What’s your most memorable Halloween experience?

One Halloween, my friends and I went to the haunted cemetery in town. Past midnight, the air was ice-cold, and we kept hearing twigs snap behind us, but no one was there. Then we saw her—a pale woman with long black hair and a white 1800s dress standing under an oak tree. She didn’t move, just hummed a broken lullaby. Suddenly, she was closer without making a sound. We ran, but the footsteps behind us followed. To this day, we have no idea what we saw.

Tell us why you would make it to the end of a horror movie.

I’d make it to the end of a horror movie because when fear takes over, I stay quiet, focused, and move smarter than whatever’s hunting us. I notice the things others ignore—the wrong shadow, the creak on the stairs—and I trust my gut when it screams to run or hide. I wouldn’t freeze, and I wouldn’t stop until I made it out… even if it meant being the last one left.

What would you do with the unlucky $13,000?

I would help my parents because they have always been there for me and supported me. I would also use the money to travel to the most haunted places across the United States, chasing paranormal experiences and uncovering the scariest legends firsthand.

Who is your real-life hero who you would want to survive a horror movie with?

My real-life hero would be my mom. She has this unshakable calm, even when everything around her feels wrong. I can imagine us in the middle of some haunted nightmare—shadows moving, whispers in the dark—and she’d be the one keeping me grounded, eyes scanning the darkness like she’s seen it all before. If anyone could outlast the horrors, it would be her… though sometimes I wonder if the monsters would be more afraid of her than us of them.