Volunteers sought for haunted house that will benefit burn fund

Carson City's Castle of the Living Dead is an innovation in the fine art of haunted-house construction, the designer said Monday.

To find the haunted house on South Carson Street, visitors will need to look only for the 15-foot flames splaying from the top of the castle. The flame throwers are new this year.

George Maser is as quiet as the grim reaper about any of his scaring secrets. The only thing he'll disclose about the 2004 design is the names of some of the new features, such as: the Electric Fortune Teller, Tunnel of Doom and the Electric Cave.

The haunted house, which will be set up in the parking lot at the corner of Clear View Drive and Carson Street, will benefit the Carson City Fire Department burn fund. As much as 20 percent of proceeds will go toward the fund.

Maser, owner of Maser's Inc. Banners, Tents and Haunted Events, said this year's haunted house will be inside four large tents in the old Wal-Mart parking lot. That makes the haunted house twice as big as last year. The castle doesn't have any rooms, just hallways and tunnels for visitors to walk and crawl through.

"We have a lot of innovative things that you don't see anywhere else," he said. "We sell haunted houses to other haunted house places and in this one we test out all our new stuff" - making Carson area residents guinea pigs of the fright industry.

At the end of each tour, visitors will be asked to fill out a survey. Results from this survey determine what the company decides to implement for mass distribution. The Masers business is in Dayton. They've organized the haunted house in Carson City for about two years. Before that they organized their haunted house in Reno and Virginia, where they moved from.

About 20 volunteers contribute their time to scaring all those who dare to enter. Maser said he awards prizes to those volunteers who delight visitors with the most popular, most creative and most artistic scares.

The castle is heated and visitors are given group numbers, so they don't have to wait in a line. Tickets are $10 each and it takes about 20 minutes to navigate the castle.

"About 3,600 people visited last year and I expect more than 5,000 this year," Maser said.

Visitors must also be prepared for a 3-D experience. He said the 3-D paint makes visitors feel like they are wading through an asteroid storm.

The haunted house, and the flame throwers, meet all fire codes, Maser said.

If you go:

What: Castle of the Living Dead haunted house

Where: Parking lot at South Carson Street and Clearview Drive

When: Oct. 15, 16, 22, 23, 28-31

Times: 6:30-11 p.m.

Cost: $10

Information: 246-4844

ON THE NET

www.hauntingyou.com

Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.