Haunted houses can give many thrills

Saturday is Halloween, a holiday that began as the Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"), but is now an excuse for girls to show their inner slut and for kids to increase their chances of getting diabetes.

Since Halloween is on a Saturday this year, there are dozens of events related to the holiday. A few are in the Five Things to Do column to the left of this page.

This year is a first for me: I was part of one of the events. Last Saturday, I was among the performers in the Creative Arts Center's House of Nightmares.

Four hours of screaming at people (as a zombie redneck) not only wrecked my voice, but also got me in touch with my inner sadist. There is a strange thrill to making an 8-year-old nearly pee his pants.

So if you're looking for a good haunted house, check out the House of Nightmares. Other recommendations: The Annual Haunted Mansion at Friday Night Live in Marysville; the Holloween House on Drummond Drive in Yuba City; and the "Haunted Cemetery" on Gold River Drive in Yuba City.

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Last week, this column stated that the "Saw" movie franchise would continue as long as the box office supported it.

As the opening for "Saw VI" showed this past weekend, the box office isn't supporting the franchise as much as it once did. "Saw VI" opened with $14.1 million, which is disappointing given previous "Saw" films opened in the $30 million range.

Lionsgate, which produces the franchise, greenlit a "Saw VII" before "Saw VI" opened. MSN Movies quoted one Lionsgate exec saying that the studio may rethink its plans for a 3-D "Saw VII" in light of weak box office.

"Saw" will have more installments, but the franchise is over.

And it's about time.