By LEAH WEATHERSBY

The real world is scary enough these days. But for some, the addition of a little fantasy never hurts. Those who love the the tingly feeling of goose bumps coupled with low lighting and a horror soundtrack will likely want to beat a path to one or all of the haunted houses in North Seattle listed below:

"The Fremont Haunt":

It's the first year ever for this "monstrously" expensive haunted house which will be located in the parking garage of the Red Door building. Jointly produced by the Fremont UNconventional Centre (FUNC) and Wing-It (the group that does Jet City Improv), the project will reportedly cost nearly $20,000. Actors and electronic effects will be employed to tell a story loosely based on a string of real deaths in Seattle's history. I won't spoil the surprise for you, but suffice it to say that after Dwayne Edwards, one of FUNC's founders, told me the stories I immediately crawled under my desk and hid, crying like a baby and chanting "the horror stories never end."

The Fremont Haunt will run from Oct. 11-31. The cost is $10 and proceeds will benefit FUNC, Wing-It, Provail and the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club. For more information call 633-3764.

Star 101.5 "Ultimate Haunted Hospital in 3-D":

Undoubtedly the name says it all. Radio station Star 101.5 FM has been producing haunted houses every year since 1995, but last year marked Star's arrival on the North Seattle scene. When Northgate Mall invited the radio station to convert the former Northgate Hospital building, located at 120 Northgate Plaza (next to the Northgate Theatre), into a haunted hospital, the folks at Star 101.5 jumped at the opportunity.

Brian Hart, a true horror fan who is in charge of producing Star 101.5's Haunted Hospital, is an old hand at it, having produced the yearly haunted house for radio station KUBE in the Eastlake neighborhood in the late '80s. He even met his wife at a haunted house!

Hart started working on this year's haunted hospital in late spring, creating such exhibits as Traumaville, Restricted Research and Hell-evator, all to be enjoyed with 3-D glasses.

"We want to make it look like it costs a million dollars to produce and hope it's not more than 10,000," Hart said. The Star 101.5 Ultimate Haunted Hospital in 3-D runs Friday-Sunday, Oct. 12-21, and all week before Halloween. The hours are 7-10 p.m., except Sundays when they are 5 -8 p.m. The cost will be $9 with a dollar off when you bring a canned food donation for Northwest Harvest. For more information call 223-5700.

Golden Gardens Haunted House:

The scariest thing at Golden Gardens is how fast the police will tow you if you park in the trailer-only zone. The second scariest thing has got to be the fourth annual Golden Garden's Haunted House which the Ballard Community Center produces as a fund-raiser for teen programs. It takes 8-10 people to scare the several hundred attendees who have visited the the haunted house in years past - those people are armed with walkie-talkies for kids, or say members of the North Seattle media, who tend to scare easily at this type of event. This early warning system tells ghouls and goblins when to tone it down.

Elaine Dunn, recreation attendant at Ballard Community Center, said one spooky exhibit last year was unplanned - a cat got lost in the haunted house which could be heard but not seen. That cat was never found! Was it a ghost cat? Only the lords of the underworld know for sure.

The Golden Gardens Haunted House takes place at 8498 Seaview Avenue NW, Oct. 29-31 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. It is suitable for kids 11 and up. Cost: $4. For more information, call 684-4093.

Haunted House at Green Lake Community Center:

The only thing more scary than the haunted house at Green Lake is how fast the police will tow you ... oh wait, already used that one. About 200-300 neighborhood folks typically turn out to be afraid, very afraid, at the Green Lake Community Center Haunted House, which has been going on since 1998.

Usually the haunted house employs themes such as alien autopsy to give the event that little extra something, but who needs to themes to get scared when your already surrounded by teenagers (working the haunted house) let loose on a Friday night. In fact, who needs costumes?

The Green Lake Community Center is located at 7201 E Green Lake Dr. N. The haunted house will be open on Friday, Oct. 26, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., with a free swim from 7-8 p.m. (Admission to the haunted house is also free.) For more information call 684-0780.

Laurelhurst Community Center Haunted House:

Located at 4554 NE 41st, this haunted house event will take place on Friday, Oct. 26, from 6-9 p.m. It takes place in the sccccaaaarrrry Laurelhurst Elementary School girl's locker room ... normally a forbidden zone for boys and a place the girls undoubtedly are afffraaaidd to locked out of. Cost is 50 cents. For more information call 684-7531.

CREATING YOUR OWN HAUNTED HOUSE:

The "devilishly" creative among us may even want to create a haunted house in their own home. For those who don't own real estate over a former burial ground, your home should end up looking scarier than the Halloween aisle at your local Hallmark store, but less scary than the evening news. Local professional haunted house organizers offered the following additional tips:

Edwards of the Fremont Haunt said the top three things people find scary are the dark, rats and the sound of powers tools. I can tell you those things work at my house..even if it isn't Halloween. His advice: "Make it simple, make it safe, and let people's imaginations fill in the blanks." Dunn of the Golden Gardens Haunted House said scary props, such as dishes with grabbing hand, are a good bet.

Marlan Teeters, who organizes the Green Lake Haunted House, suggested using plastics (to borrow a line from "The Graduate"). Black plastic to be more specific. Because is paintable, you can use it for everything from costumes to walls.

Hart of Star 101.5's Ultimate Haunted Hospital suggested that home haunters utilize the Internet for further ideas. He said several Web sites offer tips on designing and decorating haunted houses. (