"Some attractions may be offensive and may conflict with your religious and moral beliefs."

This was the warning on the back of my ticket stub at House of Shock, a New Orleans haunted house that was started by Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo.

The stub went on to say that the attraction was just theater; it was not real, and I did not have to agree with any views presented in the House of Shock. It was just an attraction.

This seemed sensible to me. I paid to see a show and to get the life scared out of me.

So why did I get so offended?

While waiting in line for the house, an actor came out portraying Satan. He was talking about perception versus reality. Our perceptions become real in our minds, but they are still simply perceptions. He said our God is the master of manipulating things so we have this certain perception of him and his creations that are not real.

I thought he made an interesting argument. For anyone who has had doubts about God, this is basically a common thought. Not too offensive.

But when I looked at the massive group I was immersed in, I felt like I was in a movie. All these God-hating people were pumping their fists, screaming how Jesus is evil.

I honestly thought they were going to have a living sacrifice on stage.

The house itself was just a normal haunted house. The scariest parts included a large woman who wouldn't stop tickling me and a girl on the ground who kept trying to grab my ankles.

But I couldn't shake the discomfort of the pre-show, which I thought odd because I've never considered myself a very religious person.

My perception of religion was changed when I was in high school. My church youth group leader was not the "good Christian" he seemed to be, but only a handful of us knew what he was like outside the church.

When he talked to the group, he put on an act, and since then, I've always wondered who these people really are who feel they have the authority to preach to me.

So religion has always been too complicated for me. I talk to God, and I pray sometimes. I'm just more comfortable having a one-on-one conversation with him and cutting out the potential hypocrisy.

I used to ask people how you could tell you had been saved, and they always said, "You just know."

That seems too easy. I tried for years to get saved, but I must not have accomplished it because I still don't know what it means.

Then, one of my coworkers was talking about religion last week. As I listened, I was overcome by his conviction and joy. The lack of hypocrisy, and moreover, the mere simplicity of it escaped me, and I said, "I want that."

His perception of religion was so innocent, and he seemed so happy. He made me think maybe it doesn't always have to be so complicated. Maybe our perception of reality is what makes us who we are.

I went to a haunted house. The actor's perception of religion made me think about my beliefs. It's just an attraction. It's just that simple.

Heidi Hausmann is a senior journalism major from Opelousas and serves as associate editor for The Tech Talk.