Are We There Yet?

Get your fright on at one of these haunted houses around Arkansas

As scary as the real world can be, it perhaps seems odd that so many people want to be scared even more -- and will pay good money to be thrilled and chilled, especially around Halloween.

But we evidently do -- as long as the danger is only make-believe. The shivery pleasures of being mock-terrified surely account for the perennial popularity of horror movies with their slashers, zombies and other monsters. It also explains the allure of the haunted houses and similar spooky attractions that materialize every October in Arkansas and elsewhere.

Here's a sampler of scary sites in business this weekend and in most cases through Halloween night on Tuesday. Admission fees vary, with prices mostly between $5 and $20. It makes sense to call ahead or check the website to confirm ticket costs, along with opening days and hours (typically 7 p.m. to midnight). The special effects are likely to be too intense for young children.

Fear Factory 501, 25120 Arkansas 107, Jacksonville, fearfactory.com, (501) 912-7976. The haunters here aim to "use our creativity when it comes to our scare attractions to tap into the deeply rooted fears in all humans." The "factory" actually looks more like a wooden stockade. The inside is packed with frightening surprises from proprietors who say they are "constantly updating our scare tactics, costumes, themes and technology."

The Frightening, 1100 W. Main St., Heber Springs, the-frightening.ticketleap.com, (501) 362-2444. Operating to help worthwhile causes in Cleburne County, this haunted house is set up in a different location annually. The 2017 beneficiary is Heber Springs Humane Society. New to the attraction this year is an escape room, which will give participants only 12 minutes to free themselves, a more challenging time frame than the typical hour.

Haunted House of Conway, 150 Arkansas 286 East, Conway, creepyworks.com, (501) 472-2325. This haunted venue makes a jocular promise to provide "a whole host of Southern inhospitality," adding that "you will be looking to leave just as quickly as you enter." As presumably a caution and an enticement, its website warns that "this house contains explicit scenes of brutal violence and gore. It contains strong terror, and is considered extremely intense, realistic and terrifying."

The Haunted Theater, 306 W. Main St., Blytheville, artsmissco.org/the-haunted-theater, (479) 203-7345. Paying customers at this Halloween site help finance children's programming and other activities for the Arts Council of Mississippi County. The setting is downtown Blytheville's vintage Ritz Civic Center, which some locals believe is actually haunted. A kid-friendly room is set up for youngsters to watch movies or color while grown-ups do the scary stuff.

Nightmares Haunted House, 13080 U.S. 71, Bentonville, nightmareshauntedhouse.org, (479) 270-1313. Started in 1987 as a haunted hayride, this evening of thrills and chills helps raise charitable funds for the Bentonville Breakfast Lions Club. Along with the custom-built haunted house, the attraction includes what is advertised as "a scary bus ride complete with a movie playing and a crazy bus driver who makes the ride feel like a roller coaster."

The Torture Chamber, 706 Center St., Benton, torturechamberbenton.com, (501) 315-8300. This is scheduled to be the last go-around for the gruesomely named Torture Chamber, which operates in a former veneer-manufacturing plant. The experience is described as "extremely graphic, gory and is self-guided. It is not recommended for children. But because this is the final year, no one will be turned away." Some crouching and crawling is involved.

• Scare seekers living in Little Rock or North Little Rock can get their Halloween thrills and chills close to home at several sites. They include Terrorplex Haunted House, 10800 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock; Haunted Cathedral, 1208 Louisiana, Little Rock; The Haunted Hotel, 3400 Brown St., Little Rock; and Reaper Haunted House, 6016 Crystal Hill Road, North Little Rock.

Weekend on 10/26/2017

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