DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310069

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RACHAEL WAGNER, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   82 lines

HAPPY HORROR WEEN DON'T STAY HOME TONIGHT, HIT THE GHOUL CIRCUIT INSTEAD

ARE YOU TOO OLD to go trick-or-treating? Is staying home to pass out candy to every kid in your neighborhood not your idea of an exciting Halloween night? If you've waited until today to plan your celebration of the year's most terrifying holiday, you're in luck, because Hampton Roads is filled with places to go for a good scare.

One of the largest spookfests will take place at the Norfolk Botanical Garden tonight from 6:30 to 10. The Haunted Forest will include an illuminated display with more than 10,000 lights, a special area for youngsters, and a ``Beetlejuice'' stage show. Visitors also will be able to ride the ``Tram of Terror,'' which will take them through 50 frightening performances featuring more 300 live actors. You can pick up your ticket for the Haunted Forest for $6 at selected Twin-B Auto Parts stores. Children, ages three and under, are admitted for free. All profits from the Haunted Forest will be used for the charitable projects of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 48. For more information call 456-1545.

If you can't get tickets to the Haunted Forest, there are still other ways to get a shock outside. The Hunt Club Farm Market on London Bridge Road is sponsoring its annual Haunted Hayride. For $10 you can get a seat on the hayride, tour the Haunted Barn, and sing on the ``Scare-eoke Stage,'' and children 10 and under can do the same for only $7. The terror begins at 7 p.m.

Another journey through haunted woods is Taylor Farms' Dismal Haunts of the Swamp Hayride, which is complete with the usual Halloween fare, as well as 25-foot long anaconda snakes. Don't worry, they're fake. The Dismal Haunts Hayride will leave a $7 dent in your wallet if you want to go on the hayride and participate in other activities, but it's $3 if you skip the hayride. Taylor Farms will open its children's area at 5 p.m., but the hayrides won't start until after sunset. For more details on the Haunted Hayride call 459-4275, and for information about the Dismal Swamp Hayride call 427-6461.

There are also plenty of indoor scare-a-thons. Nightmare Mansion on Atlantic Avenue is planning a more elaborate show than usual for Halloween, with extra live actors and displays. ``Marilyn Monroe will be there, returned from the dead, or at least what's left of her,'' said owner James Johnson, 53.

The Haunted Fun House, also on Atlantic Avenue, is upping its scare quotient by adding to its 50 shocking displays. At the Haunted Fun House you can walk through the trees of the ``Ghostly Graveyard,'' which tower 30 feet overhead, and be terrorized by your favorite horror movie characters. Both haunted houses open at 7 p.m. and charge $4 per victim for admission. You can reach Nightmare Mansion at 428-FEAR, and the Haunted Fun House at 422-1742.

If you are interested in a more bizarre way to spend Halloween night, try the Mirror Maze or Rockin' Rosie's Fun House, both on Atlantic Avenue. Tonight, live actors are being added to the Mirror Maze, adding a terrifying edge to the confusing labyrinth of image-distorting mirrors. The guest of honor at Rockin' Rosie's Fun House will be Elvis Presley, and the Fun House crew claims that he's really been hiding there all these years. The earliest that you will be admitted to the two attractions is 7 p.m., for $4 a person. The Mirror Maze's telephone number is 425-5233, and for more information about Rockin' Rosie's Fun House call 425-LAFE.

Not all Halloween activities rely on horror movie characters or famous ghosts to frighten their patrons. If you're looking for a more sophisticated scare, check out the Royal London Wax Museum's Victorian Seance. For $13 you can be a participant in a one-hour show in which performers call spirits of the dead. The $13 charge also includes admission to the Wax Museum. Because there are only 13 places at the seance table, reservations are required. Arrange your set by contacting the Royal London Wax Museum at 491-6612. Show times are 6 to 8 p.m.

Get your toast, water guns, toilet paper, playing cards, birdseed and confetti, because tonight the cult hit ``The Rocky Horror Picture Show,'' is showing at the Naro Theater in Norfolk. Known for its audience participation, ``The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a movie and a play combined: live actors act out the parts of the characters in the movie while the audience members throw the aforementioned objects. If you want to join in but don't have time to buy all the things you will need, you can buy one of the Naro's prop kits for $2. The movie will play twice, once at 9:30 p.m. and again at 11:45 p.m. Admission is $5 per person. For additional information, call the Naro at 625-6276. MEMO: Rachael Wagner is a sophomore at Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia

Beach. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

The Rocky Horror Picture Show...

Norfolk Botanical Garden...

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