The Globe and Mail

For 19 years, family-owned Screemers Inc. has been in the business of frightening patrons at its annual Halloween season haunted house attractions at Exhibition Place in Toronto.

Patrons line up to get into the Asylum, one of six themed haunted house attractions that Screemers offers. About 25,000 visitors hit Screemers over its 13-night run in October, says general manager Andrew Gidaro. Tickets cost $28.50.

The butcher prepares his delicacies in the Haunted House. It takes about 10 employees eight to 10 days to construct all of Screemers' attractions. The cost runs $50,000 to $75,000, says general manager Andrew Gidaro.

The meat locker in the Haunted House. Props are often picked up off the side of the road, general manager Andrew Gidaro says. "I drive around on garbage days and pick up items, like refrigerators or washer-dryers. You want it to look real, so you take stuff that has been in houses before."

Some props you just can't make, general manager Andrew Gidaro says. Some items are bought from specialty stores.

The head of an animatronic wolf prop at Screemers. The animatronic props are the most expensive part of Screemers, says general manager Andrew Gidaro. They are remotely controlled. The wolf cost between $5,000 and $7,000.

The six attractions include the Haunted House, the Field of Screams, the Darkness, the Asylum, the Diabolical House of Cards, and the Slasher Wax Museum, where you'll meet the Freddy pictured here.

Screemers hires about 100 employees who act as skeletons, monsters, ghouls, werewolves and other frightful figures, general manager Andrew Gidaro says. It finds employees through the recruitment page on its website. Some of the actors have been creating fear for Screemers for more than 10 years.

An artist paints the walls for one of the newest attractions, a three-dimensional, clown-themed maze called Diabolical House of Cards.

An actor gets into character as a crazed doctor before the doors open. "We give pep talks to everyone before the night begins," says general manager Andrew Gidaro. Prizes are given out nightly to best individual actor and the actors in the attraction that generated the most scares the previous night, Mr. Gidaro says.

Behind one of the attractions. It takes patrons an hour and a half to three hours to go through all of the attractions.

Along with employees are volunteers who love Halloween so much, they dress up as extras and walk around helping to scare patrons, general manager Andrew Gidaro says.

A stiff drink to calm nerves can be had at the Vampire Lounge. Screemers hires a catering company to run the bar and food stands.

Walking through the Terror in 3D attraction. This year, Screemers expanded into Hamilton, Ont., with four attractions, including this one, a midway and a bar. It's looking to expand to another city next year.

More props at hand. While Screemers would not disclose total revenues, in addition to ticket sales, it makes money on midway games, food and candy concessions, merchandise, rides and liquor sales.

Behind Screemers: The company was started by Ardo Gidaro, front right, and his wife, Roseanna Tilford. Their sons have joined the business. Andrew Gidaro, back left with fiance Iris Reese, is the general manager, and Marco, back right, is the operations manager. The family owns other amusement companies as well.