Does Fake Blood Come Out?

It's always a great evening when someone has to say, "Watch out for the gorilla poo." It's also a great evening that sees the return of Scare for a Cure, the all-volunteer haunted house that raises money for cancer charities.

Created by everyone's favorite superhero, The Defuser (better known as APD's Det. Jarrett Crippen), and in its second big year, the Scare yet again harkens back to the legendary Britannia Manor. Rather than offering a hardcore haunt, the plot-driven Scare for a Cure is inspired by old-school adventure game TV shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple. Admittedly, it's a temple where you might have to stick your arm into an wallfull of sloppy, goo-covered guts. Or not; it's your choice.

The innovation is a multi-tiered scare system: Visitors choose a green, (standard) or red experience, indicated by a glowing chemical necklace. The higher the rating, the more the scarers turn up the intensity. Green is the PG-13 version, and the most family-friendly iteration; red means, well, all bets are off. The scarers can touch you, but so can the gore, blood, ichor, and unnamed ick that is freely flowing/oozing (seriously, don't wear your favorite suit). And there's a lot of it: The haunt is massive and has some really big surprises in store. This is probably the most physically demanding haunted house this year, with crawling, scrambling, and sliding involved.

Scare for a Cure runs through to Oct. 31 at the Elks Lodge, 700 Dawson.