PORT TOWNSEND — Hauntownsend, Carnival of the Twilight, which opens Thursday, is perhaps not the best place for a first date.
“Last year, a couple had their first date here, and it did not go well,” said Ted Krysinski, the event’s executive producer.
“He climbed over her to get out, she started cussing up a storm, and they left in separate cars.”
He paused, then reconsidered.
“If you do have a first date here, you can see what they’re made of,” he said.
In its third year, Hauntownsend is an all-out haunted house celebration meant to throw a healthy scare into its participants. Admission is $10.
It will operate from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for two weekends — Thursday through Saturday, and Friday, Oct. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 31.
Not for younger children
Any child under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Organizers said they don’t recommend the haunted house for children under the age of 14.
Located in the Horticulture Building at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St., the haunted house crams 17 fright-filled rooms into an 8,000-square-foot space.
The rooms are meant to exploit people’s fears, devoting space to the most common phobias: snakes, knives, dolls, confinement and darkness, to name a few.
“We just give you a suggestion of a fright, and your mind does the rest,” said Linda Driver Krysinski, who works next to her husband in all aspects of the design and implementation.
“What we do to you doesn’t compare to what you can do to yourself.”
Work on Hauntownsend takes more than six weeks, and begins just after the Jefferson County Fair ends and clears out of the building. The fair closed Aug. 15.
Planning, however, goes on all year, and the Krysinskis are already setting the stage for next year’s event.
“I’ve talked to people who really liked it last year but didn’t plan to do it again,” Krysinski said.
Completely different
“But this year, it is completely different.”
Hauntownsend isn’t a generic haunted house but follows a story line.
The premise is that a small train that takes passengers on a “dark ride” through a series of scary rooms has broken down, and the riders must make their way on foot through rooms where the “carnival freaks” await them.
Those freaks, who were Cabotini’s Traveling Carnival, have been trapped in time since the 1930s by a gypsy’s curse, the Hauntownsend website says.
Local actors play the parts.
Those who must wait in line will find an indoor seating and waiting area with free movies and concessions.
It took nearly 20 minutes to walk through the haunted maze, which is now under construction, as Krysinski pointed out all of the details.
Attendees — or “victims” — might take less than half that time to make it through.
“How long it takes depends on how scared you are,” Krysinski said.
“Some people fly right through . . . it’s not the quantity of time you spend in here, but the quality of the scare.”
Scared but safe
People like to be scared but also need to feel safe.
“You will be scared if you hear someone behind you in a parking lot and think you’re getting assaulted,” Krysinski said.
“You get scared here, but you know that nothing will really happen to you.”
All those involved are volunteers. The event is supported by donations, as well as the admission fee.
Proceeds will go toward the debt incurred for the venture’s start-up along with two charities, the Humane Society of Jefferson County and the Exponential Foundation, which Krysinski described as “a pay-it-forward group.”
In that spirit, Krysinski is paying back a favor from high school, when he was recruited into a theater class.
“It didn’t matter whether or not I got a job in theater because it gave me a direction I didn’t have before,” he said.
“I learned how to be an electrician, and that skill has helped me through life, and I will never be without a job.”
Krysinski passes his skill on to others, specifically Jarrod Spencer, an 18-year-old high school senior who has learned set construction and is one of the volunteers building Hauntownsend.
“When Jarrod came in here, he had no self-confidence; he wouldn’t speak clearly or look you in the eye,” Krysinski said.
“Now, he is more assured, he has a skill, can speak in public and can do a lot of other things.”
Krysinski worked on movies for 20 years before moving to Port Townsend, where he is now a deputy chief at East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, where he is in charge of training.
In some respects, he finds his volunteer efforts building Hauntownsend more rewarding than his day job saving lives.
“If someone calls me through 9-1-1, it is because they cannot solve their own problems,” he said.
“Out here, I can help kids learn a skill and a trade and get them on the right track, where it really makes a difference.”
Passes can be purchased online or at the door.
For more information, visit www.hauntownsend.com.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
