WYOMING, Mich.-- It may be September, but a lot of people are looking to Halloween and a West Michigan favorite is getting ready to open this weekend.
This year, The Haunt is under new ownership and a new location.
"A haunted attraction, if it is done right, involves a lot of different emotions for a lot of different people," said Doug Shelden, CEO of The Haunt.
Shelden is the new owner of The Haunt and says this year is better than ever. There are four different themes: haunted manor, asylum, mannequin factory and haunted bayou.
"Once you walk through the doors, we take you to a whole different realm," said Shelden. "You’re into the feeling that you’re no longer in that shopping center.”
The Haunt is made up of 144 different rooms and can take up to an hour to walk all the way through.
"We really went into detail," said Shelden. "You’re going to want to sit there and look at everything in the room, but you’re going to want to push through also.”
Shelden says the asylum is his favorite part.
"I’ve been here at night working sometimes till 2 or 3 in the morning and this one creeps me out the most," said Shelden. "It's one of the only attractions in the country where you become part of the scare. Once you get here and you look down this corridor, you’re going to know what we mean.”
The crews have been hard at work with a lot of late nights getting everything ready for their big opening on Saturday.
"Some of the guys have been here for 18 hours a day, but we know that we got to be ready for the public in one day," said Shelden.
There’s also a new VIP experience this year where guests can skip the lines and access the VIP room, where they can watch videos of other people getting scared, a special dance performance and food. The actors will also give those guests a little extra attention.
"If you’re coming out you definitely want to give yourself some time and make it a fun date night," said Shelden.
The Haunt officially opens on Saturday at 7 pm, but get out a little early so you won’t have to wait in line for too long.
For more information, visit their website.
