Beast Blog: The Woman In The Chair

The Woman In The Chair

As soon as she pulled up in her motorized wheelchair with the oxygen tank, I knew that this was my tour group.  She was the wife of one of the men in their group.  This man gets together with two long-time friends every Halloween for a fun night out.  It seems these three friends have known each other since preschool, and there’s a lesson there for us all about the power of staying in touch with important friends over time.

But back to the lovely lady in the chair.  Her group explained to me that she had gotten Covid and they had nearly lost her several times.  Now she can walk very short distances and spends every minute attached to a portable oxygen tank.  A lot of time was spent during the Halloween event (I was their tour guide) taking care of and monitoring the levels of her oxygen tank.

She had the mobility to transfer to a regular wheel chair when we arrived at one of the haunted houses, though they had to remove the giant oxygen tank from her motorized scooter and she held it in her lap as she was pushed through the house.

Early on during the night she mentioned to me that the hardest thing for her was that everyone treated her differently because she was in the wheel chair on oxygen.  She said this was very hard for her, and she worried that she would not get the same fun interaction and scares during the Halloween event as everyone else.  As soon as she told me this I knew I had my mission for the night.

Normally when we are walking around the theme park and we enter a “scare zone” I would move to the back of the group and let them lead the way through.  This way the guests are more likely to get more interaction and jump scares.  I do not want to be the one that gets all of the fun screams and interplay with the performers.  But on this night I decided to lead the way through each scare zone.  After several weeks, I have now gotten to know many of the scare actors, and on this night as we walked through I would say quietly “interact with the woman in the chair.”

This strategy worked out amazingly well.  All throughout the night the woman got regular interactions and lots of screams.  I figured that if I was a scare actor I might tend to avoid the woman on oxygen in the chair.  With this strategy they learned quickly that it was safe to interact with her, and they made the most of it.

My favorite moment of the night was when we passed the group of performers with chain saws (truly terrifying to encounter) and I secretly said to one of them “go for the woman in the chair!”  Sure enough, the actor cranked up the chain saw and went running for my guest in the chair.  She was thrilled!

I still get tears in my eyes thinking about this encounter.  This woman in the chair simply wanted to have the same fun as everyone else, and it was my great pleasure to help her be treated just like everyone else.

Her group of friends realized also that if she led the group through the house (being pushed in a regular wheel chair) that she also got lots of true jumps and scares because the actors in the houses don’t really know who is coming, just that someone is arriving.  This worked out amazingly well.

This evening spent with this group and this woman who is tied to an oxygen tank reminded me to be so very grateful for my own health and for my own freedoms to live my life the way I can.  It also reminded me to be more thoughtful of others in chairs who just want the same kind and normal interactions we all take for granted.  I find that many older women in wheelchairs or in scooters are profoundly appreciative and moved when you stop to simply say a kind hello and ask them about their night.  This is probably my favorite part of my job.  Seeing a grateful smile truly makes my day, and you will likely not be surprised to learn that when I encounter these same ladies other times in the park, or even on other evenings, and they remember my name and are excited to see me.  At these moments I am at my happiest.

Tim Hinton

October 26, 2025

See ALL Beast Blog Posts