Back, behind the desolate and industrial scenes of the Lower East Side is a theater that for decades has hosted a plethora of culture-bashing artists

such as John Cage, Dizzie Gillespie, Orson Welles, and Lou Reed. This is where Third Rail Projects hosts a lesser known haunted house – an amalgam of Victorian era characters, anachronistic cyborgs, and machines programmed to attack like guard dogs of dystopian ideals in a post-apocalyptic era in which steam powers the cogs of chaos.

Steampunk Haunted House, as it’s called, is a Halloween attraction unlike any other, where the mind of Bessie award winning artist, Zach Morris was let loose to create an interactive world where both art and fear entwine into a stunning playground of mazes and sensorial effects. Once inside the building, there is a realization that the air is different; the walls feel tighter. There is a genuine feeling that you are no longer in New York City. You’re somewhere else that is allied with no municipality — run with its own set of rules that go together like fire and water. It’s unnerving and pleasurable.

The scares from these bio-mechanical beings begin right away as they pop out of corners, yelling and shepherding you into a dark, cavernous hall. They implement simple effects, at first, such as the coordination of sound and light; powering off the lamps to coincide with eerie sounds. In the beginning, you get a sense that less is more. In the beginning, you realize that there’s more to haunted houses than blood and guts.

The presentation here is more about art than scares. The characters look creepy with their Victorian outfits and telescopic goggles. They resemble something human but because their eyes are concealed, it is difficult to make a connection, which supplies a subtle detail of fear that is more intelligent than fangs, festering wounds, and mutilated bodies. The attraction is more art house than haunted house but do not be mistaken. This is not Monet or even Kiki Smith. It’s Hieronymus Bosch without the imagery of Heavenly or Hellish figures. It is a walking fright tour of installation art that will surround you at times, including a Joseph Cornell-style corner that is a diorama of strange figures and doom.

Unfortunately, the characters’ incessant screams begin to lull you into a sense of safety, which are both detrimental to a haunted house but also a benefit. A lot of meticulous work was put into the composition of this alluring volume of installation art. A suggestion to the creators is to lay off the screams a little, trick guests into safety and then let them have it again.

Steampunk Haunted House is definitely worth attending especially if you enjoy a treatment of frights and art. The opportunity to enjoy the attraction housed in such an artistically historic venue also provides a sense of awe that will follow you from beginning to end. The length of the tour is just right and will satisfy any steampunk fantasy. The scene in the main theater alone can not be missed.

October 28 & 29 from 6:00pm to 9:30pm and October 30 & 31 from 8:pm to 11:30pm, Henry Street Settlement/Abrons Arts Center 466 Grand Street, New York, NY, $10-$25