DENVER, Colorado (Reuters) - Halloween is coming and manyteens are gearing up for a good scare at one of the many"haunted house" attractions that come to life this time ofyear.
The people who run the haunted houses want to scare yoursocks off and have lots of ideas about how to do it.
Creaky doors, darkened hallways and empty rooms make forsome of the spookiest thrills and chills, haunted house expertssay.
"The most important part of a haunted house is not whatpeople see, but what they don't see," said Steven Laurent,owner of the Nightmare Factory, a seasonal haunted house inAustin, Texas.
Laurent, who runs the 6,000 square foot Nightmare Factory,said the key in creating a really scary haunted house is to givepeople just enough information to let their imaginations take itfrom there.
It's kind of a two-way street, he said. Both the hauntedhouse creator and the audience have to use their imaginations toget the big scare, Laurent said.
HORROR IN A TWO CAR GARAGE
Michael Moore, 16, in Ralph, Pennsylvania loves a goodscare. As part of his horror hobby Moore has created Igor'sFright Shack in his family's two-car garage. The Fright Shack isin its second Halloween season and already has ushered some 600people through its doors this year.
Imagination is the key to creating a really spooky hauntedhouse, Moore said.
"If you can see it in your mind's eye before you build itthen you have half the work already accomplished," he said.
But in addition to a very active imagination, Moore does hishomework. "I've seen just about every horror movie ever madeand I visit a lot of haunted houses," he said.
GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR GHOULS
Moore recommends that haunted house builders get their fillof horror movies. "Watching horror movies can really help withthings like figuring out how zombies walk," he said.
Sharon Laurent, wife of Steven Laurent and director ofcostume sales and business development for the NightmareFactory, said a ghoulish character's behavior needs to berealistic.
"To be really scary you have to have the enthusiasm tobecome that character -- let out the inner monster," she said.
"Some of our actors at the haunted house are scary evenbefore they put on their costume or make up. They just take onthe role so well, they become the character from the insideout," she said.
Masks can add or detract from a real creep show, she said."In low light, masks can work well. If there is any brightlight that might show that it's obvious you are wearing a mask,you should use makeup instead," Laurent said.
CREEPY COSTS
If you don't have a lot of money to spend, beware. A spookyhaunted house is going to cost you.
Moore has spent more than $1000 of his money and some of hisparents on Igor's Fright Shack. "And this year much of mymaterial was donated," he said, noting that Igor's Fright Shackdonates all proceeds from its $1 admission fee to the blind, acharity Moore became involved with through school.
"The most expensive things are the lumber and the masks --the props that I can't build myself," Moore said.
"I try to stay away from buying as much as possible.Whatever you can build is that much more original," he said.
Moore said he's made some great skulls and tombstones out offoam he's found in the trash. "As long as you have a goodimagination you can turn it into whatever you want it to be,"he said.
Steven Laurent agreed that haunted house making can getexpensive. To run the Nightmare Factory for a six week periodaround Halloween costs over $100,000, Laurent said.
For more information about theses and other cool haunts onthe Web, visit Igor's Fright Shack athttp://www.why.net/users/beefcake/ifs/, or the Nightmare Factoryat http://www.nightmarefactory.com/.