Lake Forest Haunt to Feature New Fright Zones, 'Frankenstein' Film

The annual Haunt at Heritage Hill, an eerie mix of Halloween scares and horror history, returns to Lake Forest on Friday bringing another night of frights.

From 6 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, the historical park at 25151 Serrano Rd. will be overrun with costumed revelers delighting in a series of "scare zones" studded with frighteningly lifelike animatronics.

Lake Forest senior recreation coordinator Ron Rivera promises the annual nighttime event put on in tandem with OC Parks, now in its fifth year, will be scarier than ever.

The traditional haunted house and fright maze at Heritage Hill Historical Park will be decked out with all manner of creepy inhabitants, from portraits that eye visitors as they walk by to a swarm of red-eyed rats.

Two additional exhibits will expand the evening's frightening festivities to new areas of the park, which during the day invites visitors into its four historical buildings for a lesson in the days of early El Toro.

Visitors at this year's Haunt will get to meet the Ichabod Crane, the headless horseman of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as well as a creepy clown in "The Joker's Sideshow," Rivera said.

As homage to the historical focus of the park that hosts the fright fest, each year's Haunt includes recognition of the roots of the horror genre.

Representing the origins of monster movies this year will be Sara Karloff, daughter of Frankenstein star Boris Karloff. Karloff will sign autographs from 6 to 7 p.m., then hold a question-and-answer session about her father's starring role from 7 to 7:30 p.m.

At 7:30 p.m., the classic 1931 horror movie Frankenstein will play.

Also at the park will be a photobooth to capture creative costumes and a DJ.

Entrance to the Haunt is $5 per person; the event is open to those age 12 and older.

• Check out Patch's write-up and photos from the 2011 Haunt at Heritage Hill.

• Watch a KTLA video previewing this year's Haunt.