It’s Halloween season, and if you are looking for a unique haunted attraction, Fright for Future might be just the thing. Instead of ghosts, ghouls and monsters to jump out and scare you, you’ll experience a haunted maze of real-world horrors inspired by climate change, animal cruelty and pollution.
Haunted attraction with a social message
“Fright for Future is a haunted maze of true terror, bringing scary issues concerning people, our planet and animals to light this Halloween,” Jaidacyn Madrigal explains. “It addresses a variety of issues concerning the environment, human rights issues and the animal rights issues throughout the maze. And it's truly scary, and it's super fun.”
Neither Fright for Future nor its creator is what you might expect. Madrigal is a bright and bubbly young woman who is dead serious about environmental activism. She first learned about climate change during her senior year in high school and then minored in Environmental Studies in college. She now works at San Diego 350, a climate action organization. But her activism extends to human and animal rights.
So she had an idea.
“What can I do to educate people about these issues in a fun way?” Madrigal said. “I think education a lot of times is just learning from a book or being taught in school. And I think it's way more fun to be educated in a cool way and to be able to take action. So how can I connect deforestation with a horror that people recognize? So for example, one of the attractions is the 'Chainsaw Massacre,' but instead of a massacre of people, it's a massacre of trees and of our forests. The full name is the 'Amazon Rainforest Chainsaw Massacre.' So it talks about the animal agriculture industry and its effect on our environment. And people recognize that as horror. There are 20 different attractions, 20 different issues in 20 different sections.”
I explain to Madrigal that I turn to the horror genre to escape the real world. Horror movies and haunted houses are like comfort food for me. But Fright for Future does not want to offer comfort. It wants to scare me with true terrors.
“Yes,” Madrigal responded with a laugh of delight at my discomfort. “That's the best part is getting people's reactions at the end. It’s really interesting to see what people connect with. A lot of people last year thought that the witches' cauldron exhibit was really cool and unique because they've never really heard about animals used in our cosmetic industry. I think the Dead Sea, about plastic pollution, also really got to a lot of people. And then our Butcher Shop and our cages, about the chicken industry and the beef industry, and so that one was pretty impactful because we have videos showing it. I think people were like, 'Oh, wow, I didn't realize that the industry was so bad.' And then afterwards, we do have a take-action section. So when people complete the maze, they get to talk to the different organizations tabling. We also have a section that's a fortune teller. So it's like, 'take control of your future,' right? Participants fill out a piece of paper, like a pledge of what they're going to do to take action after walking through the maze.”
John Hansen has been helping Madrigal since the haunt started four years ago as a very small, DIY attraction. Having just been a scare actor for a night at The Haunted Trail, I wondered how working in a haunt of true terrors felt. Was it fun, or was it anxiety-inducing to be around all these real-world horrors?
“Surprisingly, it's not as depressing as it may seem off the bat,” Hansen said. “You go in and you're engaged. And instead of going to a haunted maze where you want to run through because you're getting chased by people, you actually want to stop and engage with it and learn a little bit about what's around you and how it's being presented. I think that's one of the interesting parts about Fright for Future is all these conceptual things that are very abstract and people talk about all the time. They're actually in your face, literally as a physical horror. It's a very unique educational opportunity.”
Hansen studied marine biology, and that's how he got involved in environmentalism.
“So when I set up attractions like the Dead Sea or the Ghost Netting Exhibit, those are stuff that resonate with me in particular because these are actual hazards to marine life,” Hansen explained. "To put people in those situations that the animals find themselves in is a very eye-opening experience that not a lot of people can get otherwise.”
Both Madrigal and Hansen described themselves as big horror fans. Madrigal grew up on Hallmark and Disney movies but came to love horror and slasher films later in life. She loves creating the exhibits and fabricated some of the props for the maze.
But she noted, “Oh, my goodness, we don't even have to watch a horror movie — we're living in a horror movie sometimes.”
Hansen added, “It's interesting going to Fright for Future and seeing these iconic horror villains come to life, but for a different cause. Just step onto a slaughterhouse floor, which we're used to in things like The Haunted Trail or Haunted Hotel. But this time, you know that it's a real place. And you know every time you go to the grocery store and see the meat out there that that's what happened. And to have that connection to reality, it's a little more visceral.”
If you are looking for something visceral and truly terrifying, check out Fright for the Future: Haunted Maze of True Terrors. It is free (but you need to reserve tickets) and runs the last two weekends in October at 37ECB on El Cajon Blvd.
More spooky options in San Diego
As someone who loves the Halloween season and suffers from extreme FOMO over all the options, here are some suggestions to tempt you:
In San Diego, check out the scares at The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park and The Haunted Amusement Park, located at the old Marshall Scotty’s Playland Park in El Cajon (where I used to celebrate my birthday and get pony rides!). Both run through Nov. 1, but book tickets early — they do sell out.
If you prefer literary horror, Write Out Loud’s Poe and More Poe at the historic Villa Montezuma Museum (1925 K St.) starts Oct. 17 and runs for three weekends. The performances are wonderfully macabre and atmospheric.
At Tenth Avenue Arts Center, there is an Ed Wood birthday screening of Bride of the Monster Friday, plus the return of Evil Dead: The Musical Oct. 23 to Nov. 1 (I highly recommend sitting in the splatter zone). Ask about the ghosts reportedly residing in the building, including the spirit of a young girl on the fourth-floor stairwell. There used to be a horror film festival there, and people would often stop on that floor and say they felt something. Here’s a story I did more than a decade ago after spending the night in the building with a paranormal investigator.
On Oct. 18, enjoy Haunted Hangar Halloween Bash on the Hangar Deck of USS Midway Museum. I am not sure what this family-friendly event will entail but I enjoyed a fabulous tour of the ship with guides explaining all the haunted areas. While this event probably won't include a full tour like that, definitely ask about the ghostly history of the ship. There are some creepy nooks and crannies in that massive vessel.
A Haunting in Venice Cruise is already booked through Oct. 25, but tickets are still available for the last week of the month. This is more for a Halloween romance, as phantom gondoliers take you on a cruise through the eerie canals and spooky waterways of the Coronado Cays.
You can explore haunted San Diego any time at the Whaley House, and I recommend the After Hours Paranormal Investigation. Or try the Haunted San Diego Ghost Tours, which offers several ghost-hunting options, taking you from Old Town to Sherman Heights/Golden Hill, then to haunted Gaslamp District/downtown (I had a ghostly experience at the Grant Hotel), and finally returning to El Campo Santo Cemetery in Old Town. Other options include Ghosts and Gravestones of San Diego and San Diego Ghosts, which also offer tours and haunted info on their websites.
I could not find a specific tour of Proctor Valley Road, but its seven-plus-mile stretch is said to be haunted with urban legends about a Proctor Valley Monster (here’s an article from The Reader). Hidden San Diego has pointers for planning your own tour, and Boom Studios has a comic devoted to the site called “Proctor Valley Road,” created by Grant Morrison, Alex Child and Naomi Franquiz. It’s a chilling horror series about mysterious monsters and four misfit teenagers who must stop them.
For bike riders, Sam Lopez of Stay Strange San Diego offered up the 3rd Annual Cemetery Creep on Saturday, Oct. 25, from Street Creep San Diego. Meet the Creeps at Dark Horse Coffee on 30th and North Park Way by 10 a.m., then creep to Mt. Hope Cemetery. All bikes are welcome. The ride is 75% flat but be prepared for a few hills. Costumes are highly encouraged.
For post-Halloween fun, Lopez also recommends Noche de Muertos on Nov. 15 at the Black Cat Bar in City Heights. It's a night of live music focusing on the spirituality and mystery of the afterlife: Sleep as a Form of Escape lulls listeners into a nightmarish trance through a dark ambience of hellish synthesizers; Muerte En Aceite from Tijuana, Mexico, teases immortality with harsh industrial shards of rhythm and noise; and The Sorcerer Family channels the dead via rituals of electric ukulele and ghostly incantations.
Horror-themed film events
On Oct. 11, Morricone Youth will perform a live score to Alfred Hitchcock’s silent film “The Lodger” at Panama 66. If you want something truly unique and amazing, this is it. I've seen Morricone Youth do a live score to “Mad Max” at the Oceanside Film Festival, and it was brilliant.
On Oct. 12, Film Geeks SD presents its next International Horror entry: an Argentine double feature, "Terrified" (2017) and "Plaga Zombies: Zona Mutante" (2001). First, Demián Rugna’s “Terrified” will seriously disturb you (Rugna traumatized audiences with “When Evil Lurks”), and then you can delight in the ridiculous DIY gorefest of “Plaga Zombies: Zona Mutante” from Pablo Parés and Hernán Sáez. It’s a perfectly balanced horror double bill, plus you get an Argentine dessert and zombie brains (made by me).
FilmOut San Diego serves up a pair of dystopian action classics with Walter Hill’s “The Warriors” (1979) and John Carpenter’s “Escape From New York” (1981) together on the big screen. This dream combo comes Oct. 15 at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center.
On Oct. 18, Film Geeks SD and Bonkers Ass Cinema present the 10th Anniversary Dude Bro Party Massacre III event. Co-directors Michael Rousselet and Tomm Jacobsen will be on hand for a Q&A after the first screening and then will do a live commentary for the second screening. The film offers a satirical twist on the gory and sexually charged 1980s slasher genre and is presented as the only surviving VHS copy of the franchise’s third and final installment.
Bonkers Half-Assed Midnight presents "Mausoleum" (1983) on Oct. 25, with a special intro and themed drink from Phil Deglass of flixology101. “Mausoleum” is a maxed-out mix of 1980s supernatural horror and slasher excess, featuring imaginative death scenes orchestrated by effects wizard John Carl Buechler (“Re-Animator”).
DGC Video continues its Hexes and Woes: Ladies of the Occult with “The Love Witch” (2016) and “The Craft” (1996) coming up on the next two Tuesdays. Shoutout to Digital Gym Cinema for its continued commitment to curated cinema. Its monthly DGC Video is very much like the old video store staff picks.
Digital Gym Cinema will also host:
- "Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror" (Oct. 10-16)
- Burke Revival Film & Discussion Series: Guillermo Del Toro’s "Pan’s Labyrinth" (Oct. 16)
- "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass" (Oct. 17-23) from the audacious Quay Brothers
- Del Toro's "Frankenstein" (Oct. 24-30)
The Halloween Film Fest returns to Cinema Under the Stars for its second year of curated shorts on Halloween night.
Haunted experiences outside San Diego
On Oct. 12, the passionate folks from See It On 16mm and Trash-Mex present "100 Cries of Terror" (1965), a classic Mexican horror anthology by Ramón Obón, shown on glorious 16mm film. It's a two-part experiment in terror! Screening takes place at the very cool The Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles.
Delusion: Harrowing of Hell, running through Nov. 9 at Variety Arts Theater (940 Figueroa St., L.A.), offers an immersive horror attraction. They take over a location and create a site specific event that is bold, creative, clever and just wicked fun.
Zombie Joe’s Urban Death, through Nov. 1 (4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood), also offers immersive theatre but it’s adults-only. It’s part body horror burlesque, part haunted house and part pure insanity. It’s wildly audacious, wholly original and definitely not for the faint of heart.
I am sure I am just scratching the surface, but at least it’s a spooky starting point.
