Your Worst Edible Story Could Win You Two Nights in an Allegedly Haunted Illinois House

Seeing ghosts is not guaranteed, but you can count on the fridge being stocked with Herb Light.

Poster: Herb Light

At just 1 milligram of THC per can, Herb Light is not likely to give you a fresh (cannabis) horror story. The drink serves the same purpose as a classic light beer: it’s something to sip on socially and won’t put you over the edge. It tastes like a beer, looks like a beer, and comes in 12-packs like a beer, but it swaps the alcohol for a smidge of THC.

“Anyone who’s dabbled in cannabis has a few horror stories,” co-founder Brian Siedband said in a statement announcing the contest. “I personally have way too many — including one night I had to call [Herb Light co-founder] Gordy from a hotel room on a commercial shoot to help me pack luggage for an early morning flight — but thanks to Herb Light, people like me can enjoy the night without being afraid.”

The (stocked) haunted houses

The Roff Home, Watseka (Oct. 29–31): The 1868 Italianate Victorian, about 90 miles from Chicago, once belonged to the Roff family. Their daughter Mary died a little over a decade before, and in 1877, a 14-year-old local girl named Lurancy Vennum started having fits. By early 1878 her family was ready to commit her to an asylum. Then she announced that she was Mary Roff. Asa Roff, Mary’s father, talked the Vennums out of the asylum, and Lurancy moved in with the Roffs for several weeks. A Spiritist physician named E. Winchester Stevens wrote the episode up as the “Watseka Wonder” and called it the most remarkable case of spirit manifestation on record.

The Hideaway House, Lockport (Oct. 30–Nov. 1): About 40 minutes from downtown Chicago, this house has been the subject of ghostly investigations from groups like Blood Moon Paranormal. It was built in the early 1900s and was once a boarding house run by a traveling priest. There have been reports of the fridge door opening on its own, among other things, so whoever wins better keep count of how many Herb Lights are in there.

How to enter

• Who: Illinois residents 21 and older. No purchase necessary.
• How: Comment a short version of your scariest cannabis moment on Herb Light’s contest post on Instagram, or DM it to @DrinkHerbLight.
• Deadline: Midnight, Oct. 23.
• Judging: Judges pick two winners based on story merit.
• Fine print: Official rules are at http://drinkherblight.com.

The call-for-entries video is a riff on 1980s horror B-movies and vintage beer ads, with vampires on gummies and werewolves hitting THC pens. It sets the tone. Your story doesn’t have to be good. It has to be bad in the right way.