Horrorville Haunted House
300 Somerville Ave, Union Square
6-10 p.m. on October 26, 27, and 28 (This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)
$8 kids / $10 adults

Whether you're a little kid trying to hang with the big kids, a big kid acting tough to hide your tears, or an adult who just loves to get freaked out, haunted houses are an essential part of the Halloween experience. Haunted house enthusiast Matthew Martino was disappointed that Somerville didn't have a haunted house of its own. Rather than complain, he did something about it. His all-new Horrorville Haunted House features "neighborhoods" of monsters that evoke the different neighborhoods of Somerville, and it's sure to be the most "wicked" way to get scared this Halloween season. Read on to find out just how one goes about starting a haunted house, as well as whether or not you'll be too scared to stay in Horrorville this weekend!

A background in theatre sets and lighting design gave Matthew Martino the necessary skills to assist in creating some haunted houses in Massachussets and North Carolina, including the Nottingham Dungeon in Gloucester's Hammond Castle. After helping build and participate in several haunted houses over the years, Martino was almost ready to make his own. Almost.

You probably didn't know about HAuNTcon, the Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow & Convention. Neither did we, until we talked to Martino. But like any hobby or profession, haunted houses ('scuse us, haunted attractions) do indeed have their own convention. HAuNTcon 2007 took place in Detroit, and Martino attended to learn the business side of running a haunted house.

In addition to "Haunt Ed" seminars on everything from marketing to "styrofoam masonry" to pneumatics to airbrushing, HAuNTcon 2007 featured a hearse and parade car show, monster make-up wars, and a haunted attraction costume ball. But that's not all--attendees at HAuNTcon 2007 were also blessed with the chance to experience Erebus, the world's largest haunted house. A four-story wonder with no end of terrifying twists and turns, Erebus is as big as it is frightening. Filled with A-level animatronics (as good as Disney's!), giant monsters jumping out at you, and stellar special effects, Erebus is definitely a haunted house like no other.

We can't all have an Erebus in our backyard, but we can have a pretty rad haunted house of our own in Somerville. Martino led the charge to create this super-scary structure, renting the building at 300 Somerville Ave for the month of October, recruiting staffers to scare you, and getting the necessary approval from the fire marshal and other officials in order to create a superb haunted house in Somerville. Rest assured there are a safe amount of exits in the house if escape should be necessitated by fire--or fright (though there's no fright marshal in Somerville, sadly).

Horrorville's only been open for two nights thus far, but they've already had several patrons get freaked enough to leave before making it all the way through, so you know it's seriously scary! The Horrorville haunted house will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. all weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights), so sidle on down to Somerville to get frightened out of your mind. If you don't make it more than halfway through the house, you might be able to get your money back, so even super scaredy cats can give it a try.

Though some people have had difficulty getting through the house, Martino doesn't think it's too terrifying--there's some scariness, but the workers try to be a bit funny and tongue in cheek as well. Martino calls it a "good combination of humor and scariness" that can be fun for the whole family, if perhaps not the littlest ones.

Martino loves Halloween because it's the one day a year when we're "allowed to do something different," like dress up in crazy costumes and create horrifying haunted houses. Halloween is a refreshing change from the everyday, which we all need from time to time. So suit up in your best costume this weekend and head out to the Horrorville Haunted House in Somerville for an authentic Halloween haunted house experience!