MOLAR MANOR LOSES LEASE `HAUNTED' HOUSE TOLD TO VACATE.

Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer

VALENCIA -- A ``haunted'' house in a Valencia industrial center has received its death notice.

Molar Manor -- so named because it was founded by a dentist -- must be out of the 5,000-square-foot warehouse it occupies by Sept. 30, the scheduled date for a community health charities' fundraiser expected to draw thousands of guests.

``We've been aware of a problem for awhile but never thought it would come to this,'' said Denise Larson-Kivett, who, with friend Ralph Esacoff, bought the macabre collection of ghouls and special-effects machines from Santa Clarita dentist Ron Singer in April.

``We knew that Dr. Singer hadn't finalized the lease with the landlord and now the landlord won't renew the lease.''

Building owner Bill Feldman, reached on vacation in Germany via e-mail, said he offered Singer an extension until January with a security deposit of $36,000 -- equal to an estimate he received from a local contractor to return the building to a nondescript shell.

``Nobody to this day has stepped forward to guarantee restoration,'' he wrote. ``I hope Dr. Singer elects to stay. I bring my grandchildren to his function.''

Larson-Kivett and Esacoff solicited bids from other area contractors and were told the building could be returned to ``vanilla walls'' for $10,000, a figure they were willing to put in an escrow account.

When they were told the minimum security deposit was $36,000, they felt there was no other choice but to look for another home.

Singer, who opened the haunted house four years ago, said the landlord didn't seem to care one way or another about the Halloween-themed enterprise.

``Because my name is on the lease, I'm still liable,'' he explained. ``Initially, when I sold the collection, I anticipated they would either sublease the warehouse from me or get a new lease of their own.

``I thought it was the ideal thing: Here was someone who was as passionate as I was about this, something I spent four years creating and building,'' Singer said.

``But now he (Feldman) has chosen not to rent it anymore. I was shocked.''

Larson-Kivett said she and her partner were told to be out by Sept. 30, to sign off all responsibility or to pay layover charges until the courts settle the matter.

They are looking for a larger space to enlarge the attraction.

``We're looking for about 7,500 (to) 8,500 square feet with appropriate parking or maybe shared parking,'' Larson-Kivett said.

``With this business, we have weird hours. We're there on Friday nights and Saturday nights and gone by Sunday. You'd never know we were there.''

``I don't think we could have it ready for this year, but I never say never,'' she said.

``This isn't just leaving us in a lurch. This is hurting the charities that benefit from the first weekend.''

The primary charity benefiting from the opening weekend event was scheduled to be the Foundation for Children's Dental Health, which provides no-cost exams and dental treatment to low-income children.

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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The new owners of the Molar Mansion ``haunted'' house in the Valencia industrial Center are Ralph Esacoff, left, and Denise Larson-Kivett, right, with Lindsay Norris. The new owners plan to keep the house open all of October if they can find a new site.