Time can hang heavy between Halloweens for Hawaii horror fans who crave a good in-person fright.

For nine years a top Halloween attraction has been Haunted Plantation in historic Hawaii’s Plantation Village in Waipahu. Then, after October, the long letdown sets in.

"Every year, people ask for something more," said Noa Laporga, creator and director of the event, which was inspired by haunted attractions his parents used to take him to as a child growing up in Mililani.

To help ease those ghastly withdrawal pangs, he’s launching an off-season thriller, "1706," on Feb. 13 — Friday the 13th — that will play Friday and Saturday nights through the end of the month.

"1706" will be "even scarier," said Laporga, who is dark and handsome in a Heathcliffian sort of way that suits the mid-19th- to early 20th-century plantation village setting. Far from a reprise of Haunted Plantation, where groups of 10 to 20 passively walk through the houses and observe frightful things, the adults-only "1706" is "completely immersive," he explained.

In true interactive theater tradition, the 12 guests in each group will become part of the 50-minute performance, which Laporga described as "part mystery, part scavenger hunt."

"You enter another dimension, a supernatural realm of spirits and creatures, and you’ll be stuck there if you don’t work together to find certain objects and do certain tasks."

With a ratio of 12 audience members to 19 actors, slackers need not apply. Another difference: One makes contact, literally, with denizens of the spirit world.

"The spirits and creatures touch you, grab you, even steal you away from the group for a time," Laporga said. The characters have their own agendas — the Faun, for instance, is seeking a bride. If things get too intense, Laporga added, guests can call out a "safe word" and "they’ll be escorted safely out."

The actors include two guides, a host and hostess, who might be excused for looking more than a little spooky themselves, in the circumstances.

"We’ve been trapped in that dimension for a long time, and we’re trying to escape with the audience," said hostess Angelina Khan, whose long, flyaway hair, thin limbs, pale, ash-smudged face and shroudlike dress evoke a hapless Tim Burton heroine. She and host Luis Espinosa, a film and television actor who used to train soldiers for search missions, will lead the guests through several plantation houses on their quest.

"Plantation Village is naturally scary at nighttime. … There’s no electricity and it’s really dark," Khan said. Limited lighting is provided by candles and lanterns.

All guests must be 18 or older and sign a liability waiver, Laporga said. In addition to withstanding scary surprises, guests should be able to move quickly and get in and out of cramped spaces, including a bathtub. (Wearing comfortable old clothes that can get dirty and wet is recommended.)

What does "1706" refer to? Laporga, in true showman style, hesitated before answering.

"All I can say is that it’s a combination of numbers that represents something in the play, and the only way to find out is to attend," he said.

In an age of virtual instant gratification, an old-fashioned, brick-and-mortar mystery could be a welcome change of pace — for those who can outrun their pursuers, that is.