SAUGUS — A pair of Saugonians are transforming the basement of the historic MEG Building into a nightmare on Essex Street.
For the eighth year, Mark Andrews and Bob Catinazzo have created a spooky attraction in the basement of the former school that is expected to elicit screams from people of all ages. The show will open Friday at 6 p.m. and will also run Saturday, Oct. 20, Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Oct. 27.
Andrews and Catinazzo have spent days creating props, choosing costumes, and deciding how to best use the basement rooms with cold brick walls, cement floors, and steel doors. There is not a common theme throughout the haunted house this year, but Andrews and Catinazzo have mastered using lighting, sound, and other elements to create the ultimate scare.
“Give me music and lights and I can scare anybody,” said Catinazzo. “That’s my favorite.”
From a dark forest on a stormy night to a gory torture chamber with bodies strewn about, this year’s attraction has something for everyone. In one room, guests will need to wear 3D glasses to experience hidden frights. In another, the Pepper’s ghost illusion technique will be used to catch them off guard.
The annual haunted house started in 2006 when Andrews was renovating his basement and decided to paint the walls black and create a haunted house. The next year, the maze was moved to his backyard and children from the Lynnhurst Elementary School were invited to walk through.
More people began to show up for a fright each year and eventually Andrews sought a larger space, landing at the MEG in 2011.
Andrews is the mastermind behind creative new designs and always tries to go above and beyond what he’s done in the past, while Catinazzo typically plays the main role in the haunted scenes and helps keep teens who volunteer as actors on track. Saugus High School students can log community service hours while working.
Tickets cost $5 and the profits will be divided among the MEG Foundation, Saugus High School’s Drama Club, and the family of Saugus High School Class of 1987 graduate Kevin Wortman, who died earlier this year.
