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Thrill Seekers line up outside the entrance to the Fremont Centre Theatre, remodeled as a spooky Mortuary for Evil Twins Studios' annual Haunted House at Fremont and El Centro streets in South Pasadena. The haunted house runs from 7-11pm throughout Halloween Weekend. (Ansis Hoheisel/Courier)
Thrill Seekers line up outside the entrance to the Fremont Centre Theatre, remodeled as a spooky Mortuary for Evil Twins Studios’ annual Haunted House at Fremont and El Centro streets in South Pasadena. The haunted house runs from 7-11pm throughout Halloween Weekend. (Ansis Hoheisel/Courier)

With the narrow street completely fogged over and the trees hanging over like a canopy, the sky was barely visible. Closer to the Mortuary, a woman could be seen staggering toward the crosswalk. She teetered on the edge of the sidewalk. Just on the verge of falling over into the street, she seemed almost drunk. A passerby got closer and she snarled and tried to bite them, causing them to scream. Her face was a blur of blacks and grays and there was blood running down the side of her mouth.

The dead were walking.

At the Fremont Center Theatre in South Pasadena, people are lining up to enter the Raymond Hill Mortuary Haunted House.

As guests wait to enter the mortuary, the walking dead surround them as they listen to the screams and terror coming from within. Gargoyles, ghouls and goblins rummaged through a small crypt just outside the mortuary, waiting to give people one last scare as they left screaming.

It was a chilling spectacle as small vignettes played out throughout the space telling the story of a mad mortician raising the dead. Guests are guided through a maze in small groups.

“It’s small groups, which you don’t get at like Knotts Scary Farm or Universal where everybody just kind of gets shoved in all at the same time. So all the scares are really good and well timed out,” said Suziey Block, a patron of the evening. “It reminds me of the haunted houses I used to go to as a kid. It’s memorable. They do a really good job.”

It’s just a haunted house; it’s not that scary, right? You can go in with your friends. You might not come out with them though.

“I really enjoy the odd separation, tight space kind of thing, which was kind of a rarity for me…I like going through the weird crawl space. I thought that was very interesting,” said Aaron Burt, a survivor of the Mortuary.

Not only is the Raymond Hill Mortuary Haunted House great fun, the event is a charity, and all of the proceeds of the event go towards the South Pasadena Education Foundation.

“We try to advertise it, ‘hey this is a charity haunt!’ but they think it’s a full on professional haunt. And while we like to think the quality is professional, we’re doing it as a charity event to raise money for the group,” said Todd Schroeder, one of the co-founders of the haunt. “We didn’t want to make money doing it. We wanted to give the money away.”

All of the guests ran out screaming and it was clear they got what they came for. It is a great evening of scares perfect for adults who want a truly unique horror experience without the crowds of a major theme park.

“I’m really happy that I stumbled upon this, this was really good. I’m surprised the line isn’t longer. It was amazing!” said Block.

The haunt will still run on Halloween, the 31st and November 1st.

Mick Donovan
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