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Humor

Hidden camera in this haunted house turns Halloween horror into hilarity

These faces are epic.

haunted house reactions

Why is seeing people's scared faces so hilarious?

Some people love being scared and some people hate it, but no matter where we fall, none of us are immune to fear. If we are taken by surprise, our bodies startle whether we want them to or not. And when we add a spooky or creepy factor in, a simple jump can turn into a full-body terror reaction.

People who enjoy evoking that reaction in themselves are the folks who love horror movies and haunted houses. I'm not one of those people. Every few years, some persuasive friend will convince me to go to a haunted house around Halloween, and I always spend the whole time clinging to their clothing, burying my face in their back and screaming.

I am a fan of seeing pictures of other people reacting to haunted houses, though.


Thanks to a hidden camera at Nightmares Fear Factory in Niagara Falls, we get to see people's faces right as they're spooked. A flash goes off right when the scare happens, so people get captured in the exact moment they lose their cool. It is utterly fabulous.

Check these out:

haunted house reactions

Shark Boy and Captain America in training.

Nightmares Fear Factory

For being Captain America, that guy doesn't appear to be much of a superhero in this moment. Good thing he's got Shark Boy there to hold his elbow.

haunted house reactions

Jean jacket guy is the hero we all need.

Nightmares Fear Factory

These three cover the whole spectrum. Super scared guy up front, badass "I got you, man" guy behind him and then the "Yeeww, nuh-uh" guy all grossed out. Perfection.

haunted house reactions

Boo!

Nightmares Fear Factory

Love it when you can tell someone is literally jumping out of their skin. That poof of red hair says it all. And the guy on the left with his hands on his face? Classic.

haunted house reactions

Decent protective instincts.

Nightmares Fear Factory

I do not think that guy's eyes could pop out any farther.

haunted house reactions

The laced fingers is kind of sweet, though.

Nightmares Fear Factory

When you try to scare the scary things by being more scary yourself. Like confronting a bear. Good strategy, lady.

haunted house reactions

Sheer terror.

Nightmares Fear Factory

That moment when your soul leaves your body for a sec.

haunted house reactions

So scared.

Nightmares Fear Factory

Ha ha ha ha. That guy in the back is totally me. Still scared even with my eyes closed.

haunted house reactions

Friends don't let friends smile in a haunted house.

Nightmares Fear Factory

OK, but why does the blonde lady between the two terrified brunettes look like she's just out for a nice Sunday brunch? Some people are just miraculously unflappable.

haunted house reactions

Covering your ears is actually a legit horror mitigation strategy.

Nightmares Fear Factory

The best action shot. That ponytail a-flying.

haunted house reactions

How come I can hear this photo?

Nightmares Fear Factory

Or maybe this is the best action shot.

haunted house reactions

And we have a winner.

Nightmares Fear Factory

Nope, this is it. The best haunted house reaction photo ever. It doesn't get better than this, from the leg to the identical scared faces to the dad giggling while his (presumably) wife and daughter freak out.

Absolutely fantastic entertainment. Nightmares Fear Factory is open year-round, and its website boasts that more than 170,000 people have "chickened out" going through the attraction. (If a person gets too scared while going through the fear factory and wants to bail, they can scream "NIGHTMARES!" and someone will immediately escort them out.)

Who knew fear could be so funny?

Sponsored

O Organics’ delicious, easy-to-cook homestyle spaghetti recipe helps feed America’s hungry

O Organics is donating a meal for every product purchased at Albertsons stores, up to 28 million meals.

Mei and Kyong and a delicious plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

True

When most people think about Korean cooking, they probably imagine the enticing aroma, colors, and flavors of a plate filled with kimchi and bulgogi or a hot bowl of bibimbap. But when cooking influencer Kyong reflects upon his childhood, he has fond memories of his Korean mother cooking him a delicious and easy-to-prepare spaghetti and meatballs recipe.

"My parents were busy running their dry-cleaning business and couldn't call off work or take long breaks like a traditional 9 to 5 job, so there wasn't a lot of time to cook,” he recalled. “So, my mom learned how to make quick-and-easy meals, and her spaghetti and meatballs were my favorites.”

Is there any better example of the American melting pot than a hard-working Korean mother cooking an Italian staple for her family?

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Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Albertsons

No child should have to worry about getting enough food to thrive.

True

When you’re a kid, summer means enjoying the fun of the season—plentiful sunshine, free time with friends, splashing in pools and sprinklers. But not every child’s summer is as carefree as it should be.

For some, summer means going hungry. According to Feeding America, food insecurity affects 1 in 8 children in the U.S., largely because families lose the free or reduced-price meals at school that help keep them fed during the school year.

But back-to-school time doesn’t make food insecurity disappear, either. Hunger is a year-round issue, and with the increased cost of groceries, it’s gotten harder for families who were already struggling to put food on the table.

So what can be done—or more specifically, what can the average person do—to help?

The good news is that one simple choice at the grocery store can help ease the burden a bit for those experiencing food insecurity. And the even better news is that it’s also a healthy choice for ourselves, our families and our planet. When we’re out on our regular shopping trips, we can simply look for the O Organics versions of things we would already buy.

But wait—aren’t we all feeling the pinch at the checkout stand? And isn’t organic food expensive? Here’s the thing: Organic food is often much more affordable than you might think. The cost difference between organic and non-organic products keeps narrowing, and many organic and non-organic foods are now almost identical in price. Sometimes you’ll even find that an organic product is actually cheaper than its brand-name non-organic counterpart.

Since 2005, O Organics has helped give health-conscious shoppers more options by making organic food more accessible and affordable. And now, it’s helping those same shoppers take action to fight food insecurity. For every O Organics product you purchase, the company will donate a meal to someone in need through the Albertsons Companies Foundation—for up to a total of 28 million meals.

Look for the O Organics label in every aisle.O Organics

Here’s what that means in real-world terms:

Say you’re throwing an end-of-summer backyard BBQ bash. If you were to buy O Organics ground beef, hamburger buns, ketchup and sea salt potato chips, you’d be donating four meals just by buying those four ingredients. If you added O Organics butter lettuce and O Organics sandwich slice pickles, you’d be donating two more meals, and so on.

And where are those meals going? Albertsons Companies Foundation works with a network of national and local charities fighting hunger, and regional divisions choose organizations to fund locally. So every O Organics product you purchase means a meal on the table for someone in your area who might not otherwise have the nourishment they need.

No kid should have to worry about getting enough food to thrive. We all make conscious choices each time we walk down a grocery store aisle, and by choosing

O Organics, we can make a difference in a child’s life while also making healthy choices for ourselves and our families. It’s truly a win-win.
commons.wikimedia.org (Photo by Eric Draper)

Shaq wants to teach his kids the value of hard work

The term “nepo baby” most often refers to the offspring of a successful Hollywood actor, but the term can more generally apply to those whose parents are at the top of other industry ladders.

The kids of Shaquille O'Neal, one of the NBA’s highest-paid players with a massive business empire, could certainly make the list. However, O'Neal is more concerned with teaching them the value of hard work—something all parents can relate to, even if they don’t have a net worth of $400 million.

Sticking to what he calls "respectable nepotism," O’Neal told Insider that if his kids ever ask for money, they have to provide a solid "business plan" before he'll consider offering.
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Education

A teen student delivered a masterclass on the true history of the Confederate flag

Christopher Justice broke it down into incredible details most of us probably weren't even aware of.

Six years ago, a high school student named Christopher Justice eloquently explained the multiple problems with flying the Confederate flag. A video clip of Justice's truth bomb has made the viral rounds a few times since then, and here it is once again getting the attention it deserves.

Justice doesn't just explain why the flag is seen as a symbol of racism. He also explains the history of when the flag originated and why flying a Confederate flag makes no sense for people who claim to be loyal Americans.

But that clip, as great as it is, is a small part of the whole story. Knowing how the discussion came about and seeing the full debate in context is even more impressive.

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Canva

What a purrfect story.


BooBoo’s parents had all but given up, nearly a year after their beloved cat disappeared.

Vanore Voaklander and her husband were diligent after BooBoo disappeared during what was supposed to be a short trip outside from their home near Edmonton.

They searched local parks, put up posters and offered a reward. But still their cat was nowhere to be found.

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Health

Women shared how they make sexist men explain their nasty jokes, and it's so satisfying

Making them sit in the discomfort of their own filth is an excellent way to shut that garbage down.


Ask almost any woman about a time a man said or did something sexually inappropriate to them, and she'll have a story or four to tell. According to a survey NPR published last year, 81% of women report having experienced sexual harassment, with verbal harassment being the most common. (By contrast, 43% of men report being sexually harassed. Naturally harassment toward anyone of any sex or gender is not okay, but women have been putting up with this ish unchecked for centuries.)

One form of verbal sexual harassment is the all too common sexist or sexual "joke." Ha ha ha, I'm going to say something explicit or demeaning about you and then we can all laugh about how hilarious it is. And I'll probably get away with it because you'll be too embarrassed to say anything, and if you do you'll be accused of being overly sensitive. Ha! Won't that be a hoot?

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Constance Hall asks for domestic equality.


It's the 21st century, and as a civilization, we've come a long way. No, there are no flying cars (yet), but we all carry tiny supercomputers in our pockets, can own drones, and can argue with strangers from all around the world as long as they have internet access.

And yet women are still having to ask their partners to help out around the house. What gives?


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