Haunted Houses a Haven for Spirits and the Spooked

Gone are the days of piped-in Vincent Price laughter and cardboard tombstones. No more cold, slimy vats of linguine and peeled grapes, the traditional substitute for guts and gore.

Today’s haunted houses--designed to appeal to connoisseurs weaned on “Friday the 13th” and the evening news--offer a little something more. Something new. Something ‘90s. Something with strobe lights, throbbing Nine Inch Nails music, hockey masks and roaring chain saws.

Something like the dim and creepy “Haunted Factory,” set in a cornfield in Simi Valley, which touts itself as the world’s scariest haunted house. Word of the scares beyond compare are what prompted a group of four Camarillo 15-year-old girls and a parent to drive down the Ventura Freeway on a school night.

The creepy components of a successful haunted house are almost as old as the desire to confront--and conquer--things that go boo in the dark, the girls said, shivering in their sweatshirts and flared jeans while in line for the spectacle.

Rule 1: “You’ve got to have, like, people jumping out, screaming and getting in your face,” said Courtney Watkins.

Rule 2 was explained by Joanna Hochenedel. “I think the mazes are good,” she said. “And the strobe lights and loud, loud music.”

Libby Woods fills in the rest. “It’s got to be really dark, so you can’t see.”

That said, the gaggle stumbled arm-in-arm into the haunted house with the scarred corrugated metal exterior.

It would spoil the surprise to say whether the girls’ exacting criteria were met as the quartet went through blackened rooms with Freddie Krueger, Jason and pinhead look-alikes around every corner.

Suffice it to say that the actress/victim chained to the wall in the “Haunted Factory” wasn’t the only one screaming at 7:15 on a cloudy, moody Thursday night.

With Halloween a mere week away, it seems that adrenaline-seekers from Simi Valley to Santa Paula and from Thousand Oaks to Ojai are steeling their nerves and heading for the nearest haunted house--or reasonable facsimile thereof.

Some are too scary for the younger set and others are tame enough for toddlers. Haunted houses take place in schools, churches or the great wide open. As with “Haunted Factory,” most of the houses-o’-scare raise money for theater groups, PTAs, the Boys & Girls Club or other organizations.

No matter what your neighborhood social worker might claim, most thrill seekers claim no deep-seated psychological reason for voluntarily offering to be scared out of their wits.

But the Rev. Marilyn Miller--who is hosting a friendly haunted house for the younger set at her church, the Center for Positive Living--thinks the experience allows people to test their bravery without actually risking life and limb.

“In our culture, we just love to be scared,” Miller said. “Going to haunted houses shows our willingness to confront our fears--like, spirits and ghosts--and handle them.”

Whatever the reason, the trappings of Halloween are fun.

For scaredy-cats and thrill seekers alike, here are some of the haunted happenings around the county through next weekend:

* Simi Valley Haunted Factory, a 10,000-square-foot maze offering frights from the silver screen plus a pumpkin patch, Haunted Hayrides and a 20-foot roaring dinosaur. Open nightly, corner of Los Angeles Avenue and Madera Road, through Nov. 1. Hours dusk to 10 p.m. on weeknights; dusk until 11 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. $8. (805) 522-5501.

* The Haunted Center VI: Aliens Among Us, a series of themed fright chambers based on B-movie horror flicks. Arts Council Center, 482 Greenmeadow Ave., Thousand Oaks. Tonight, showings at 6, 7:30, 9 and 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, shows at 6, 7:30 and 9 p.m.; Friday and Nov. 1, shows at 6, 7:30, 9 and 10:30. $8. (805) 381-2747.

* Barbara Webster School, 1150 Saticoy St., Santa Paula. A gaggle of ghosts and goblins will scare kids and adults in a fund-raiser for student field trips. Friday, 6-9 p.m. Also: games, prizes and treats. 50 cents. (805) 933-5359.

* Ojai Shakespeare Company Haunted House at the city’s old museum site, 109 Montgomery St. next to the art center. Shakespeare characters will lead visitors through “a maze of errors,” Thursday and Friday, 6-10 p.m. $4. (805) 646-9455.

* Ventura Boys & Girls Club Haunted House, 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura. For children 12 and younger accompanied by an adult. Also: trick-or-treating, costume contest, pumpkin carving, carousel rides. Today, Sunday and Friday, 6 to 9 p.m. $3 children, $2 Boys & Girls Club members. (805) 644-0169.

* Center for Positive Living Halloween event, 2646 Palma Drive, Building 250, Ventura. Includes a “friendly haunted house,” cabaret, costume contest, games and more. Friday, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. $5, $2.50 students, free 12 and under. (805) 650-8711.

* Santa Paula Theater Center’s Ghost Walk ‘97, departing from McKevett School, 955 Pleasant St., Santa Paula. A historical tour of Santa Paula including visits with six of the city’s prominent ghosts. Today, Sunday and Thursday, guided tours depart every 15 minutes between 6 and 8:30 p.m. $7 adults, $4 children 7-10. Reservations required, (805) 525-3073.

* The Santa Paula Optimist Halloween Parade, at 10 a.m. today. Participants, ages preschool through sixth grade, should arrive in costume by 9 a.m. at Ebell Park at 7th and Main streets.

* Olivas Adobe Halloween Ghost Tours, 200 Olivas Park Drive, Ventura. A tour telling of ghostly mysteries at the 1847 home might even include a visit from the legendary Lady in Black. Today, tours leave every 15 minutes between 7 and 9 p.m. $5. (805) 658-4726. Also: other foot and bus tours are available between 7 and 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Nov. 1. Prices vary. (805) 658-4726.

* Conejo Recreation and Parks District Annual Halloween Costume Contest, The Oaks mall, 222 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. For ages 12 and under. Registration between 11 a.m. and noon in the center court today. Free. (805) 495-2163. .

* Janss Marketplace will hold a Halloween Magic Show, Costume Contest and Coloring Contest from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. The costume and coloring contests are for children 12 and under.

* Trick-or-treating will be held Friday at four county malls. Hours are 6 to 8 p.m. at Janss Marketplace, 5 to 7 p.m. at The Oaks, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Buenaventura Mall and at 5 p.m. at The Esplanade in Oxnard.

* The city of Moorpark and Moorpark Kiwanis Halloween party and trick-or-treat village, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, 4550 Tierra Rejada Road. There will be carnival games, crafts and other activities. Free admission. Information: 531-9100. On Friday, there will be a dance at the center from 7 to 10 p.m. for youths ages 12 to 17 featuring a deejay, pizza, soda and a costume contest. $2 admission.

* The Esplanade mall’s Friday festivities for children 12 and younger begin at 5:30 p.m. at 195 Esplanade Drive, Oxnard. After a magic show, children will parade through the mall to trick-or-treat at participating stores. (805) 485-1146.

Times staff writers Leo Smith and Rodney Bosch contributed to this report.