By:Ashton Newton Freelancer
With Halloween just around the corner, children everywhere are preparing their costumes to go out and trick-or-treat all over the country.
For those of us who are too old to take candy from strangers, we’re still searching for ways to get absolutely terrified. Luckily, the Oregon School for the Deaf (OSD) has you covered with their annual haunted house, The Nightmare Factory, which started back up on Oct. 2, 2015 and runs to Nov. 7, 2015.
With the help of student and outside volunteers, the OSD puts on a truly scary and memorable haunted house.
This Salem-based haunted house, put on as a fundraiser for the OSD, has a new terrifying theme each year that promises to keep you up at night in fear. This year is special though, with two haunted houses in one.
The two themes are a zombie infested “Warehouse 27,” and “Mr. Boogers Fun House.” If you’re feeling extra brave though, the last two nights of the haunted house, Nov. 6 and 7, will be completely pitch dark, with only a single glow-stick provided for light. And if even that isn’t enough for you, you can have yourself strapped into a wheelchair and taken through the haunted house with “Mr. Booger’s Wild Ride.”
Kristin Galvin, sister of co-director Kivo LeFevre, helps run the Nightmare Factory alongside her son Riky and other co-director Ed Roberts.
“Nightmare Factory started 28 years ago with boy’s dorm school counselor Ed Roberts and 13 year old student Kivo LeFevre,” says Galvin. “Ed, aka Candy in this year’s haunted house, directs the zombies and Kivo, aka Mr. Booger, directs the clown area,” Galvin said.
In 2010, the Nightmare Factory received national recognition when the OSD was on Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
Each year, the Nightmare Factory changes themes and floor plans. The themes are decided on by directors Roberts and LeFevre. After the theme is decided on, the walls are moved and painted and preparation for the haunted house begins.
When asked what her favorite part of doing the Nightmare Factory was, Galvin said, “For me personally, being involved with the haunt gives me a chance to spend some great time with my brother Kivo and my son Riky. I’ve also discovered an acting side of myself that I’ve never explored and love the evolution of Dr. Howlina.”
She jokes that a family that haunts together, stays together.
