ZOMBIE BITES HOLLYWOOD; AREA THEME PARKS ARE HEAVEN-SENT FOR HAIR-RAISING HALLOWEEN HORROR.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

Call it the scary side of synergy.

When you're a horror-rock mogul whose record company is owned by the same corporation that runs not only a popular studio tour but the copyright on such beloved characters as the Mummy, Dracula and Frankenstein, you can expect to get called into action when Halloween rolls around.

Just ask hair-raising rocker Rob Zombie, who left his bite marks on Universal Studios Hollywood's latest Halloween extravaganza.

The multiplatinum singer, best known for his band White Zombie, has created a demonic maze based on his own ``Hellbilly Deluxe'' solo debut album. The spooky attraction, part of the studio's Halloween Horror Nights III, which opens Friday, is an interactive, haunted encounter featuring 30 live characters, sound effects and video.

To make things even more hunky dory, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights is among its most popular annual events.

``I've always been a fan of haunted houses and scary mazes,'' says Zombie (whose real name is Bob Cummings). ``I went to Universal's first Halloween nights and thought it was great. Usually these things are so stupid, but that was done so well.''

Zombie, who recalls going to Disney World's Haunted Mansion as a kid, provided the concept, design and direction for the maze - called the Thrilling, Chilling World of Rob Zombie - based on concepts from his latest record. Sound effects include the premiere of remixed tracks that will appear on the next Zombie disc due next month.

Guests enter Zombie's world by walking into a giant replica of his head and journeying through a spinning tunnel deep into his brain. They then travel through a succession of strange and progressively horrifying rooms.

Among the highlights: the Demonoid Phenomenon Room, the Channel X Room and the Zombie Grave, where the living dead wait to devour their visitors. Characters include the Living Dead Girl, the Creeper and the Superbeast.

``It's a perfect match of musical madness and monster madness,'' Zombie said. ``It promises to be a wild psychotic ride in demonic dementia. It's supposed to scare you.''

Zombie isn't alone in creating horror for Halloween Horror Nights this year. Clive Barker, best-selling author and creator of the ``Hellraiser'' and ``Candyman'' films, offers his burning vision of purgatory, dousing visitors in the heat of Hades and engulfing them in the flames of Clive Barker's Hell.

Also, writer-director Stephen Sommers, who helmed the Universal blockbuster ``The Mummy'' and is preparing a sequel, provided direction for the Mummy Maze, which uses original props from the film.

``We realized two years ago the Universal tour had everything but a haunted house,'' Sommers said. ``I knew Disneyland's second most-popular attraction is their 40-year-old haunted house. And I said, `What better than an underground metropolis led by the Mummy?' Even before the movie came out, Universal decided they wanted to do this for Halloween. It's a full-on haunted house - and not for real little kids.''

Universal isn't the only area theme park to get into the Halloween spirit. Knott's Berry Farm turns into Knott's Scary Farm with walk-through mazes, scare zones, live shows, monsters, ghosts and goblins. Six Flags Magic Mountain offers its Fright Fest with the Brutal Planet maze, a haunted house, live entertainment and more.

In fact, Halloween events have become a lucrative annual event at the parks.

``The first year we did something like this was an eye-opener,'' said Pat Moloney, Universal Studios Hollywood's vice president of entertainment. ``We sold out three nights last year - almost half the run - and we plan to do even better this year.''

The Universal event comes to life for seven nights over the course of three consecutive weekends, starting Friday. Universal officials expect the Zombie name to attract a party-hearty crowd.

``Rob's the Alice Cooper of his time,'' Moloney said. ``It's a music tie-in for a guy who's really into horror.''

Speaking of the '70s horror-rocker, Magic Mountain's Brutal Planet maze was inspired by Cooper's ``Welcome to My Nightmare'' album and tour.

Those attending Universal's Halloween nights can expect an atmospheric, fogged-over park with ghouls and various monsters leaping from the shadows while blood-curdling screams chill the night air.

Zombie, who named White Zombie after a classic 1932 Bela Lugosi film, is taking full advantage of the Universal connection. He's just released ``Rob Zombie Presents ... The Words and Music of Frankenstein,'' a CD montage of dialogue and musical elements compiled by Zombie from three of the most beloved monster films of all time - ``Frankenstein'' (1931) and two of its classic sequels, ``The Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935) and ``Son of Frankenstein'' (1939).

All three films starred the legendary Boris Karloff as the Monster, and the first two were directed by James Whale, subject of the recent Oscar-winning film, ``Gods and Monsters.''

Zombie, 33, plans to do the same kind of archival work with ``Dracula'' and ``The Wolfman'' and release the results through his Zombie-A-Go-Go/Hip-O record label.

``This is straight out of the Universal vaults,'' Zombie explained. ``The quality is a bit rough. These tapes have been sitting in the tomb for 70 years, and nobody thought twice about them. But we're gonna break it down monster by monster. The people that care about this stuff - they're the ones that'll hear about it.''

THE FACTS

What: Halloween Horror Nights III.

Where: Universal Studios Hollywood, 100 Universal City Plaza.

When: 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Oct. 15-16, 22-23 and 29-31.

Tickets: $38; Stay & Scream tickets are $19, plus price of park admission, which admit guests to that evening's Halloween Horror Nights III. No costumes allowed. Not recommended for children under 12.

Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

Photo: (1--2) Universal horror

Musician Rob Zombie unleashes his haunting creation on theme park

(3) Alice Cooper's Brutal Planet maze is at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

(4) Knott's Scary Farm offers more than 1,000 monsters lurking in the fog.