It was a dark, gloomy October night. A full moon was above and loud screams filled the air as vampires, werewolves, clowns, the dead and new nightmares roamed around aimlessly with make-up covering their faces. Some feared them, but others willingly approached them.                                                                                                              

Callson Manor is a haunted house park with different attractions, or “haunts,” at the Placer County Fairgrounds. There are seven different haunted houses: The Human Harvest, The Chamber, Asylum Infection, Darkness Six Feet Under, Cirque Du Fantasy, 3-D Demented, Panic and The Tavern.

Each haunted house has different characters and environments whether it is going into a torture chamber or being chased by zombies.

“I like the Asylum haunted house because there were a lot of girls chasing me, saying my name and asking me if I wanted to play,” Ella Stanberry said.

Stanberry went to the haunted house for her first time and was positive about her experience there.

“I would say it was a nine out of 10 for scary level. I would go there again because it was really fun. It was definitely worth the money. It was fun because it got your heart racing,” Stanberry said.

Besides the haunted houses, the park also includes fire dancing shows, “Carn-Evil” games and carnival food. Even while waiting in line, there are actors dressed in costumes to scare unsuspecting customers.

Jace Arnswald has worked there since the haunted house opened six years ago.

“Fridays are busy and it’s because many people don’t have work or school the next day. Callson is different this year because we lost our last makeup team that was run by a ‘Face Off’ winning makeup artist named Nicole. Also, a lot of the mazes have new designs and sets. There’s around the same amount of [customers] as last year,” said Arnswald.

Erin Carpenter, who is working there for the second time, feels as if being an actor also has a social aspect to it.

Carpenter said, “There’s a lot of people there. Everyone gets assigned their favorite role, and all the actors come and get their costumes and make-up and we all kind of bond before we get to go out. This is my second year working there. It’s the same, but there are fewer actors this year because not everyone knows that it’s voluntary work.”

by BELLA JACOBS & BENJAMIN KIM