Solvang’s 31st annual haunted house is set to bring new scares to the Festival Theater this Friday and Saturday, blending classic frights with unsettling scenes — including a dark carnival — and other carefully crafted surprises.
The two-night event, hosted by Solvang Parks and Recreation, runs from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and serves as the finale of Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts & Happenings, a month-long series of Halloween-themed events.
This year’s theme, “Nightmares… They Never End,” sends guests through a handcrafted maze built to tap into common fears and phobias, including clowns. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under, with all proceeds supporting future department programs.
Parks and Recreation Director Jenny McClurg said the walkthrough is designed to startle rather than shock.
“All of our haunted houses are no blood, no gore,” McClurg said. “So it’s a fun scare, not a bloody scare.”
She said the first half hour, from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., is tailored for younger visitors, with fewer scare tactics and reduced loud noises.
Behind the Scares
Guests move through the experience in small groups of eight to 10, spaced several minutes apart to maintain the suspense. McClurg said the walkthrough takes about 20 minutes and follows a winding route through themed rooms and narrow corridors, with just enough disorientation to keep guests on edge.
“It just transforms — you step in and you’re transported to another place,” said Terri Simmons, marketing and events assistant for the City of Solvang, who’s helping out for a second year. “It becomes a world of its own with solid walls and fixtures. It’s an absolute construction.”
The haunted house’s design is led by Fred Lageman, a longtime events contractor for the city who’s been involved with the event since 1996. With an art background and a passion for Halloween, Lageman sketches out each year’s maze layout and scare plan, balancing fresh themes with reimagined materials.
“I improve a little bit each year,” he said. “The design and construction is one of the key parts — especially when you see how much the audience enjoys it.”
This year’s layout includes a mix of new and repurposed materials, from city-owned backdrops to retired stage pieces donated by PCPA. McClurg said many elements come from other city events and are reworked to fit the haunted house setting using props, lighting and effects.
The scares come from a mix of animatronic puppets, lighting and sound effects, and live performers hidden throughout the maze. McClurg said nearly all of the monsters and guides are volunteers, with only a handful of city staff involved in building and running the event. Guides lead each group through the maze, and McClurg said there’s still time to sign up.
“We always need guides,” she said. “The more guides we have, the better.”
She added that a few monster roles were also still open as of Tuesday.
“We have about five spots left,” McClurg said. “We only have so many hiding spots for them.”
For Simmons, the best part is seeing how people react once they’re inside.
“I heard more laughter than anything,” she said. “You hear the scream, and then the laughter right after — it’s like, ‘Oh, you got me.’ People go through again and again because it’s just that fun.”
More Halloween Happenings in Solvang
Parks and Recreation is also hosting a street fair alongside the haunted house, running from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights. The fair includes food trucks, face painting, games and a vendor market. Whiskey n Rye will serve food and drinks, with desserts from Lindsay’s Little Bakery.
Just down the block at 1639 Copenhagen Dr., the Solvang Visitors Center will feature a Spooktacular Evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. both nights, with trick-or-treating inside a transformed Danish “Heks Hus,” or witch house.
The Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch will also host a nighttime maze through its cornfield beginning at 5:30 p.m., with the last entry at 9 p.m. The experience is open Friday through Sunday and again on Halloween night.
