RANDY THOMSON/Acorn Newspapers HALLOWEEN HORRORS IN T.O.—The Heinzel family gets into Halloween in a big way. Their front yard looks like Forest Lawn with a house of horrors near the driveway and lots of mini terrors everywhere else. The house is at 1077 Whitecliff Road in Thousand Oaks. Halloween is Monday. Mike Heinzel of Thousand Oaks is just dying to meet people this time of year.

Every fall Heinzel transforms the front of his home at 1077 Whitecliff Road into a haunted mansion to give the public a free spooky experience.

A dead butler leads the way through a 42-foot walk-through tunnel filled with remote-controlled electronic special effects. There’s a working electric chair, a graveyard that includes a pet cemetery, and lots of bodies. Disorienting strobe lights, eerie fog machines and surprise pop-up heads make for maximum scare effect. Almost everything is automated and built by Heinzel himself.

Last year over 300 people visited the haunted house; Heinzel’s expecting even more this year. For those with young children, he recommends calling ahead to schedule a special, less scary tour.

Look for Heinzel, dressed as the Grim Reaper, wandering around pressing remote-controlled buttons to scare visitors.

It takes about a month to build the haunted house. Heinzel estimates that he spends about $500 on supplies. He tries to use as much battery power as possible to save on energy costs.

Before moving to Thousand Oaks about two years ago, Heinzel lived in Sherman Oaks, where he decorated his home on Van Noord Avenue. His wife, Elissa, a special education aide in the Los Angeles Unified School District, helps build the props, and his daughter, Rebecca, 5, offers her opinion and assistance.

Heinzel goes all out for Halloween because when he was a child, his family’s religious beliefs prevented him from participating in the holiday.

“The first time I went trick-ortreating, I was about 13 or 14. I snuck out of my house and didn’t tell my mom,” Heinzel said.

When he’s not preparing for Halloween, Heinzel works as an emergency medical technician for an Irwindale company.

“People think I’m morbid to be doing this and working in the medical field,” Heinzel said.

A preview night will be held from 5 to 11 p.m. this Sat., Oct. 29, during which time Heinzel will be testing all of the machinery. The house will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 30 and from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Halloween. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

The event is free but donations are accepted. For more information, call (818) 681-3750 or visit www.vannoordhaunt.org.