go with me, telling him that it would not be scary at all — that it would probably be more funny than frightening. Not one to jump into the Halloween spirit either, he reluctantly agreed to check out the haunted house with me.

When we got there, we met a family very much the opposite of us. The Long family was definitely in the Halloween spirit. Driving up, we could see the house glowing with orange lights and a fire with more than a dozen people sitting around it.

I walked up to the two who were taking $2 donations to enter the haunted house. They told me that members of all ages of their family help to set up the haunted house every year for the past five years.

“It’s a family thing,” Genevieve Long said. “We all come and help each other with decorations.”

Each year the haunted house gets better and scarier. Family members go as far as Albuquerque and Phoenix getting the decorations and elaborate costumes.

“It’s fun,” Long and Verona Sageney both said when asked why they do this every year.

When I asked them what was special about this haunted house, a loud eerie sound emanated from the house — answering the question.

Sageney said that their haunted house gets more popular every year. This year a bus even came in from Chuska Boarding School to bring kids for a frightening treat.

“We just tell everybody and they show up,” Long said.
The haunted house has been open since last Friday and will remain open to Nov. 1, beginning at 6 p.m. each evening. The family changes the house every night, so people — young and old — can go and see a different haunted house each night.

Even though I could see an ominous glow and hear creepy sounds, I was sure it could not be that bad. I decided to be brave and enter — all the while reminding myself that it’s all theatrics. I shoved my brother in front of me as we got to the entrance.

As soon as we stepped in, it became obvious that I had underestimated my own courage, as well as the imagination of the Long family.

I don’t want to give away too many details but we were led through what seemed like endless set ups of elaborate horror scenes. I was beginning to wonder how many cousins are part of the family to stage such a show.

Halfway through I began hopefully saying, “Is that the end? Is that the end?” But it never was. Each time we would turn a corner until it seemed like we were going in a big circle and ending up in the worst possible place with the worst possible pursuer. Finally my brother said, “It’s right there!” and we hurried to the exit, which seemed to magically appear.

While I had every intent to write down notes as I went through the course, all thoughts of putting pen to paper disappeared as instinct to get through the scary situation as fast as possible kicked in.

What I was left with was a blank notepad, an accelerated heart rate and the knowledge of knowing I had survived what seemed like stepping into a horror movie. After my heart beat had time to slow to a more normal pace, I could begin to look back and laugh at how scary it was.

The Long family’s haunted house in located in Twin Lakes, about 15 miles north of Gallup on U.S. Highway 491. It is located on Deer Springs Road, about 2 miles west of Coyote Canyon Junction.