Salem's "haunted house" has been scaring visitors for over 30 years

(OCTOBER 17, 2019) Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. Children often wear costumes and go trick-or-treating, which means going from door to door asking neighbors for candy.

Halloween is also a time to share scary stories about ghosts, zombies, crazy clowns, and monsters. People try to frighten each other. Many communities have a "haunted house" event. Visitors walk through rooms of a building where they encounter strange and scary things. However, there is more fun than fear.

The Nightmare Factory is Oregon's longest-running haunted house. It started 32 years ago. It is in the basement of a building on the campus of the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem.

Students from the school work with people from the community to create the event. Many perform in the show. Thousands of people attend each year. The money from the ticket sales helps to buy computers, pay for school trips, and even replace a gym floor.

Ed Roberts started the Nightmare Factory in 1987. He told the Statesman Journal newspaper that it has grown a lot. "It has become more than just a haunted house," he said. "It teaches skills to our students, and it shows the hearing world what … the deaf community can do."

The Nightmare Factory haunted house is open most evenings through November 2. Tickets cost $15-$25. It takes about 20-35 minutes to walk through the space.