Frights of Fancy

Nothing says the witching season--and the variety of ways we choose to celebrate it--like a tour of your local Halloween specialty shop. Fairy wings of virgin polyester float delicately next to hulking rubber masks of faux rotted flesh. Wide-eyed kids stand side by side with much-pierced teens in black at the sundries rack, pawing through stacks of teeny plastic jack-o’-lanterns and disembodied plastic hands.

The variety doesn’t stop at the checkout counter, either. Halloween events around the county are just as diversified, ranging from the mild-mannered to the macabre. Here’s a sample. Dig in.

Haunted Houses

As if miniature golf weren’t scary enough, Camelot Golfland in Anaheim offers a course that might make the idea of a round with a club-wielding toddler seem downright soothing.

It’s the Anaheim YMCA’s Haunted House, which features nine themed rooms in a 3,000-square-foot structure in Camelot’s parking lot. The project is staffed by hundreds of volunteers and is a fund-raiser for the Anaheim Y’s parent-child programs.

In the doll room, keep an eye out for Chuckie, the villainous plaything from the “Child’s Play” horror movies. There’s also the requisite meat locker and cemetery, and a “huge maze that confuses the heck out of you,” said lead spook Joe DeCriscio. Lots of eerie music and a cadre of roaming ghouls will be on hand to keep the adrenaline level high. A 30-minute lights-on, no-ghouls option for younger children is offered nightly at 6 p.m.

* Camelot Golfland, 3200 Carpenter Ave., Anaheim. 6:30-10 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday and 6:30-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday. $4 in advance, $5 at the door. Through Nov. 1. (714) 635-9622.

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Go figure. Characters in the Pageant of the Masters’ “living pictures” don’t move a muscle, while the undead stars of Pageant of the Monsters lunge and swoop like bats outta hell.

Brought to you by the same folks who craft bucolic landscapes in the summer, the second annual, two-level labyrinth features spine-chilling scenes from movie thrillers and surprise encounters with celebrity monsters. Recommended for grade-school-age children through adults.

* Irvine Bowl on the Festival of Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road. 6-9 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Oct. 31. $5; children under 5 are free. (714) 494-1145.

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Huntington Beach Boy Scout Troop 134 has a heck of a gimmick for The Haunt. To wit: a resident ghost, which reportedly has been shadowing the lads’ haunted house since 1992. Said to have a weakness for power tools and fog machines, the resident spook is expected to put in an appearance at this year’s event too. The Haunt is targeted to teens and young adults, but younger visitors can take part in the trick-or-treat tour on Halloween from 4 to 6 p.m.

* Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave. 7-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday and Oct. 30-Nov. 1. $6-$8 ($3 for younger children’s program Oct. 31). (714) 901-2754.

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Clowns and snakes can make folks crazy in the best of circumstances. Imagine what they’ll do to you in the dark, ooo-weee-ooo.

Creators of the Laguna Niguel Parks and Recreation Department’s Haunted House did. Their 3,500-square-foot storefront is loaded with ‘em, along with mazes and “other scary surprises.” Not recommended for kids under 8, although a milder version will be offered for those 5 and up on Halloween evening.

* Ocean Ranch II shopping center, Golden Lantern and Camino del Avion, Laguna Niguel. 6-9 p.m. Oct. 30, 5-7 p.m. (for younger children) and 8-10:30 p.m. Oct. 31 and 5-7 p.m. and 8-10:30 p.m. Nov. 1. $4 at the door. (714) 362-4350.

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“Here Thar Be Pirates” is the theme of the Anaheim Museum’s annual haunted house. The moderately scary event, which a spokeswoman describes as “Disney meets Knott’s on a parks-and-rec budget,” offers ghastly pirates, sea serpents and hidden treasure. “Tot Time,” the first hour of each night, is offered for more timid landlubbers.

* Anaheim Museum, 241 S. Anaheim Blvd. 4:30-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3-8 p.m. Sunday. $3; children under 3 are free. (714) 765-5274.

(More intense haunted houses are listed in the Screams for Teens, below).

Family Festivities

The Marine Corps band and youths from the 100-year-old Anaheim Union High School District parade through downtown Anaheim in this city’s Fall Festival 1997. The parade steps off at noon from Anaheim High School, and the merrymaking continues until 6 p.m. in the downtown’s Center Street Promenade area. Included are live entertainment, a kiddie carnival, games, police and fire department displays, food and craft booths.

* Downtown Anaheim. Noon-6 p.m. Saturday. (Call for parade route). Free. (714) 999-3456.

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Carbon Canyon Church and the Brea Women’s League present their Fall Festival of Fun, featuring carnival games, an old-fashioned cake walk, food booths and contests.

* City Hall Park, Brea Boulevard and Imperial Highway, Brea. 6-9 p.m. Oct. 31. Free. (714) 524-5433 or (800) 356-8942.

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Some pretty odd critters will come out Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at the Santa Ana Zoo. The zoo’s eighth annual Boo at the Zoo will feature animal presentations, a costume parade, storytelling and trick-or-treat stations (don’t sweat it--it’s candy, not monkey chow). Carved pumpkins brought to the zoo between noon and 4 p.m. today will be entered in a pumpkin contest and become tasty snacks for the zoo animals after the bash.

* Santa Ana Zoo in Prentice Park, 1801 E. Chestnut Ave. 5:30-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday. $4 advance, $5 at the door. (714) 953-8555.

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What’s Halloween without oozy, disgusting goop? “Mad Scientist” Jim Blackie (a.k.a. Mr. Blackie, science teacher at Santa Ana’s Calvary Chapel schools) blends chemicals and showmanship to create slime, monster foam, Silly Putty and blow 2-foot fire balls at the Launch Pad science center in Costa Mesa. A hands-on activity and samples of “liquid nitrogen ice cream” are included in the ticket price.

* The Launch Pad, Crystal Court,, 3333 S. Bear St., Costa Mesa. 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. $5.75, includes admission to all Launch Pad exhibits. (714) 546-2061.

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The lake in Rancho Santa Margarita will be the site of a costume parade, games, arts and crafts and local entertainers at the Rancho Santa Margarita Halloween Boo Blast and Craft Fair. An 11 a.m. costume parade is open to children of all ages (and the occasional well-turned-out pet, said a spokeswoman).

* Lago Rancho Santa Margarita, Antonio Parkway and Los Flores, Rancho Santa Margarita. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Free. (714) 589-4272.

For Wee Ones

Kid pop recording artists Parachute Express headline Pumpkins and Pancakes: A Halloween Party for Kids at Costa Mesa’s Crystal Court mall. A fund-raiser for the CASA and CAST programs for abused and neglected children in Orange County, the event includes a pancake or continental breakfast, arts and crafts activities, the concert and trick or treating in the mall.

* Crystal Court, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. 8:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday. $18 at the door. (714) 508-9889.

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Imaginations and sparkling lights illuminate the Un-Haunted House at the Children’s Museum at La Habra. The no-scare event invites younger ones (it’s aimed at children 2 to 8), to stroll through an “enchanted castle” and keep company with a decidedly non-scary dragon and other fantasy creatures. For an additional fee, you can visit the museum’s current interactive exhibit, “Forces of Nature.”

* Children’s Museum at La Habra, 301 S. Euclid St. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, 1:30-4 p.m. Sunday. Un-Haunted House admission is 75 cents per child; accompanying adults are free. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Museum admission is $4. (562) 905-9793.

Theme Parks and Attractions

Available: Medieval castle with large, delightfully dank basement ideal for tortures, beheadings, etc. Generous game arena for jousting, bloody clashes. Murderous sprites, screaming banshees and four course meal provided free with every visit.

Apply to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament’s “Haunted Castle.”

* Medieval Times, 7662 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Friday, 6 and 8:15 p.m. Saturday and 5 and 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Through Oct. 31. $22.95-$35.95. (714) 521-4740.

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Snoopy, the bodacious beagle, and his Peanuts pals welcome youngsters age 3 to 11 and their families to the final weekend of the non-spooky Camp Spooky.

Not to be confused with the park’s Halloween Haunt--Camp Spooky is strictly daytime; the night belongs to the Haunt--this kiddie-friendly event in the six-acre Camp Snoopy children’s area includes trick-or-treat stations, strolling seasonal entertainment, face-painting and crafts. Kids age 11 and younger are encouraged to come in costume and participate in a costume contest.

* Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Included with park admission. California residents (must show proof of address) are $15-$25 through Oct. 31; general admission is $23.95-$31.95. Children under 3 are free. Additional charge for some Camp Spooky activities. (714) 220-5200.

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Cheaper thrills than usual this week at Movieland Wax Museum. The attraction’s Halloween Kids Free promotion lets one kid hang free (and no, we don’t mean that literally) with one full-price-paying adult. The venue features 280 wax figures in walk-through scenes, including the chilling Chamber of Horrors section inspired by classic and contemporary horror films.

* Movieland Wax Museum, 7711 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Halloween promotion applies to children age 4-11 and runs today through Nov. 2. General admission: $6.95-$12.95; under 4, free. (714) 522-1154.

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Aside from the venerable Haunted Mansion (“Is this room actually stretching?”), Disneyland isn’t doing much for Halloween. The 2-year-old, sweets-laden Mickey’s Halloween Treat won’t be back this year. Susan Roth, a park spokeswoman, said this will allow park creative staff to beef up shows for the upcoming holiday season, including a seasonal revamping of the “Small World” ride.

But if your Halloween simply isn’t complete without a licensed Disney character, Roth pointed out that shops in the park and the Disneyland Hotel stock “almost exact replicas” of the costumes worn by the in-park characters, including Snow White, Herc and Buzz as well as assorted “Star Wars” folk. Prices run from about $25 to $100.

* Disneyland, 1313 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. (714) 781-4565 for park info; for Disneyland merchandise info, call (800) 760-3566. The Disneyland Hotel is at 1150 W. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim. (714) 778-6600.

Screams for Teens

Can’t get enough of a ghoul thing? The crazed minds behind Knott’s Scary Farm’s 25th anniversary Halloween Haunt are happy to hear that, because they’ve packed their event with a record number of fright mazes, shows and free-range monsters.

This year’s freak-tivities include eight haunted mazes, three re-themed rides, seven stage shows and more than 1,000 roaming monsters, including such durables as the Pig Family and Leatherface. Speaking of durable, Elvira, The Mistress of the Dark is back again with a new all-dead rock legends concert.

* Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. Halloween Haunt hours: 7 p.m.-2 a.m. tonight-Sunday and Wednesday Oct. 29-Nov. 1. Guests may not wear costumes. $31.95 advance, $36.95 on the day of the event, as available. Tickets: (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster). Info: (714) 220-5200.

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The Hunger Artists’ second Halloween production, “Madame Guignol’s Macabre Theatre: The Funeral of Dr. Boufant,” links a series of short plays about the dark side of human nature with a funeral service for an insane asylum director. The show is inspired by turn-of-the-century French theater of terror and is recommended for mature audiences (age 17 and up, according to a theater spokesman).

* Artists Village, 204 E. 4th St., Suite I, Santa Ana. 8:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday. $10 donation. Through Nov. 2. (714) 547-9100.

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This one could kill your appetite. A former restaurant in Fullerton is being put to gruesome use in the Nightmare Cafe Haunted House. Organizer James Barnum of JB Entertainment promises the 15 scenes in this nearly 6,000-square-foot haunted house will compare chill for chill with Knott’s legendary Halloween Haunt. Sobering scenes include a haunted bar presided over by the socially challenged star of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films. Yikes. Better make that a double, Freddy.

* 501 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. 8 p.m.-midnight today-Saturday and Oct. 30-Nov. 1. $7. (A tamer version for youngsters under 12 is offered Saturday Oct. 25 and Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.; $3 for kids, accompany parents free). (714) 780-8797.

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Just over the county line, the Queen Mary shows her dark side in Shipwreck ’97. A press release for the Long Beach ocean liner-turned-tourist attraction boasts the Decks of the Dead maze; a Haunted Hull of Horror chockablock with torture chambers and “an actual hanging” and the below-deck, fog-shrouded Londontowne of Terror, peopled by such restless spirits as John Pedder, a crewman who was crushed to death in the Queen’s engine room some 30 years ago. Those who weather the storm can dance their fears away in the ship’s exhibit hall. No guest costumes are permitted. A separate “Queen of Scream” costume party will be on Halloween Night for ages 21 and up.

* Queen Mary, end of the Long Beach Freeway, Long Beach. 7 p.m.-midnight Friday through Nov. 1. Shipwreck ’97 admission: $13; “Queen of Scream” costume party admission (not including Shipwreck ‘97) is $29 and ticket includes dinner, dancing and costume contest on Oct. 31. (562) 435-3511.