New name, same scary vibe at haunted houses

The Fear PDX: 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 1; 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays and Oct. 22-23 and 27-30. Three themed haunts at one location: The Slaughter, where a whole family of cannibals awaits in their cabin in the woods; The Curse, where visitors must make their way through the maze of an old voodoo temple, with monsters in the shadows; and The Outbreak, where a zombie apocalypse isn’t the worst thing to stumble across. 7701 N.E. Vancouver Plaza Drive, Vancouver; $20 for all three, $35 for a fast pass. www.fearpdx.com

FrightTown: 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 17, 24 and 31; 6 to 11 p.m. Oct. 18 and 25; 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Three haunts for one price: The Witch House, where “demonic cultists” will “kill” any outsiders they can find; The Madness, where the shadowy village of Port Howard from H.P. Lovecraft’s stories comes to life; and Baron Von Goolo’s Museum of Horrors, an occult museum filled with monestrous curiosities. Rose Quarter, 1 Center Court, Portland; $22. 503-963-4400 or www.frighttown.com

Haunted Ghost Town and Corn Maze: 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 31; 7 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. Visit an Old Western town haunted by undead gunslingers and unnatural creatures, along with the new haunted corn maze in this outdoor attraction that benefits local high school performing arts programs. Recommend for ages 13 and older. Rossi Farms, 3839 N.E. 122nd Ave., Portland; $15 to $20. thehauntedghosttown.com

Brian Mudgett laughed when he was asked why he changed the name of his complex of Vancouver haunted houses from “Confront Your Fears” to “The Fear PDX” this year.

It comes down to what really draws people to scary attractions, he said with an amused smile.

“We have a new marketing company this year, and they did a study that found that most people don’t really want to confront their own fears,” Mudgett said. “What they want to do is see their friends confront their fears (so they can laugh).”

And the PDX bit?

“There is, actually, another ‘The Fear’ in Ohio, which is part of why we changed that,” Mudgett said. “But also depending on how this season goes, we want to expand with another location in Portland.”

Fans of the popular creepy attractions might have noticed that there are fewer commercial haunts in Portland this year. Beyond the 4-year-old Vancouver haunt, only two other big ones remain in the city to our south: “FrightTown” and the “Haunted Ghost Town and Corn Maze.”

Mudgett said that doesn’t really surprise him.

“Building space is getting harder to come by now that the economy is getting somewhat better,” he said.

Still, along with the big three, there are also a few larger haunts in Portland’s Oregon suburbs, including one new haunt in Gresham called “The House of Shadows” that Mudgett said he’s watching closely. That house is “full contact,” something that’s relatively new in the world of haunts.

In most haunted houses, actors aren’t allowed to touch the customers. But in the full-contact house, visitors give permission before entering, and actors can jostle them to add to the scares, Mudgett said.

A recent post on “The House of Shadows” Facebook page might not sound all that ideal to some, though. The page proudly listed a weekly “Terror Tally” of “24 pieces of clothing lost, 1 hookah pen lost, 7 pairs of shoes lost, 8 earrings lost, 4 cell phones lost, 1 fire extinguisher lost. … Yep! 1 cop call …23 people pissed their pants, 1 person scared so bad they pissed on an actor!!! WOW 102 people couldn’t make it through. Every single person came out the end sweating profusely.”

So far, attractions at Vancouver’s “The Fear PDX” feature no contact, but if the Gresham attraction does well, it’s something Mudgett might experiment with down the line, he said.

This year, Mudgett’s haunted house complex at 7701 N.E. Vancouver Plaza Drive includes three haunts. And everything is about “90 percent new, and 70 percent of it is completely reconstructed,” he said.

The attractions this year are: “The Slaughter,” based on an isolated cabin in the woods populated by mutated hillbillies; “The Curse,” where visitors must escape the jungle after being hexed by Voodoo priests; and “The Outbreak,” where an underground scientific experiment to weaponize zombies has gone horribly awry.

“Another thing we’re doing differently this year is we’ve focused more on the scare elements for the actors, so they’re more hidden,” Mudgett said, opening a cleverly-disguised piece of rock wall in “The Curse” to show where the actor pops out.

“We’ve also condensed things down so they’re more energetic,” Mudgett said. “There’s more to see in each, and the energy is much higher.”

Mudgett doesn’t quite make a living off the attractions, but he does love putting them together, and they generally pay for themselves. To pay most of his bills, Mudgett works for a cellphone company and sells marching band music he composes to a company back east.

He also composes some of the music used in his haunts — including some loud scary drum beats in “The Curse.”

This year, a chunk of the proceeds will go to two charities: A Walk on the Wild Side animal park and rescue and the Evergreen School District, Mudgett added.

“I hope everybody will come out for a good scare,” Mudgett said. “Or at least to watch their friends get one.”