Who doesn’t love Halloween? The costumes, trick-or-treating, and spooky settings appeal to so many of our psychological needs, such as the thrill of feeling like a different person through disguise, the exhilarating dopamine release of scary (but still perfectly safe) situations, and the satiating enjoyment of sugary sweets.
Kids of all ages can get all three needs met at the SLO Elks Lodge‘s annual Haunted House and Halloween Carnival held on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27 and 28, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 222 Elks Lane. It’s free and open to the public. In addition, candy, hot dogs, and freshly popped popcorn are also free, and the Elks Lodge is turning all its standup video games to free mode.
“All the 40-year-old dads will be playing Donkey Kong and Pac Man,” Elks Lodge Secretary Nancy Lewelling joked. “In addition to the haunted house, we’ll have a minors’ maze for the little-little ones. It’s not scary and there are little spots for them to stick their faces through and get pictures. And the carnival isn’t scary—just pure fun.”
Which brings us to the main attraction, the haunted house, which is very scary! This year’s theme is The Lost Souls Lodge, designed as a 1920s or ’30s haunted hotel with a lobby, a hallway with elevators, a library, a bar, a ballroom, a pool deck with a “pool,” and a spider-infested haunted forest. Can your kids make it through without being paralyzed with fear?
“I have 9-year-olds who are actors inside of it,” Lewelling noted, “but I’d be wary under 7. Gauge your own child, and if their tolerance is high, they’re going to be fine.”
“Everyone has a different barometer,” CL Smith Elementary School Librarian and haunted house actor Danielle Bagnall added. “I have second graders who say, ‘My favorite book is [Stephen King’s] It,’ so it depends on the kid. Some have a high tolerance for scares.”
Be warned: There is some gore such as severed limbs, and some jump scares, but the actors are all trained to observe attendees, and all along the multi-roomed route, there are escape passages in every room to quickly move overwhelmed kids out of harm’s way.
“Our intention is to scare. I’ve had full-grown adults walk into the first room and go, ‘Oh no,’ and walk out. That’s a wonderful feeling,” Lewelling laughed.
“Last year I walked through it with the lights on just to see it because I’m a scaredy-cat, and I would never go through it if the lights were off,” Bagnall admitted, and yet she’ll be in there dressed as a skeletal mermaid. “I was a theater major, so I love to scare and make people feel things. I just don’t want to have those things put upon me.”
The haunted house is extensive and requires about 20 construction volunteers to build over three days, followed by five days of decorating, and the event itself requires 150 volunteers to run. Lewelling believes the Elks’ haunted house is the largest free haunted house in the county. Pre-COVID, they had around 3,500 people come through. Last year they had about 1,800.
“It’s a fun, safe place for people to bring their kids for free,” Lewelling added.
At the same time, the Elks Lodge is hosting its annual Soccer Shoot, so if kids ages
6 through 13 want to compete at kicking soccer goals, they can enter in four age brackets, winners are invited to go on to the district level, and kids don’t have to be lodge members to participate in this free event either.
Fast fact
• The city of San Luis Obispo will have free Halloween festivities at the Farmers’ Market on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 5 to 8 p.m., with trick-or-treating at businesses, a costume contest in Mission Plaza, and “Scary-oke” karaoke. SLO’s Parks and Recreation Department hosts a Boo Bash on Friday, Oct. 27, at Meadow Park from 5 to 9 p.m., with games, activities, and a haunted house attraction. DÃa De Los Muertos returns to the Mission Plaza on Sunday, Oct. 29, from 2 to 6 p.m., courtesy of the Latino Outreach Council, with Aztec dancers, Ballet Folklorico dancers, Mariachi Santa Cecilia, face painting, a costume contest, and altars/ofrendas. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Pet Issue 2023.