Stephanie Blair | Editor-in-Chief
Those seeking an experience manufactured to scare even the bravest of heart need look no further than the Nightmare Factory at Oregon School for the Deaf. For the last three decades, the Factory has been spooking its victims with ghouls, zombies, monsters and clowns.
In particular, one clown has stood out: Mr. Booger. Each year, Mr. Booger straps those brave enough into a wheelchair and takes them for a “Wild Ride” through his funhouse. The Nightmare Factory website advertises that “this insane ride of your life includes many years of terrifying flashbacks! Great birthday gift for that special someone! Not for the faint of heart or people with weak knee syndrome!”
For those eager for a thrill, but not thrilled by the prospect of being wheeled around by a clown, there is another option to enhance the experience of the Nightmare Factory: Z-Tag. For $10 in addition to admission, haunt-goers can purchase an “infection detector” which will allow them to partake in a modified version of tag.
As explained on the Nightmare Factory website, “Human players start out with a green tag and must survive by avoiding zombies and finding health kits or a healer … Zombies have red tags and seek out humans, Infection happens when a zombie player’s badge gets within 3 feet of a human player’s badge.”
The infected human must then find a health kit within a certain amount of time or they, too, will become a zombie. Tags are for the players to keep, and they can re-enter the haunt to play again for a reduced price.
For those seeking to be scared to death or who just want to make it out alive, the Nightmare Factory offers intensity levels for everyone.
However, for those with heart conditions, seizures and asthma the Nightmare Factory has a special warning; “Fog machines, strobe lights, specialty lights and high startles in use!”
For more details or to purchase tickets, visit nightmarefactorysalem.com or call 503-378-3825.
Regular admission tickets are $15, VIP tickets — which reduce wait time on busy nights — are $25 and tickets for Mr. Booger’s Wild Ride are $40. Tickets for the Wild Ride must be purchased in advance.
Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu
