Formerly fine corridors and happy hallways all over Clark County have gone dark and creepy this month. Take a deep breath before you start inching down the passage at Washougal High School, where the doorways now conceal far deeper evil than a pop chemistry quiz.
This door: “Red rum, RED RUM, RED RUM!”
That door: “Nothing’s going to be OK ever again!”
Another door: “It’s not like my mother is a maniac or a raving thing. She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven’t you?”
This Halloween season, the drama club at Washougal High School will indulge in a fifth annual round of cinematically scaring the bejabbers out of friends and neighbors. This year’s version of their haunted high school is all about the movies, where horrible happenings are much, much larger than life.
“It’s a scream scene theme,” tongue-twisted Washougal drama teacher Kelly Gregersen. “Every room is based on a horror film. We use a good portion of the whole school for multiple rooms, multiple experiences. We even use the athletic department hallway, which is creepy even with the lights on. We turn them off.”
Above are unforgettable lines from some of the scariest scenes ever filmed for the big screen. Going a little bit mad is Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”; pessimistic about the future is a victim of legal lawlessness in “The Purge”; and “Red rum” is a weird chant from Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” based on the Stephen King novel. (Read “red rum” forwards and it’s an eerie image; read it backwards and you get the threat.)
Which other scream film scenes are portrayed? Mum(my)’s the word, said Gregersen, who didn’t want to spoil the many secrets of his inspired drama students. “I said put it on, and darned if they didn’t take me up on it,” he said. “It has grown bigger and crazier every year. I think we had 700 to 800 people come through last year and about 70 to 80 volunteers over three days. For a little high school haunted house, that’s pretty impressive.”
How scary?
Gregersen gives Washougal’s haunted high school a “7 or 8 on the scare-o-meter.” But terror is relative, of course; some folks find this stuff hilarious fun while others wouldn’t go anywhere near it, even if you picked up their entry ticket, steadying after-scare cocktail and subsequent lifetime of therapy. No matter your age, stage and personal affection and/or tolerance for terror, Clark County has a haunting for you.
The Parks Foundation, the town of Washougal and the Ridgefield Art Association are all holding not-so-scary outings aimed at littler monsters who want to dress up and show off, but not lose years off their still-unused lives. Ridgefield always enlists the dancers of DanceFusion NW to lead a funky “Thriller” flash mob at the bottom of every hour.
Up at the transformed Clark County ScareGrounds, the haunting is high-tech and professional, featuring paid actors who auditioned into walking-deadly roles in familiar-sounding scenarios such as “Strange Things,” a streaming TV show where your talent for survival makes you a star; “Forbidden Fortress,” a medieval fantasy quest featuring the zombie minions of a powerful magician; and “Sector 13,” a government black-ops lab that unleashed an army of mutants upon the world. The ScareGrounds also offers behind-the-scenes tours and all-ages fun such as carnival rides, monster photo ops and “Zombie Operation,” a slightly spooky version of the kiddie game.
The ScareGrounds are easy to find, but you must try harder for the Nightmare on Elk Street, a haunted house that’s tucked creepily away off Southeast McGillivray Boulevard. If you go in, will you come out?
The Elks’ second annual haunting features 14 separate nightmare rooms and a whole lot of surprises leaping out at you, said chairwoman Caroline Bradwell; many of those are costumed young people who are the beneficiaries of the Elks’ many charitable programs. Maybe that makes the whole experience a little less horrible?
Make that maybe at best. “Last night I could hear some boys coming through saying, ‘Is this all there is?’ Then I heard them start screaming — and keep screaming,” Bradwell said with satisfaction.
CLARK COUNTY HALLOWEEN HAUNTINGS
What: Halloween Hall.
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 19-20.
Where: Bennett Hall in Abrams Park, Division Street, Ridgefield.
Tickets: $5; age 3 and younger are free.
Contact: www.ridgefieldartassociation.com, https://ridgefieldwa.us/event/halloween
Comments: “No blood and gore, creepy clowns or anyone jumping out. Our audience is grade school kids that want to wear their costumes and don’t mind holding someone’s hand to experience a little Halloween fun.”
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What: Nightmares on Elk Street Haunted House.
When: 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 19-20, 26-27; 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 21 and 28.
Where: Vancouver Elks, 11605 S.E. McGillivray Blvd., Vancouver.
Tickets: $15 at the door.
Contact: www.facebook.com/nightmaresonelkstreet, 360-256-0823
Comments: “A horror-movie level, rated-R-type frightfest and not for younger children.”
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What: Clark County ScareGrounds.
When: 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 19-21, Oct. 25 to Nov. 3.
Where: Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds, 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield
Tickets: $25; $18 for 13 and under.
Contact: https://scaregroundspdx.com, 360-686-9913.
Comments: Main attractions not recommended for under 13, but all-ages attractions include carnival rides, games and photo ops.
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What: Haunted High School at Washougal High School.
When: 6 to 11 p.m. Oct. 26-27; 8 to 10 p.m. Oct. 31.
Where: 1201 39th St., Washougal.
Tickets: $5; $2 for a second trip.
Contact: https://sites.google.com/washougalsd.org/washburn-pac/washburn-pac-home
Comments: “Seven or eight on the scare-o-meter. It’s extremely scary.”
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What: Booville.
n When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 27.
Where: Luepke Center, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd., Vancouver.
Admission: Free.
Contact: www.parksfoundation.us/booville
Comments: An indoor party for children, featuring trick-or-treating, costume parade, spooky stories, arts and crafts and games.
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What: Washougal Pumpkin Harvest Festival.
When: Noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 27.
Where: Reflection Plaza, 1703 Main St., Washougal.
Admission: Free.
Contact: www.cityofwashougal.us/community/page/pumpkin-harvest-festival
Comments: “Princesses, superheroes and witches, oh my! A fun family festival” featuring costumes, a straw hay maze and free pumpkins. Great for families and young children.
