John Katsilometes mingles with some of the potential creatures to be featured in the Fright Dome at Circus Circus Adventuredome

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006 | 7:58 a.m.

Where one might see nothing more than a kid jacked up on Red Bull wielding a plastic chain saw, Jason Egan sees potential.

Or at least a cheap and eager entertainer.

Egan is the 28-year-old founder of Fright Dome, the five-acre haunted attraction at the Circus Circus Adventuredome. Egan and one of his top deputies, Drew Bedder (who Egan says is in charge of "scare quality and strolling entertainment"), took a look at a dozen or so potential strolling psychotics Wednesday afternoon under a tent in the parking lot behind the gleaming-pink Adventuredome.

The attraction opens Oct. 6. and runs through Halloween (the cost is $29.95 for a single-day ticket; you can spend hours in this place). In its fourth year at Circus Circus, Fright Dome features five haunted houses, three ride films, four "extreme scare zones" and 20 rides and attractions.

The park is to be pitch black, filled with fog, and will have flashing strobes and lasers. A state-of-the-art sound system will blare sound effects.

Amid this hysteria will be 15 or so strolling ghouls and zombies. Wednesday's auditions were to help fill that cast, and those auditioning resorted to all sorts of behavior to woo Egan and Bedder who, along with Dustin Tooker, Christiane Folliott and Mike Biggs (chief members of the Fright Dome production team), pick the best in the field.

One hopeful bit into his left forearm (or seemed to) and drew blood (or red syrup from a pellet). Another wore a monster mask and swung a disembodied head. Still another scrambled afield like a demonic Ernest T. Bass, wielding a fake chain saw while shouting, "Pretend this is on!"

Another audition is set for Saturday (time not yet determined). Egan is excited about the prospects for the Oct. 6 opener - which will be attended by Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding of the Rob Zombie films "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects") - and hopes to draw 60,000 visitors, up from 50,000 a year ago.

As for Tooker, his T-shirt said it all: "You Can't Have Manslaughter Without Laughter."

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