Skeletons cloaked in black capes emerge from a thick, dark fog. Creepy sounds and muffled voices echo in black halls as demons lead crowds into the darkness.
But it's not long before visitors realize they are not in an ordinary haunted house.
A rejected young lover bangs his head against the wall in a psychiatric ward, and a voice cries: "He doesn't know Jesus! You don't know Jesus!"
Haunted houses such as Detroit World Outreach's Hell House are not only about fun and fright, but they're also a growing and sometimes controversial way to use the pagan tradition of Halloween to preach Christian values to the masses.
World Outreach, an Assembly of God church, sees Halloween as a time to reach young souls who might not otherwise step foot in a church. Open through Halloween night, the house is similar to several other Hell Houses across the country: they create scenes aimed at touching people and offer an opportunity to give their life to God at the end.
"We don't need Jason and Freddy to scare people," said Shawn Logan, 27, who encourages visitors to turn to God after they've gone through Hell House. "It's scary enough out there."
Some Hell Houses have provoked controversy by featuring scenes showing and condemning abortion, suicide and homosexuality.
Such was the case last year when New Beginnings Church in Wayne included a gay scene in its production. Gay activists protested and the haunted house was shut down for fire code violations. The church decided not to have one this year.
"The message of Hell House isn't very Christian," said Sean Kosofsky of the Triangle Foundation, Michigan's largest advocacy organization for gays and lesbians. "It really isn't a loving, affirming message. It's about fear, guilt and blame. It fuels an anti-gay climate that justifies anti-gay violence."
Detroit World Outreach says it has never included a room condemning homosexuality throughout its eight-year run. Instead, it highlights everyday struggles, such as poverty and stress, and hopes to send a message that God can redeem people from these burdens.
"It basically shows you reality," said Laura Garcia, 16, who acts as a demon at the Hell House in Redford Township. "The devil shows you one thing and God shows you another. Your life is about choices, and you can do the right thing or you can do the wrong thing. It's a reality haunted house."
In one scene, for instance, the young girl who rejected her boyfriend is traumatized by seeing him in the psychiatric ward. She runs into another room, sits on her bed and reaches for a gun from her night stand.
Two demons flank the girl, and one of them says: "You put him there. You're so ungrateful." The other says, "There's nothing to live for." The young girl listens, then pulls the trigger.
These types of scenes attempt to tell visitors that God is the other voice they can turn to when there seems no other way out, said the Rev. Keenan Roberts, who brought international attention to Hell House in 1995 when staging one at a church in suburban Denver.
Soon after, churches all over the country were asking how to set up a Hell House in their communities. So Roberts put together a 260-page manual, video of sample skits and a CD of music and sold it for $200 to churches that were interested.
Since then, more than 525 packets have been sold to churches and ministries in 46 states and 13 countries, including 18 in Michigan. However, a survey of the local churches revealed none of those besides Detroit World Outreach is staging Hell Houses at this time.
"Hell House is designed to grab the attention of the sight and sound generation," Roberts said. "It's a rock 'n' roll gospel and it reaches young people. It is the most dynamic soul-winning tool that I've ever seen. That's why it's taken off."
But not everyone is swayed at Hell House, which attracts about 3,000 people every year to the Redford Township church.
"I don't believe in this," said Mike Kelly, a 33-year-old Canton Township resident who went through Hell House last weekend. "I don't think any hocus-pocus show is going to change my beliefs."
Detroit World Outreach recognizes that view, but points to hundreds of people who have invited God into their lives, including more than 500 last year.
Each year, the church rewrites its Hell House script in hopes of reaching more people and convincing them that no one has to go to hell, a place Denise Henry envisions as a lake of fire with weeping souls.
"There's no help in hell once you're there," said Henry, 25, who helped set up the haunted house. "And it's too late once you die."