Haunting the neighborhood for Halloween

When wandering through the Moss Beach Haunted House, that noise isn’t imagined. It’s most likely produced by the house’s owner and creator Rob Tjader.

The 46-year-old is celebrating his ninth year creating creepy coastside evening entertainment. By day, the ghoulish mastermind is a stock trader for Franklin Templeton in San Mateo. The Millbrae native began building scary features in 1994, when a friend gave him the go-ahead to decorate the house.

In 1997, Tjader had the first opportunity to create a haunted house at his home in Moss Beach.

Its become a common feature in October on the coastside. People line up, even on a weeknight, chattering about what might be inside. Anxieties continue to rise until one of the brave visitors inside lets out a scream, causing silence to fall momentarily over those in line still waiting to enter.

Sophie Tjader, Rob’s wife, normally monitors the door in a witch costume. Ironically, the Halloween features scare her. Every morning she makes her husband walk her to the car when she leaves for work. The newlyweds — just married on Oct. 21 — shut down the festivities for one week this month, in honor of their wedding. The haunting decorations aren’t Sophie Tjader’s favorite, but if it makes her husband happy, she’ll participate.

The setup, all built and designed by Tjader, takes three weeks to construct and five days to tear down. Many of the props are made by Tjader, who always had an interest in building. The tight corridors, constant cobwebs and low light make the short walk through a tense one. The entire maze is constructed on the couple’s front porch and never opens until after the sun goes down.

The various rooms are as simple as black light features on the wall to mechanical ghosts asking, "Is somebody there?” Some of Tjader’s favorite features were created by accident. A skeleton on a painted black plastic chair, for example, hangs from a bungee chord in a room with a strobe light. The prop was originally hung to create space, but Tjader loved the effect.

Only two people are allowed to enter at one time, allowing Tjader to tailor his scares to those inside. He takes a no contact, quick-scare approach. He dresses in all black and plays off of the response people give him. Nothing inside is over-the-top gruesome, it’s just a good old-fashioned haunted house.

"We’re not a high-tech act. There are no chain saws. I try to create the feeling you get while watching a horror movie,” he said.

Walking through the house is free, however, Tjader does accept donations for the United Nation’s Children’s Fund. He wants everyone to be able to experience the fun of Halloween, even if they don’t have a lot of money.

The quick spooking definitely leaves an impression on visitors.

Sixteen-year-old Jules Bassermann from Half Moon Bay braved the darkness. He described the outing as pretty scary, and something worth visiting.

The house is located at 601 Kelmore St., Moss Beach. It will be open from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30 and Tuesday, Oct. 31. For more information visit www.hauntedhouseofmossbeach.com.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.