Tonight in neighborhoods all over the country private homes will turn themselves into haunted houses to scare up some chills and thrills for the local kids and kids-at-heart, and they are all labors of love that are very creative and a lot of fun. But there is one house in the suburbs of Los Angeles that is staging possibly the most elaborate private Halloween show in the world, one that is haunted with the spirit of Hollywood professionals including several from the Star Trek world.

The Burbank home of Bob Burns, a noted preservationist of sci-fi and horror film artifacts, has been converted into an arctic research station which is invaded by a hostile alien in a re-creation of the 1951 classic "The Thing." The seven-minute walk-through show was scripted by Dorothy "D.C." Fontana, "freely borrowing" from the original script by Charles Lederer to hit all the essential beats of the movie, she said. Fontana, an old friend of Burns, worked side by side with Gene Roddenberry to help create Star Trek in the 1960's, and wrote many of the most memorable episodes including "Charlie X" and "Journey to Babel."

Dozens of other volunteers from all corners of show business have contributed their time, creativity and power tools to construct the set, assemble props and costumes, and design a variety of special effects to bring the horror scenario to life. The head of the cast performing Fontana's script is Daniel Roebuck, a popular character actor who appeared in the two-part "Unification" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as a Romulan follower of Spock. Greg Jein, modelmaker on various Star Trek shows and movies, lent his craft to a forced-perspective set piece. David C. Fein, producer of the "Director's Edition" of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," helped get the sound system together and prepare a video that introduces the show. Daren Dochterman, who also worked on the "Director's Edition," plus Pat McClung, modelmaker for the original "ST:TMP," and Adam Howard, digital effects animator on every contemporary Star Trek TV show along with the last two movies, were some of the others who have brought a professional touch to this decidedly old-fashioned Hollywood scarefest.

"Bob Burns is a marvelous guy, just loved by everybody in this town, and there's nothing we wouldn't do for him. So when it came time to do the show, there was no chance at all that I wouldn't be part of it," explained Fein. "This is not about money, this is not about career advancement, this is about doing something great for the public."

Burns — an actor, editor, visual effects consultant, etc. — is most famous for converting his home into a literal museum of props, models, costumes, masks and other artifacts from science fiction and horror films, as documented in his book "It Came from Bob's Basement!" He became a local celebrity for staging elaborate productions every Halloween from 1967 until 1982. This year's extravaganza is particularly special because it's his first in 20 years.

The show is open to the public tonight through Sunday, Nov. 3, from 6-10 p.m. (The lines are expected to be very long, so get there early!) There is no charge for admission. For more information visit The Official Bob Burns Web Site. If you can't make it in person, a documentary about the show will be produced on DVD in the near future — keep an eye on Burns' site for updates.

Fontana actually met her husband, Dennis Skotak — an Oscar-winning visual effects director — at a Bob Burns Halloween show. "It was the 'Alien' show in 1979," Skotak recalled. "I was assigned to build the tailbone for the creature, and I needed an assistant, so she got shoved my way, and the rest is history."

Story & photos by Sandy Stone