By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—Are you ready for Halloween? Warehouse 31 is. On Sept. 26, the Warehouse 31 haunted house will open its doors in Pelham for the second year in a row.

Started six years ago in St. Augustine, Fla., the Warehouse 31 haunted house seeks to entertain visitors as much as scare them.

“In the haunted house business, we’re able to be the creators of the entertainment… to have a direct impact on whether (visitors) have a great time,” Warehouse 31 owner Jason Sills said.

The haunted house industry has grown significantly over the past decade and “shifted into professional big budget attractions that are strictly to entertain people,” Sills explained.

The Warehouse 31 haunted house is located at 3050 Lee Street and consists of two different attractions. The first is a 3-D maze, offering a visually interesting experience. Visitors in 3-D glasses wander through black-lit passageways painted with neon images and surprises lurking around each corner.

The second is a traditional haunted house experience, Sills explained. Visitors are taken through numerous haunting scene brought to life by trained actors.

“We try to play on all the senses. We want people to get out of their comfort zones, whether it’s the audio, the lighting, we even use smells,” Sills said. “It’s an action packed good time.”

Making sure visitors have a good time is not something Sills and the Warehouse 31 crew take lightly. Preparation for the haunted house begins months before opening, Sills said.

“Really, we never stop,” Sills said. “In August we’re holding auditions (for actors), in September, we’re holding training sessions.”

Between 60 and 75 actors are used throughout the haunted house each night, and last year, nearly 20,000 people passed through.

“We target some of the scenes and make changes to make sure it’s fresh and if you don’t come out you’re going to miss something,” Sills said, noting the experience is different each year, even for repeat customers. “Every actor that’s in there, every scene that’s in there, we don’t take it lightly. We push to entertain people the way through.”

The Warehouse 31 haunted house opens at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 26. More information can be found on the Warehouse 31 website, Warehouse31.com.