By Debbie Hampton
Are you pacing around your apartment in the Halloween costume you bought six months ago, anxiously waiting for the spooky season to begin? Whether you want something shit-your-pants frightening or an evening that will haunt your dreams for months to come, the Bay Area offers bone-chilling, Halloween haunted houses and attractions, starting this week and running through October.
HELL in the ARMORY
San Francisco
Kink.com’s 60-minute haunted house tour/BSDM-inspired immersive theater experience is for adults only. Taking place in the basement of the San Francisco Armory, Hell in the Armory will feature “contortionists, nude models body painted by the city’s top talent, prosthetics, animatronics, interactive art and a menacing cast of characters.” Tues.–Sat. through Nov. 1.
Platform 13
Oakland
In Oakland’s 102-year-old abandoned 16th Street train station, ScareCo has transformed Platform 13 into a 13,000-square-foot walk-through spooky attraction. Board a phantom train, where you’ll interact with passengers who may or may not be ghosts. There are a few other attractions on the grounds, including a motion-simulated ride where you can experience the feeling of being buried alive, a big monster battle, and a ghost hunt in search of paranormal activity. Thurs.–Sun. (and Oct 27–29) through Nov. 1
Fear Overload Scream Park
San Leandro
This attraction offers two visually disturbing haunted houses. One guides you through chilling rooms as you witness scenes from the mind of a serial murderer. The other leads you through a series of bad hallucinations, as if you were having a sickening psychotic episode. These haunted houses are beyond terrifying; I cried just looking through the website. Fri.–Sun., Oct. 10–Nov. 2; also Thurs., Oct. 16–30, and Tues.–Wed., Oct. 28–29.
Norcal Fear Haunted House
Petaluma
Apparently, there’s a Zombie Apocalypse happening at the Petaluma Fairgrounds. At this interactive haunted house, you’re guided through abandoned streets where you can (fake) shoot the zombies as you protect yourself and your fellow humans. Thurs.–Sun., Oct. 16–Nov. 2; also Wed. Oct. 29.
Blind Scream Haunted Houses
Rohnert Park
This trifecta of horror has three separate houses. There’s Blackout, where you’re led through a dark, petrifying maze; Carnicus, described as a “bloody Big Top” with “one of the worst sideshows of terror ever reassembled;” and The Swamp Shack, where you kick it with a horrifying Voodoo witch who may or may not kill you. Fri.-Sun., Oct.10–Nov.1; Thurs., Oct.16–30, Wed., Oct. 22, 29, and Tues., Oct. 28.
Photo via Thinkstock
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