Seventh annual Scarywood offers every flavor of frightening

They appear out of the dark with tilted heads and shambling gaits. They creep through the shadows, crouch in bushes and leap out in a chorus of moans and roars and squawking horns.

About 170 uniquely ghastly characters roam the Silverwood Theme Park every October, keeping character throughout the park’s nearly monthlong Halloween special – clowns, zombies and even scary popcorn vendors.

Silverwood, north of Coeur d’Alene on U.S. Highway 95, opened its seventh-annual Scarywood haunted theme park with some new attractions Friday. The Pharaoh’s Curse welcomes guests with a cracked sandstone maze full of mummies, strobe lights, smoke and an Indiana Jones-like tour guide.

“Each actor will grow into their role,” said Amanda Noah, Silverwood spokesperson.

Other new Scarywood features include the log flume, which has been closed this time of year in the past, as the “Bloody Bayou,” and a new magic show called “Dillusion,” hosted by resident magician Nick Norton.

“We try to do something new each year,” Noah said.

Scarywood is open Thursdays from 7-11 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to midnight. The last day is Oct. 27.

The actors’ characters are scary, but rest assured, each go through a background check and training, said Noah. Many actors come from Seattle just for Scarywood, she said.

McKenzie Wharton, the host of the Pharaoh’s Curse said, “The sounds of screams are my favorite.”