CREEP COUNTRY HORROR HOUSE HIDES BLOODY SURPRISES.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - Halloween thrill-seekers can enter the mind of a serial killer - where blood-splattered bodies, grotesque monsters and bizarre death machines lurk around every corner - when the Haunted Knightmare Mansion opens tonight in Canyon Country.

Three levels of terror will be offered: a relatively mild kids' show, a moderately scary teen's show and an extreme show for those 17 or older.

``People love horror because they want to escape reality and go to these funky, weird places they've never seen before,'' said Edward Marks, designer and producer of the haunted mansion. ``And it's the ultimate second or third date. At some point, the girl's head will be somewhere under the guy's arm.''

An emergency medical technician will be on duty to assist the severely horror-stricken, Marks said.

The haunted mansion follows the story of Sammy Edwards, an evil Ferris wheel operator who commits a series of grisly murders along the circus trail. He ultimately ends up in the lab of Dr. Knightmare, who recovers images from the unconscious through his dream monitor. When Edwards is attached to the device, however, the lab explodes while the mansion's exterior remains intact.

Legend has it that the gruesome images from Edwards' twisted subconscious mind have been locked inside the mansion ever since. The doors of the mansion will open to the public for the first time at 6 tonight.

Marks, who created the story, said he included images that are universally scary - such as killer clowns, rotting corpses that come to life and headless bodies that walk among piles of gore.

In one of the most dramatic displays, an actor slices up bodies with a chain saw as a bloody body falls from the ceiling and viewers are splattered with water.

``When it happens, they'll think it's blood,'' Marks said with a chuckle.

Monty Lunde and Rock Hall from the Santa Clarita Events Co. funded the $1 million haunted mansion project and say they hope to present the show every year. Lunde and Hall have a long history as special effects designers in the entertainment industry, and founded the Santa Clarita Events Co. to bring special events to Santa Clarita, their hometown.

``We got tired of doing events for other people and thought we'd try something ourselves,'' Lunde said. ``It is a lot of money to recover, but we've bought all the equipment now, and the idea is to run the show every year.''

In addition to the haunted mansion, the show includes a Halloween store, a make-up artist who will attach bloody bolts and screws to willing victims, and a display of props from feature movies, including the soon- to-be released movie ``Quills'' based on the sadomasochistic writings of the Marquis de Sade.

Among the displays are torture devices, a bloody corpse from ``The Thin Red Line,'' the space destroyer from ``Independence Day,'' and the blood-splattered bathtub from ``What Lies Beneath.''

The Haunted Knightmare Mansion show is at 21440 Soledad Canyon Road and will continue through Oct. 31. For show times, call toll-free (866) B-SCARED.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Scenic carpenter Mike Ostovich works on a few of the blood-curdling creations inhabiting the Haunted Knightmare Mansion.

(2 -- color) Producers Monty Lunde, left, and Ed Marks sport 3-D glasses for one of their chambers of horror at the mansion.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer