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53 °F 5 Day Forecast Saturday, November 29, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 27, 2003 Cast members of Shriektoberfest greet visitors at the haunted warehouse at East Third and Front streets in Medford. Producers describe the attraction as �PG-13,� depending on your threshold of terror. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Ordinary by day, ghoul by night Actors at Shriektoberfest take a break from a variety of day jobs By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune By day, Medford resident Sean Sweeney is a fire extinguisher technician at Medford’s Fyr-Fyter Sales and Service. At night, he dons a creepy mask and ghoulish clothes and hides in the dark, hoping to scare small children and make grownups cry. Sweeney is one of two dozen actors for this year’s Shriektoberfest, a warehouse full of fright at East Third and Front streets in Medford. Produced by Mysterium Entertainment, the annual Halloween haunt is made up of volunteers who spend several months preparing a scene and concocting a plot. Last year introduced local haunt fans to Mysterium University. This year, a tour of the university is detoured through a haunted asylum where nightmares are studied. Advertisement While most of the staff hold ordinary, respectable day jobs, they relish gathering at the dark warehouse for their nighttime escape. "I’m the skeleton in the dark, inside the dark asylum," said Sweeney, who started last year working safety patrol at the Shriektoberfest. "I guess you could say I sort of crossed over. They put me in a spot where scares were easy. I’d open a door and just say, ‘Boo!’ I made one kid wet his pants. It was a beautiful thing. I know that sounds so sadistic, but it was just hilarious. My best words for it, it’s a beautiful thing." Sweeney, who has been slapped twice so far this year, explained that there are many reactions to a scare. "You get those that just stand there and freeze. You get those that shatter your eardrums and those that break into a full run. And then there are others who will kind of do it all," said Sweeney with a chuckle. Amanda Sonju, an imaging technician for Asante Health System, said the best scare she had ever caused as Professor Jane Psychosis was well-deserved. "There was an area inside where I was sitting down and a couple of kids who had been following me most of the night came up," she said. "I was on the floor sitting cross-legged, rocking back and forth. I hadn’t made a sound all night. They sat down just like me and were laughing and joking and being usual teenagers. ... One finally reached out to grab me and I looked up at him and just shrieked at the top of my lungs." Sonju said while patrons know they won’t be harmed, the atmosphere is easy to get caught up in. Asked if she ever felt bad, she answered, "My conscience tells me I should, but I really don’t. It’s just too funny." Retired grandmother Sally Wines of Medford, playing Gangrene Baypacker, said the funniest thing was to see grown-ups backed against a wall in terror. The crybabies, she admitted, made her feel bad, though. "Every once in awhile we get a little crybaby coming through � I had a 12-year-old that was a real crybaby last week and I felt so bad about it. If they’re really bad and really scream, I’ll stop and talk to them and try to convince them it’s all imaginary." While patrons wrapped around the corner of Front Street Saturday realized they were buying tickets to see something most definitely imaginary, that didn’t stop them from jumping when screams rang out from inside. And those who ran screaming out the exit, chased by the crazy Dr. Matthews with a bone saw, were sure it was all a gag. "It was like they were gonna touch you and you didn’t wanna catch whatever crazy disease they had," said 11-year-old Megan Osterhout of Medford, trying to catch her breath. Medford father Mike Running, who walked out laughing behind three screaming kids, including 13-year-old daughter Marlee, said the actors were realistic enough. "The guy at the end was the scariest, but then you kind of know he’s coming," said Running. "It was a long wait but the actors are all very good. They really stayed in character." While it’s usually the patrons who catch the brunt of the scare, occasionally things backfire. "Last year," remembered Sweeney, "some lady lifted my mask and said, "Are you real?’ Then she stuck both her fingers in my eyes. Man that hurt. She had these big claws on the ends of her fingers and she cut my nose. ... I just stepped back in pain and said, ‘Come on lady. How many skeletons have you seen that could talk?’ " Two haunts open Tuesday This year’s Shriektoberfest features two haunts: "The Dark Asylum" and "The Nightmare Chamber," both at East Third and Front streets in Medford, opening at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Halloween. Admission for both is $12 for adults and $10 for kids shorter than 50 inches tall. Production director Robin Downward described the haunt as "PG-13." "Kids as little as 3 have a great time, but some adults ran out screaming and some people wet their pants," Downward said. "It all depends on the person’s threshold of terror." Coupons for $1 off on tickets are available at all area Minute Markets, Magic Man in Bear Creek Plaza and at Black Oak and Shady Cove pharmacies. For every coupon redeemed, $1 will be donated to local Sparrow Clubs to help children with special medical problems. The event is sponsored by KZZE and KISS radio stations. For more information, see www.ampevents.net Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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