With cooler temperatures and vibrant leaves comes Halloween-a holiday that begs us all to embrace our fears and laugh at our own terror. The West Side Family YMCA contributes to Knoxville's Halloween festivities with their annual Haunted Swamp.

The Haunted Swamp is held for only two days each year. This year the Swamp ran from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Oct. 19 and 20. Admission was $5 for anyone over age 4. Admission included a trip through the haunted swamp and a hay ride.

After a tedious Saturday night in the juniors` department at Dillard's, I was ready to get my blood pumping at my first visit to a haunted "house" this year. My hopes were dashed quickly upon arriving at the desolate YMCA.

My companion for the evening gave me a skeptical look as we pulled into the empty parking lot. It was just before 10:30 p.m., a little late, but still early enough for the Haunted Swamp to be terrifying Knoxvillians. However, we saw only a handful of adults standing near a small bonfire at an entrance to the YMCA. We wondered out loud where the hayride began and ended. We saw no signs of hay or riding. Desperation for some macabre fun began to take us over, and we gave up on finding the hayride and started following the signs to the Haunted Swamp.

Down some stairs, across a playground, through the YMCA we wandered. The popcorn machine had long ago been turned off. The hallways of the YMCA were quiet and deserted, but a sign declared that a two hour wait was possible. No one asked us to pay.

Finally we came to a spookily decorated hallway, the smell of chlorine besieging us, and assumed that we had found our destination. The haunted swamp was a haunted pool.

The indoor pool had been transformed into dark maze, black plastic hung all about the side of the pool to keep those waiting in line from seeing the "swamp." Spooky noises came from somewhere near the back of the pool. Someone in a plastic mask asked us to follow him and we were lead past the plastic curtains to the pool where a dinghy waited in the water to pick us up. We were carefully placed in the boat and set off on our journey.

The pool was maze-like with black plastic stretched horizontally at intervals, forcing those who crossed to occasionally push through the plastic to see what was waiting on the other side. People swam under the boat, knocking on it, yelling as they popped out of the water. A lifeguard was visible at all times for safety purposes. The room was dark, but well lit enough for a lifeguard to easily see a victim.

Elaborate rigs had been set up in the room to allow participants to swing across the pool. One girl swung in front of us, yelling dispassionately and carrying a cardboard cutout of a chainsaw. More people knocked the boat and yelled, but we could tell they were tired and ready to get out of the water and go home. Near the edge of the pool a plastic alligator opened and closed its jaws with mechanical precision.

About three minutes after we were placed in the boat, we were gently helped out of the boat. Every light in the room came on the minute our feet hit pool side, and kids and adults came dripping out of the water. It was about 10:45 p.m. and apparently it was time to go home.

My friend and I walked away feeling dejected. I had dreamed all day of hayrides with hot chocolate at the end, the smell of gasoline as a guy with a chainsaw chased me, Jason masks, fake blood and spider webs, the haunted house works, if you will. I forgot to take into consideration that a family YMCA might not run the most terrifying haunted "house" the city has to offer.

What it lacked in sheer terror it made up for in ingenuity. The idea of turning the pool into a "haunted swamp" was clever, and the set up wasn't too bad, though the trip across the pool was very short. I was impressed by the rigging that was set up to swing people across the pool. I was pleased that there was a lifeguard on duty in case of emergency. Since we didn't get our hayride, it seemed only fair that we didn't have to pay the $5. Even with the hayride, $5 would have been a bit much to pay for a haunted swamp that barely made me jump. I certainly would have felt robbed if I had to wait two hours for a three minute boat ride across a YMCA pool.

The Swamp was a great haunted adventure for a younger group, a sort of beginner's haunted "house." The Haunted Swamp has potential for an older crowd. I'm thinking dry ice, fake blood and chainsaws. There's always next year.