The haunted house that Long Island's oldest professional theater builds every fall is entering its last stretch. Gateway's Haunted Playhouse at 215 South Country Road in Bellport runs on select nights through November 1, and this year it brought back a face it retired a decade ago.

A clown, gone ten years, with a new funhouse

Mr. Tickles first appeared in 2016, terrorizing visitors to that season's Grimling Family Circus theme. Ten years later Gateway has brought the character back and given him his own attraction: a brand-new 3-D funhouse, separate from the main haunted house path. Visitors wear 3-D glasses through indoor and outdoor sections where walls, patterns and scenery appear to move, stretch or come toward them, which is exactly the moment something real happens beside them. Funhouse admission is $10 online or $13 at the door, on top of or separate from the main haunt.

The main path carries this year's theme, Oracle's Curse, a story Gateway wrote into Bellport's own history: a whaler named Sullivan Augur who could see the future, a family of fortune tellers whose powers faded with each generation, and 13 descendants who dug up his grave on the estate where Gateway now sits. General admission is $44 online and $54 at the door, with a fast pass available.

Built by a theater, which is the difference

Gateway's Haunted Playhouse is a division of Gateway Playhouse, and it is staffed accordingly. The sets come from the theater's professional designers and production team, the characters are played by trained actors who rehearse their roles, and more than 100 people work the grounds each night. Since its first season in 2009 the haunt has grown from a two-week run to six weeks, and it has been voted the scariest haunted house on Long Island three years running in a News12 poll, cited by USA Today among the top ten haunted houses in New York, and named one of America's best haunted attractions by Hauntworld Magazine.

Nights for the brave, and options for everyone else

The remaining calendar has something at every fear level. Thursday, October 22 is Glowstick Night, when groups walk the entire haunt in the dark with a single glowstick. Tuesday, October 27 is the Much Less Scary walk-through, the same path with no actors in any room, from 6 to 9 p.m. at $30, built for people who have always wanted to see the haunt and never been ready for it at full strength. Regular nights run through the November 1 finale, generally 7 to 10 p.m. on weeknights and as late as 11:30 p.m. on peak Fridays and Saturdays.

For kids there is a daytime version. The Not So Scary walk-through runs from noon to 3 p.m. on October 24, 25 and 31, a $25 family version of the haunt with goofy creatures instead of scares, a treat at the end, and a midway with face painting, balloon animals, games and the 3-D funhouse. Entry is sold in 15-minute time slots, it is recommended for ages 3 and up, and costumes are encouraged.

Before it goes dark

Gateway's Haunted Playhouse is at 215 South Country Road, Bellport. Tickets, the full night-by-night calendar and special event details are at gatewayshauntedplayhouse.com, and the box office can be reached at (631) 286-1133. After November 1 the lights come up, and the Augur family goes back underground until next fall.

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