KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kainoa Baldauf, 7, and his dad, Craig Baldauf, decided they could take the intense scare level at Windward Mall's Scare Factory last week. They got what they asked for.
Be afraid I've never been a fan of haunted houses. I don't understand the desire to be scared silly. But as I headed to Windward Mall's Scare Factory with my 6-year-old in tow, I figured I was safe. After all, they wouldn't want to terrify a youngster.
... be very afraid when entering
Dressed to thrill
Windward Mall's spook house
By Nancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.comThrill seekers can choose the level of horror they wish to experience at the factory, from a "no-scare" encounter to an "intense" experience. My son chose the low-scare mode, and we were on our way. But once we turned the first corner, he was clinging tightly to my hand with his eyes closed, so basically I was on my own.
The creepy surroundings with eerie music, lighting effects and dark shadows were scary enough -- I didn't need any screaming monsters springing from their graves increasing my fear. It was bad enough that they were quietly sneaking up on me, lurking over my shoulder. When I met one face to face as I rounded a dark corner, I couldn't help but let out an enormous gasp, causing an evil laugh to emerge from the dark creature. I think I was too scared by the overall experience to actually scream.
The low-scare experience yields only lurking, supposedly friendly monsters. If I'd braved the intense level, I fear a heart attack may have been the result. I'm just a scaredy cat.
Matthew Medeiros designed the spooky set, made with 160 sheets of drywall and 312 two-by-fours. The entire structure is self-standing. "The design was basically thought up overnight. My three brothers and I came to build the sets," he said.
Strobe lights, fog, loud sound effects, graphic scenes and, of course, monsters are all part of the haunting encounter.
Laurinda Titus-Luciano, owner of Spooky's Halloween Town, greets each visitor in her witch costume, asking if they are having a "spooktacular day." Titus-Luciano has wanted to set up a haunted abode for many years. "I kept the dream alive and here we are," she said.
Medeiros is experienced with haunted houses. "I used to build a structure all around my rental house. It had drawbridges that opened and closed, complete with operators. I would take a week's vacation from work just to get everything ready. And a long time ago, I worked on the March of Dimes haunted house."
When he is not randomly scaring people, he works as a mechanic for the city bus.
"It's hard to operate all the different scare levels. It's hard to tell an actor what a medium scare is like. Some people walk in and cry -- other people are unaffected. Some may be scared but they don't express the emotion. It's really the actors that make a difference," said Medeiros.
Many of the monster volunteers are teenagers. "Some people get their thrills scaring people," he said. "There is a cage room back there, and our volunteers were so ambitious, they were hanging upside down and pounding the walls. I had to tell them to tone things down. We actually had to repair some sets."
The trek through the chamber of horrors takes five to seven minutes. "We try to get the volunteer monsters to scare the people through the house in a forward fashion," Medeiros said. "Some people go backwards. One time, a 17-year-old girl took 20 minutes to get through the house. She must have had some real phobias."
At the intense level, when the actors reach through the bars or creep close, people really get the feeling the monsters are after them, he said.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
By the time they ventured on into the foggy unknown, left, Kainoa was hanging on for dear life.
One mom entered the house with her two young sons, but when a monster came up behind her, she bolted out of the door, leaving the children behind. "The boys didn't know what to do," he said.
"We have little kids lose their slippers and everything because they are running through. One father came with all his kids. They were hugging so tight to his legs that in the last room they took him down."
"We have options (the different scare levels), so people can go in and appreciate the colorful surroundings -- it's not all terror," said Titus-Luciano. Sometimes, starting with the low-scare option helps them work up the courage for a medium scare.
Titus-Luciano's 15-year-old son, Gino Luciano, is one of the demons who lives among the creatures in the house. Like his mom, he loves to dress up.
"When I'm in the cage, people will back up against the wall. If they don't seem scared, I sneak up behind them and roar so they will run away. Adults jump a lot but they try not to scream, especially the parents," he said, admitting that he was losing his voice from all the screaming he does.
Five-year-old Tyler Kawahara, who braved the medium-scare tour, said she was not afraid, although the spiders were scary, especially the giant one.
Her 7-year-old brother, Stirling, was not sure of what he thought of the whole experience. "Don't go on the intense one, or you might get nightmares," he said.
Their dad waited outside.
A young couple came out of the house, looking relieved to still be alive.
"It was pretty freaky," said Jonathan Apao, who dragged an unwilling Deborah Santos into the house where "the ending part with the chains" and the horrifying "Hellraiser" creature "was the most intense," she said.
Jennifer Fujimori first went in with her two young children for a medium scare. The keikis decided it was not for them and turned around. Fujimori decided to go on the intense tour by herself. In the beginning, everything was fine. But then it started getting darker and darker, she said. "My knees are still shaking."
Place: Windward Mall, upper level, theater wing between The Gap and Suncoast Motion Pictures. Scare Factory
Hours: 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 3. Admission: $6 adults, $4 children under 12. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving).
Call: 239-1956
Warning: Parents can determine the level of scariness, from no-scare to intense, but the intense level has proved too scary for some children who entered alone -- they ran out terrified and in tears.
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