The folks at Screamfest 2008 — the haunted house show at White Rock Ostrich Farm on Fourth Line in Nassagaweya — are using technology to their advantage to make this the scariest year yet.

Working on the haunted residence since late summer, After Dark Productions’ owners John Platt, Richard Gehres and Paul Clinton are still getting their kicks from scaring visitors.

“Our favourite part of putting this show together is seeing the scares we’ve wickedly contrived have their intended effect,” said Platt. “There is so much satisfaction in seeing the reactions and hearing the screams.”

The group have been terrorizing people for decades, first with a sinisterly-decorated residential house and then as a professional show that started at White Rock in 2000 with the full support of the farm’s owners, Deb and Don Simmonds.

Each of them uses their unique talents with electronics and creativity combined with “very twisted minds” to make the haunted house the legend it has become, said Platt.

Attendance has grown to almost 3,000 a year. As Halloween falls on a Friday night this year, Platt is hoping for another great turnout.

Screamfest 2008 will open Friday, Oct. 17 and continue October 18, 24, 25, and 31, each day from 7 to 10 p. m.

This year, visitors will be greeted by a new animatronic skull that recites the rules of the haunted house as well as makes a few jokes. They can then have their picture taken in the electric chair, enjoy the warmth of the bonfire and a beverage, or wander through the ghostly graveyard, possibly running into the ‘Chainsaw Lunatic,’ said Platt.

“As our story goes, the haunted house is built on the grounds of an old insane asylum and now some of the former residents are escaping,” he laughed. “The ‘Chainsaw Lunatic’ was a big hit last year and this time around has brought a few more friends.”

Inside the frights continue as guests explore the numerous rooms that bear descriptive names such as the ‘Autopsy Room’ and the ‘Not-So-Living Room,’ where blood and gore abound.

To ensure the production’s success, Platt said it takes between 14 and 16 people costumed and behind the scenes to ensure operations run smoothly.

Now in its eighth year, the show’s popularity, Platt believes, lies with the continuous improvements and increasing use of technology. He said infrared cameras are now used and many of the props are operated from the control panel.

“We have installed infrared cameras but they serve a dual purpose. Not only are we able to monitor the visitors and how the equipment is working, but we also use the video tapes to see if certain scares are achieving the hoped reactions and we make improvements for the following year,” he said.

“The great part about the show now is that a lot of it is operated by the control panel where most of it before was basically fly by wire. Technology really allowed us to do so much more.”

Platt doesn’t need a fortune teller (although he’s hoping to have one in the show) to predict the group will continue Screamfest well into the future — and would like to see it expand.

“There are not many of these shows around and I can see us doing it for a long time as long as we are still having fun scaring the life out of people. I would like to see us get bigger and possibly combine with other shows and talent. But for now we are happy right where we are,” he said.

Platt added the show is extremely scary and not recommended for children under 8 years old, those with heart conditions, pregnant, or anyone afflicted by epilepsy (due to the use of strobe lights).

Admission costs $10 for children aged 8 to 11 years and $12 for those 12 years of age and older. A $1 off coupon is available on the website, www.screamfest.info . Groups of 20 or more are eligible for a discount through the website.