Fear Factory 501 on the outskirts of Jacksonville is among the Halloween haunted houses in Arkansas. (Photo by Marcia Schnedler, special to the Democrat-Gazette)

What better way to release the stresses of daily life than to be chased through a cobweb- and booby trap-strewn warehouse by a maniacal clown with a chainsaw?

Humans love to be scared, from a baby's first jack-in-the-box or game of peekaboo to those "snake"-filled peanut cans and slasher films, it's a natural, normal, healthy emotion.

The adrenaline rush that comes with terror-induced screaming can be a wonderful release — particularly when that scary thing isn't actually real. In the 1960s and '70s, primal screaming was even a popular form of psychotherapy.

Is it any wonder, then, that many people just love to seek out experiences that will scare their pants off?

And this is the time of year to do it. As Halloween approaches, opportunities to be scared or at least mildly creeped-out abound.

People can always pull out old DVDs of Scream or Poltergeist or any of the various iterations of Halloween. There's also the music. Try listening to "Tubular Bells" — Michael Oldfield's theme to The Exorcist — alone with the lights off.

But there's something about that communal, "real life" experience of roaming through the dark with a group of one's closest friends and strangers, never knowing what horrid zombie or ghoul or vampire will pop out of a coffin. It's pure terror with that safety net of knowing, deep down, that none of it is real.

Central Arkansas has its share of haunted houses — those tabernacles of terror that pop up as the calendar creeps toward Oct. 31 with their multimedia fright fests full of gore.

Here are a few that promise to get your heart pounding — or stop it completely. The list is not comprehensive.

Haunted Hotel of Arkansas

2401 S. University Ave., Little Rock

Hours: 7-10 p.m. weekdays and 7 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, Friday-Nov. 2

Tickets: Tour 1 $16.35, Tour 2 $21.80

thehauntedhotelofarkansas.com

Playing on the hotel theme, this ArkansasHauntedHouses.com award-winner brags about its "Chills, thrills and room service that kills" as well as its "midnight red meat buffet." Photos on the website are very clown-heavy, for all the coulrophobes out there.

Nightterrors Haunted House at the Terrorplex

3809 MacArthur Drive, North Little Rock

Hours: 7:30-midnight weekends, 7:30-11 weekdays through Nov. 2

Tickets: $20, casket rides $10, combo $25

(501) 398-3327

hauntedhouse.com/1-annual-terrorplex-haunted-house-2906.html

Promising loads of trauma and graphic horror, the Terrorplex presents "Phobius Estate of Fear," the story of a Civil War orphan who grew up to do gruesome experiments. There are three haunted attractions, including a "simulated last casket ride that takes you on a journey to your grave."

The Reaper Haunted House

6016 Crystal Hill Road, North Little Rock

Hours: 7 p.m. "until the last person comes screaming out [the door]" through Oct. 31

Tickets: $16, Halloween night $20

arreaper.com

With more than 15,000 square feet of mayhem, there are promises of dozens of scenes of blood and gore and unexpected scares. As it says, "in The Reaper's world, anything goes ... and no one will be there to save you."

Fear Factory 501

25120 Arkansas 107, Jacksonville

Hours: 7-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday and Oct. 30-Nov. 2

Tickets: $15, $20 for a speed pass

fearfactory501.com

The Fear Factory promises the usual scares thrills, but with several attractions: Skully's Haunted Playhouse, The Torture Chamber, The Haunted Morgue, The Escape Room, The Voodoo Room and The Vortex Tunnel. Each one has a different theme and focus, depending on the visitor's desires, whether it's for gore or for a mental challenge.

It also has a slightly less-traumatic "youth night," 7-8 p.m. Sunday for $10.

Twisted Intent

706 Center St., Benton

Hours: 7-10 p.m. Thursday, Sunday and Oct. 30, 7 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m.-"whenever" Oct. 31-Nov. 2

Cost: $20, fast pass $25; both attractions (only available through Sunday) $30, fast pass $35

twistedintent.com

At Twisted Intent, there's the returning Torture Chamber — a twisted romp through "medical" horrors — and the new Terror House, an abandoned house with an evil secret. "You can get in but you may never get out."

Haunted House of Conway

150 Arkansas 286 E., Conway

Hours: 7 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday and Oct. 30-31, 7-11 p.m. Oct. 29 and Nov. 1-2, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $12; children 12 and under, groups and military $10

creepyworks.com

Visitors can get their brains twisted and their phobias prodded for a memorable thrill tour presented by Creepy Works, aided by sound and visual effects and a warning that any injury or death resulting from a visit is solely the responsibility of the ticket-holder. In other words? Enter at your own risk.

Wooly Boogers

142 Arkansas 286 E., Conway

Hours: 7 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 2

Tickets: $10, escape rooms $5 each, children under 7 free

thewoolybooger.com

For something a little more sedate and family-friendly (but still scary), there's Wooly Boogers with its haunted house, music and escape games.

For more, visit arkansashauntedhouses.com.

Style on 10/22/2019