College Times

Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Calendar

Media Credit: Ryan Ruiz Vince Zadylak transforms his Glendale home into the Morbid Manor, a charitable haunted house that is open to the public.

Haunted Houses are one of the pearls of Halloween. You get the fear of being in a scary situation, but, in reality, you're safe. And you get the adrenaline rush associated with being scared, but then, after, you usually feel giddy and elated.

What's excellent is that the Valley has a lot of great haunted houses, in varying levels of scariness, for those who are wussies to those who are hardcore, and everyone in between. One such house is the 8,000 square foot Morbid Manor Haunted House, to which all admission donations go to benefit the American Heart Association, the Desert Southwest Alzheimer's Association, the Arizona State Veterans' Home and the Ryan McBride Memorial Music Fund.

We caught up with Morbid Manor coordinator/planner/operator/tour guide Vince Zadylak.

CT: So many people have haunted houses every year, but what makes Morbid Manor different is that it donates everything to charity. Why go that route? While it is nobler, some may say it's harder.
Zadylak: The donation side of Morbid Manor rose from some tragic events that happened in and around our family, and we hope to help anyone we can with our donations. I find that if you charge money to enter a haunted house that you will always have people that are unhappy or disappointed with the haunted house. By only taking donations you can enter the haunted house for free if you want and still have a good time.

Have you noticed people's tolerance for scary things has increased since movies like "Saw" and "Hostel" came out?
People are not as shocked by blood and gore as before, but they will always let out a scream at a perfectly timed actor's entrance.

What are the tricks of the trade? Anything that you do over and over again in the haunted house, because you know it'll get a reaction or a scream?
One thing that will happen each year is determining the right areas for an actor to hide and then jump out to scare someone. It's all about the art of misdirection.

Just a suggestion: Ever think about adding an actor who's playing Carrot Top somewhere in the haunted house? I think that might really scare people.
Although Carrot Top has had too much plastic surgery and steroids, he probably would not scare too many people. I do not go for laughs, I go for screams.

Morbid Manor Haunted House, 7426 W. Foothill Drive, Glendale, themorbidmanor.com, Thursday to Saturday, October 29 to October 31, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., donations encouraged


OTHER OPTIONS

"The Birds," Hitchcock's classic on the big screen. What's more is that the weather for that night is suspected to be none other than purely spectacular. A Happy Halloween indeed. Biltmore Fashion Park, 2502 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, 602.955.1963, Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., free

Howlin' Halloween Spooktacular, Costume contests for the scariest, the best comic-book character, most original and more; food, games, souvenir photos and, of course, a haunted house. Sweet! Chandler Library Plaza, 125 E. Common-
wealth Avenue, 480.782.2735, Friday, Oct. 30, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., $2

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