Scare up thrills for Halloween if you dare

Published 12:00 am Monday, October 29, 2018

You can still get your scares and spooks today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Halloween) at many sites around the Portland area. Here’s a quick rundown of some attractions:

• The Beneath is the new set of three haunted houses at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It replaced FrightTown, which had thrilled visitors at the location for years.

Christina Kortum, the creator of The Beneath, has plentiful experience in haunted houses, having worked on FrightTown and 13th Door and elsewhere.

“We wanted to keep the tradition going,” she says. “I got artist friends together and said, ‘Let’s see if we can make it happen.’ It’s a ragtag group of artists trying to make it happen.”

Some 15 people created and installed the 6,500 square feet of haunted houses in two weeks. The first night was sketchy, as some actors (“creatures”) failed to show, but it has gone over well since then.

“There are lots of creatures and ghouls inside and we’ve stuffed it full,” Kortum says. “We are trying to put on the best show we can, and keep it a haunted house.”

Ashwood Hospital has a doctor who kills patients and performs experiments on them. Nightmares start when the clock strikes 12 in The Midnight House. And clowns that have been corrupted hunt customers in Bloody Mary’s Murderous Midway.

“This is the best thing ever,” says Kortum, a makeup person for TV shows and special effects through her Ravenous Studios. “It’s the biggest improvisational theater in the world. It’s a unique art form. I’m so excited to be able to do it with all my friends.”

It’s open 6-10 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, and 6-midnight Halloween.

For more: http://www.thebeneath.com.

• Meanwhile, at the Davis Graveyard, 8703 S.E. 43rd Ave. in the Ardenwald-Johnson Creek neighborhood, Chris and Jeff Davis are celebrating 20 years with more tombstones (some 75 in all) and the “Towering Chapel” attraction replacing “The Abbey.”

The “Towering Chapel” was a major project, the Davises tell the Clackamas Review. “We’ve been planning this project for a couple of years,” Jeff says. It looks like carved stone, but it’s all Styrofoam, and it’s assembled like a giant Lego project.

“We’re glad people enjoy it. For us, it’s about the artistic expression, being creative and coming up with new things,” Jeff says.

Fun starts at dusk and goes through 11 p.m.

For more: http://www.DavisGraveyard.com.

• Another top Portland attraction is Fear PDX at 12301 N.E. Glisan St., a new location with four haunted houses: “Dark Carnival,” “Dead City,” “The Doll Factory” and “The Mansion.” It’s open 7-10 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, Oct. 30-31. For more: http://www.fearpdx.com.

• Out in the suburbs, there is:

One of Portland’s oldest attractions, the 13th Door Haunted House, 3855 S.W. Murray Blvd. in Beaverton. For more: http://www.13thdoor.com.

At 1776 N.W. Fairview Drive in Gresham, it’s House of Shadows, where people grab you. See http://wwww.Facebook.com/TheHouseofShadowsGresham.

Down in Hubbard at 11503 Broadacres Road N.E., Milburn’s Haunted Manor has been scaring city and country folks for years. For more: http://www.milburnmanor.com.

Fearlandia is a haunt on a vacant lot next to the Circuit Tigard on Upper Bones Ferry and Durham roads in Tigard. For more: http://www.Fearlandia.com.

Clark County Scaregrounds is three haunted houses, combined with carnival rides, games and food for an all-out celebration at Clark County Event Center, 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield. For more: http://www.clarkcoeventcenter.com.

There are other places to see and for things to scare the bejesus out of you. Some other websites with info: http://www.oregonhauntedhouses.com, http://www.events12.com.