A haunting host

Elise Gee

Dave Lewis will be happy to dole out Halloween candy Friday at Families

Costa Mesa’s Haunted House, but only if trick-or-treaters brave the

“butcher room.”

However, after seeing the “bloody” walls illuminated by red and black

lights, some might question if the trek into the gory room is really Mars

Bar-worthy.

Lewis, an intern at the nonprofit organization, spent Thursday

transforming the offices of Families Costa Mesa into a stomping ground

for ghosts and ghouls. The Haunted House will be open to the neighborhood

tonight.

It marks the first time Families Costa Mesa has offered a haunted house,

but Lewis has been designing them since he was 10 years old. He started

in the garage of his family home.

“I don’t know why I started doing this. I think it’s fun,” said Lewis as

he stapled black garbage bags to the ceiling of the office.

His endeavors have grown in sophistication. Instead of white sheets and a

few props, Lewis attempts to create the perfect scary ambience with a

combination of visual effects, strobe lights and heart-pounding music and

noises.

The Haunted House at Families Costa Mesa will offer a maze of scary

scenes from graveyards to a poltergeist room. Costumed actors will be

interspersed throughout the maze; young children will be offered a

toned-down version.

Magdalena Hernandez, who is on the family support staff at Families, said

decorating the Haunted House was helping her gain the courage to go

through the house herself.

“I’ve never been in a haunted house before,” she said. “I’ve always been

too scared.”

The Haunted House is open to the public from 6 to 9 p.m. at Families

Costa Mesa, 777 W. 19th Street, Suite R.