In the dimly lit hallway, it was impossible to tell whether the tall clown with a beckoning hand and shadowed eyes was going to move or not. When Ed Roberts turned a corner to find it waiting, he wondered aloud how it had gotten there. He swore it wasn’t there earlier that day.
“Is that a teenager?” your correspondent asked him, voice cracking with fear. She hadn’t yet come upon a live actor amongst the animatronics, and wasn’t sure she was ready to face one.
“I can assure you this: probably not,” Roberts said, grinning.
The interview with Roberts was conducted during Salem Reporter’s private tour of The Nightmare Factory, run by the Oregon School for the Deaf. In its 36th year, it’s the longest continuously running haunted house in the state, the school’s most profitable fundraiser and very scary.
And though Roberts loves a good scare — he giggled every time someone shrieked — the haunted house is so much more than that.
“This is a bridge between two worlds: the deaf and the hearing,” Roberts said.
The haunted house opens Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. and runs through early November. It’s located at the Oregon School for the Deaf campus, 999 Locust St. N.E. Tickets are available online, at the gate or by calling 503-378-3827.
Roberts moved from California to Oregon 36 years ago, taking a job at the School for the Deaf as a student life counselor. He had been a fan of haunted houses since 1970, when his 5th grade teacher had the class build their own crawl-through one out of cardboard. He thought putting one on could bring in some money for the school, which provides a barrier-free teaching environment to around 100 students. He was right.
The haunted house earned a modest sum when it opened in 1987, and the kids loved it. The next year, it moved to its permanent home in the 13,000 square foot basement of the boy’s dormitory, which at the time had dirt floors.
Roberts’ and co-mastermind Kivo LeFevre design the haunts every year, and are joined by dozens of Halloween fanatics, including parents and former students. Students learn how to design, build and act.
Every night, the line is packed with people coming from all over the state to get spooked. The Nightmare Factory has generated tens of thousands of dollars over the years, funding trips, scholarships, renovations and equipment for the school. A group of kids just returned from a trip to get acting lessons from deaf performers at Knott’s Scary Farm in California, and the school is also working to build a theater with the funds.
“We take care of the school, we take care of the kids. And make sure they have the same exposure to the world everyone else has,” Roberts said.
Their work has garnered national attention, including a spot on the television show “Extreme Makeover” in 2010.
Roberts, LeFevre and technical director Don Maxwell welcomed Salem Reporter to the house of horrors Tuesday night, two days before the house opened, for a tour with a reduced crew. Typically, 50 actors perform a night, but during the tour they concentrated about a dozen in one section of the house.
A journey through the house starts with stepping into an elevator which took around six months to build. Screens on all sides and the sound of rattling chains depict a descent into “Desolation Alley,” the first portion of the house largely designed by Roberts. He and LeFevre try to bring something new every year.
Students in an after-school program learn set design, lighting, makeup, costume design and storytelling to contribute to the horrors. Haunted houses are a visual language and art form, Roberts said, and designs ensure the actors have a line of sight to sign to each other.
Haunted houses are like walking through a movie, he said. Desolation Alley has fewer jump scares and a more classic haunted house theme, with scenes like animatronic scares, a smoke-filled chapel with skeletons in pews and a cannibal butcher. A former parent designed a section inspired by 19th-century serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Roberts stopped in front of a four poster bed with a skeleton lying in it. He pointed to it.
“This is a new piece, this year. Right here. Are you going to watch it?” he said, seeing your correspondent attempting to look anywhere but there. When the jump scare made the reporter shriek, he laughed. “It works.”
Another section replicated the aged bones and skulls of the catacombs, over 500 individual foam props made by Roberts and his students. Giving the kids skills they can use in their careers is one of the most impactful parts of his work, he said.
“Having kids come back and say, ‘gosh I can’t thank you enough, you and Kivo for all that you’ve taught us,’” he said.
Another impact is building bridges between the deaf and the hearing communities. He said many people have never met someone who is deaf or hard of hearing.
“None of my kids want pity. They just want to be on a level playing field. We have to make accommodations, like myself,” he said, referring to his mobility scooter.
At this point, he was waiting in front of the tall clown with the shadowed eyes, which turned out to be just a statue. It was at the threshold of “Mr. Booger’s Fun House,” the section designed by LeFevre. It’s named for LeFevre’s clown character, who has a signature laugh and a sidekick named Little Snot, played by his young son.
Somewhere in there, even deeper in the bowels of the maze, laughter sounded.
“Do you hear them laughing?,” Roberts said, giggling at his proteges. “You hear ‘em? Buggers. They know you’re coming.”
After a series of scares, students gathered in the backstage area for an interview. Sketched portraits of horror characters covered the walls, along with photographs of past costumes. A list of guidelines for the actors at the front of the room reminded them not to yell “boo,” and to take every opportunity they could to scare LeFevre.
Roberts interpreted for the students, who signed using American Sign Language.
Only one student has ever been able to scare Roberts, and he won’t share how. Kari Morgan said she’d be the one to do it this year. She’s looking forward to greeting guests opening night, and “hearing people yell like little kids.”
Students said LeFevre has taught them how to interact with people and to be safe.
Jexael Gonzalez-Sandoval has been working at the house for three years, and said his goal this year is to get more comfortable with acting.
“I’ve got the experience, but I’m always a little nervous that first day, that first time, then it’s just” — he exhaled, and relaxed in his chair — “more comfortable.”
Students said they’ve become one big family through the experience. Kyleigh O’Connell said it’s a chance to open her mind and be creative.
“To show that deaf people can do anything,” she said.
Roberts retires this year, but plans to return in future years to help with the haunted house. During the season, he’s usually working from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. each night. He called himself the luckiest person in the world.
“For me, it’s all about them,” he said, gesturing to the students in full costume.
The Nightmare Factory opens 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5. For dates and hours, see their website. Nov. 3 and 4 are the house’s pitch black nights, where groups will enter alone with nothing to light the way but a single glow stick.
Tickets are $20 for general admission, $30 for faster entry, $40 to be accompanied by a monster and skip the line. “Mr. Booger’s Birthday Treat” pass is new this year, $40 for a birthday person with regular admission for the group to be led by the clown with surprises in store from the cast.
Tickets are available online, at the haunt or by calling 503-378-3827.
No alcohol is permitted on campus, and any one under the influence or exhibiting unruly will not be permitted, according to the haunt rules.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-704-0355.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
