A Southeast Michigan haunted house has been ranked as one of the best in the nation.
The USA Today's top 10 reader's choice list comes as the haunted season begins.
Azra Chamber of Horrors is listed as the third best.
"Southeast Michigan, in my opinion, has become the home of haunts. And I think everybody has an amazing product that they are putting out. The better they are, the better we are," said Kim Elliston, Haunt Director, Azra Haunted House Chamber of Horrors.
There are over 30 haunted houses in Southeast Michigan. Elliston says many preparations take place to prepare for the haunted season.
"We start thinking about what characters we are going to have in what room. How we are changing things up this year. We have people who specialize in special effects, sound and lighting, and builders; we want to make sure everything is safe for actors and customers," said Elliston.
A team of 60 actors work in rotation at the Azra Haunted House Chamber of Horrors. One of them is Shaye Stone.
"I turned 24 yesterday, I was actually here for my birthday, which in my opinion, I was at the best place I could have been," said Stone.
Stone also works as a server, but working at the haunted house is like being at home.
"What don't I enjoy about this? The costumes, the customer's reactions, my coworkers, the set, everything about this job is amazing," said Stone.
In order to prepare for this job, Stone makes sure she is well-hydrated and listens to loud music to get all hyped up.
"The best part is watching everyone getting into character," said Stone.
"We are going to start with some vocal warmups, but before we worry about our vocal cords, we got to work on our breathing," said Sabrina Slovey, actor at Azra Haunted House Chamber of Horrors.
22-year-old Slovey leads these vocal warmups every time the haunted house opens for business.
"When you do scream, you want to use your whole body so the stress is not on your vocal cords," said Slovey.
Another important task Slovey manages is getting the makeup done for all the actors in less than 90 minutes.
"It's less intense than TV special effects makeup. It is more of what they are going to see in the dark," said Slovey.
Even though Slovey works as a barista during the day, scaring folks here is what she truly loves.
"Every time I run into one of my coworkers, I'm like, what can I do to make this better?" said Slovey.
For more information about Azra Haunted House Chamber of Horrors, click here.
