“Beware the Dark Realm,” an annual haunted house tradition in Saugus, once again drew a crowd from all over to the residential neighborhood on Sugar Pine Way.

Scott Sivley, a retired postal carrier who’s been hosting the family haunt for decades at the Saugus home with his wife and two sons, puts on the free attraction every year, which is so popular it draws lines around his block.

As a result, he even created a “Fast Pass” people can purchase to skip the line, and he gives the proceeds from that to a nonprofit of his choosing — this year, it was the Santa Clarita Valley Domestic Violence Center.

“We were really grateful and excited to be a part of this,” said Linda Davies, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Santa Clarita Valley. “Scott puts in so much work into this event, and then he invited our staff and volunteers to show up and collect money, and he gave everything in support of the Domestic Violence Center. It’s an amazing display of community, generosity and support for our DVC.”

He said he abides by a lesson he’s learned over the years, which keeps it fun for him, his family, the neighbors and the guests: “You can’t scare everybody, but you can entertain,” Sivley said. “Someone can come through and they may not be scared, which we try to do, but if I can’t get them to get scared — because some people won’t let their guard down —  I at least try to entertain them.”

The haunt has grown so popular it regularly draws folks from the Antelope Valley, and even as far south as Orange County, and as far east as San Bernardino. He’s even welcomed international visitors, and this year, he was featured as a one of several homes on a program called “Epic Home Haunts.”

“Epic Home Haunts” had a film crew outside Scott Sivley’s Saugus haunt, which is being featured in a program about attractions like “Beware the Dark Realm.”

It’s also something that’s enjoyed by friends and neighbors, who also join in the fun as cast members in Sivley’s haunt.

“There’s quite a few of the neighbors who participate in it,” said Wesley Ellison, who lives across the street from Sivley, and has joined in as a dungeon master on the inside of the house. “As it gets closer we look forward to it because we can watch it take shape,” he added. “He’s always working on it.”

For Sivley, construction of the elaborate haunt is an annual, year-round endeavor that starts shortly after the tear-down of the castle-like mini-fright fest. Each year, the post-haunt ritual involves a talk with his family and friends who put it together with him, regarding what worked and didn’t work as well, and then he spends months keeping an eye out for the right materials.

Next year marks the 30th year that Sivley will be hosting a haunt in Santa Clarita, and even though this year attendance might have taken a hit in competition with the Dodgers’ World Series run, he still raised more than $2,500, all of which was given to the Santa Clarita Valley Domestic Violence Center.

“It’s kind of like my community service thing that I do once a year, and I get to have some fun,” he said.

And his neighbors not only seem to appreciate the effort, but also being part of the result.

“The fact that people know about it from (as far away as) Long Beach, and those areas, is fascinating,” said Ellison, “and he doesn’t do it for himself, he does it for charities and people that could use the support.”

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