Beaches Recreation Centre’s Fear Factory set for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday

By JESSICA SHACKLETON

Hocus pocus, it’s time to focus on Halloween.

Local residents are invited to be prepared to be scared this week as the Beaches Recreation Centre hosts its annual Fear Factory.

Since Halloween falls on Saturday, Oct. 31 this year, Fear Factory will be operating the weekend before so as not to take away from the fun of neighbourhood trick-or-treating.

This year’s Fear Factory takes place on Friday, Oct. 23, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and on Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. both days.

As in years past, Fear Factory will feature jump scares and elaborate costumes within the main room of the Beaches Recreation Centre. Participants go through the Fear Factory backwards in a moving cart.

There’s also the famous chicken-out board for those who don’t make it through the whole factory or don’t even go in.

Admission to enter is free with a non-perishable food donation for local food banks.

Fear Factory would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of lead volunteer Jay Marks and many others who come out every year to take part. It’s run entirely by volunteers who set up and tear down, and step into the roles of Fear Factory residents.

Fear Factory features more than 3,000 square feet of scares, and 20 volunteers are involved throughout the ride.

Since it began 16 years ago, Fear Factory has become a Beach tradition and bit of a rite of passage for many young residents at Halloween.

“It’s become generational, where some of the original talent have now brought their children to participate in it, creating a family-like culture that has been part of the Beaches Rec Centre for the past 16 years,” said Marks.

Though he moved to British Columbia in 2024, Marks still flies back to Toronto each October to help continue the Fear Factory tradition at the Beaches Recreation Centre. It was initially started by Marks and friends who shared a love for both Halloween and the community.

One point Marks like to make about Fear Factory is that it should not be considered a haunted house.

“(It’s) so scary that we don’t call it a haunted house, but Fear Factory. Any volunteers who call it a haunted house have to drop down and give us 10 pushups and carry around a rubber chicken,” Marks told Beach Metro Community News.

Beaches Recreation Centre is located at 6 Williamson Rd.

The spooky experience is designed for ages eight and up.