Get ready to be really scared, says Carla Watson of West Richland.

Watson is once again turning her home into a screaming, nail-biting nightmare on Halloween.

With help from her husband and children, Watson turns her garage and yard into a creepy haunted house she calls the Eternal Nightmare.

But it's all for a good cause. The only cost to go through her haunted house is a donation of dry pet food that will be donated to the Pet Over Population Prevention organization.

The haunted house will only be for one night on Halloween starting at dusk at 5600 Maui Court in West Richland.

The terrifying features include sinister hallways where it's so dark you won't be able to tell what the slimy stuff on the walls might be. There's also a torture chamber equipped with an electric chair and various torture tools and a whacked-out scientist ready to experiment on unsuspecting visitors. And beware of the boneyard packed with moldy carcasses, and the very creepy possessed baby nursery that just might scare the beejesus out of the bravest soul.

Glow sticks are available for kids who don't want to be scared, so Watson's crew knows to tone it way down when they see one.

"I also don't recommend that women who are pregnant and can't run go through the haunted house," she joked.

Here's a look at some other fun Halloween happenings.

Trick-or-treating

-- The YMCA of the Greater Tri-Cities will hold its annual "Trick or Treat on the Trail," a Halloween-themed hike up Badger Mountain Trail. The walk starts at 10 a.m. Oct. 29. The event is free and open to all ages. Adults and children are encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes. Participants will be provided with trick-or-treat bags, goodies, a snack and water.

The walk will be followed by a barbecue picnic, pumpkin decorating and face painting.

Registration, which is required, begins at 9:15 a.m. The first 100 children registered will receive a free T-shirt.

-- Historic Downtown Prosser merchants will offer treats to trick-or-treaters from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 31. There will be posters on the doors of participating businesses.

For more information, call 509-786-2399.

-- Ranch & Home's SafeT Street Trick or Treat event is from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Red Lion Hotel next to Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

-- The Treats On Main & Beyond Halloween party is from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Community Center in downtown Hermiston.

Festivities include a haunted house, bounce houses, black light room, toddler play area, games, candy and snacks. Admission is free.

Trick or treating happens from 3 to 5 p.m. at downtown businesses.

Festivals, corn mazes

-- The Apple and Pumpkin Festival at Bill's Berry Farm, 3674 N. County Line Road, Grandview, features U-pick crisp apples and pumpkins, hay rides, fresh-squeezed apple cider, corn mazes, barnyard train rides, petting zoo and pony rides from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 22.

Each Saturday throughout the festival there will be live music, hands-on crafts and cooking demonstrations. Admission is free. Cost for the corn maze is $6 for ages 4 and up. Children 3 and under are free. Group rates are available.

For more information, call 509-882-3200.

-- Rasmussen Farms' famous Pumpkin Funland is open in Hood River.

This year's theme is Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes and the farm is featuring various displays including Jack and the Beanstalk, the goose that laid the golden egg and the little old lady who lived in a shoe.

The funland also has a corn maze and this year's theme is The Princess and the Pear. Visitors can also pick pumpkins and participate in a game of pumpkin bowling.

Admission is free. Pumpkin Funland will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., six days a week through Nov. 11. Rasmussen Farms is located at 3020 Thomsen Road.

Nightlife

-- The rock band Reckless will provide the music for O'Callanhan's Halloween party from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Shilo Inn, Richland.

There is no cover, and costumes are encouraged.

-- The rock band 3rd Date plays Oct. 29 at The Pub Tavern in Kennewick. Music starts at 9 p.m. Cover is $5. Prizes will be awarded to the top three costumes. The event is open only to those 21 and older.

Fundraisers

-- The Zombie Walk for Brain Cancer starts at 3 p.m. Oct. 14 in Richland.

The walk features zombielike creatures walking from John Dam Plaza, through the Parkade, across George Washington Way then down to the community center, where dancers will perform Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Anyone can take part, and there will be makeup artists and hair stylists available earlier in the day to help participants get zombiefied. The makeup sessions are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Strange Independence, an alternative hair salon at Columbia Center mall.

The cost is by donation.

-- The Lawyers and Artists' Costume Ball will be from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 29 at Clover Island Inn, Cedars Restaurant and Ice Harbor Brewery, all in Kennewick. The event features live music by various bands, food and beverages.

Admission is $25. All proceeds go to My Friend's Place, an emergency shelter for homeless teenagers in the Tri-Cities. Tickets are available at the hotel. Open only to those 21 and older.

Other spooks

-- The Haunted Forest at Sacajawea State Park in Pasco is from 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 14-15, 21-22, 28-29 and 31. Cost is $9 with kids 5 and younger free.

Visitors to the Haunted Forest must park their car at the east end of Port of Pasco and be shuttled into the park for the fright night. Participants should dress warm, wear comfortable shoes and be ready for a good scare.

But before the haunting starts, there will be trick-or-treat fun from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 29 at the park. Festivities include face painting, pumpkin crafts, carnival games, costume contest, candy and snacks. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

For more information, go to www.pascojaycees.org.

-- An alternative to the haunted house and now a Halloween tradition, Richland Baptist Church's Judgement House offers a dramatic walk-through presentation about the truth of people's choices and their consequences -- in this life and the next.

The free one-hour tours are from 6 to 9 p.m. at the church, 1632 George Washington Way, on the following evenings: Oct. 14-16, 21-23. Reservations are required. Call 943-9177. For more information, go to www.richlandbaptistchurch.org/jh.html.

-- The Princess Theatre will show the horror film Psycho at 8 p.m. Oct. 15. Admission is $5. The theater is in downtown Prosser at 1228 Meade Ave.

For more information, call 509-786-2399.

-- The 3 Rivers Road Runners' Howl 'n Scream Scram on Oct. 22 will feature four races.

The kid's 1/4-mile and the 1/2-mile races will begin at 9:30 a.m. The 10k and the 5k races will begin at 10 a.m. All runs will begin at Badger Mountain Park, 350 Keene Road, Richland.

Registration by mail must be postmarked by Oct. 16. Race day registration will be available on the day of the race, which is from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Cost is $18 including a shirt and $8 without a shirt. Kids races are $13 including a shirt and $4 without a shirt.

Awards will be given to the best male and female time in the 5k and 10k races. Ribbons will be awarded to the top five male and female runners in each age group. All kids who finish the race receive a ribbon.

-- The CREHST museum's Tombstone Tales cemetery tours are back in time for Halloween.

The tour runs every 20 minutes from 6:30 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. Oct. 28 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29.

Only 20 people per tour are allowed. Tickets are $6. The tours are of the Resthaven Cemetery at 700 Williams Blvd., Richland.

-- The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be shown at 7:30 p.m. and again at midnight Oct. 29 at The Princess Theatre, 1228 Meade Ave., in downtown Prosser.

Admission is $20 for the preshow social hour (for the 21 and older crowd only), movie entrance and audience participation prop bag. Tickets are available at Adventures Underground in Richland and Sixth Street Art Gallery in Prosser. Tickets are also available at the door.

-- The Oregon Coast Aquarium will hold its annual Halloween party Oct. 29 at the aquarium in Newport, Ore. For goblins and ghouls ages 9 and younger, there will be a gentler scare event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Festivities include dive presentations, face painting, games, kids crafts, storytelling and candy.

The the aquarium will close its doors and reopen at 6:30 p.m. that day for its sinister Creatures of the Night event, which is recommended for ages 10 and older. Festivities include spooky divers in the shark tunnel, haunted caves and a murder suspect lurking in the dark somewhere.

For more information, go to www.aquarium.org.

Admission to either event is $2 plus two cans of nonperishable food or dry pet food. Without the food donations the admission is $5 for all ages.

*Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com