Caledonia Woman Hiring Zombies, Victims, and Other Scary Souls for haunted house

Who says there aren’t jobs out there? resident Jewel Albritton wants to hire 25 people ASAP. Qualifications? Be scary, scream well, and do a good zombie.

Albritton and her brother Donta Albritton are putting together their third annual Racine Factory of Fear haunted house. Auditions are being held on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 at 615 Marquette St. in Racine.

The interview process is a little bizarre.

“We bring a few people in at a time and say, ‘Okay, you are a Night of the Dead zombie. Show us what you do,’” she said. “Some people scream, some people wander around, some people say, ‘Blooooooodd.’ Well, zombies don’t talk. That’s not a scary zombie. That’s comical.”

Albritton said the minimum wage jobs go to people who show passion -- even if they have no acting experience.

“People who love it stick it out until the end. It’s like any job -- you can’t do it unless you have a passion for it,” she said. “You also have to have no shame.”

Actors are generally expected to wear make-up. Some costumes are provided, and others wear torn, dirty, zombie-fied versions of everyday clothes.

“You might have been in bed when you were turned into a zombie. You might be wearing a business suit. You might have been a construction worker,” she said.

On top of having to wear makeup and ripped clothes and start the bejeesus out of your customers, the hours for these jobs are also a little odd. Factory of Fear is open Thursday through Sunday nights, starting September 30.

Albritton said she and her ex-husband always used to put together a scary front yard at their house on Wright Avenue in Racine, and three years ago, they decided to expand into an entire haunted house.

“There are pumpkin patches for little kids, but there’s nothing really for teenagers,” she said.

The Factory of Fear is a maze with five hallways and eight rooms. She said it takes about 15 minutes to go through it, and people keep coming back.

“Ninety percent of the people who go through tell us they love it,” she said.

The Factory of Fear opens on Friday, Sept. 30 and is open every Thursday through Sunday until Oct. 30. Thursdays: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday through Sunday 7 p.m. until midnight (longer if there’s a line.) Admission is $12.50. One kid admitted free with an adult on Thursday Family Nights (when things are toned down). High school students with ID get in for $10 on Saturdays. Every other Sunday, bring in a canned food item to donate and admission is $10. Check out their new website starting Sept. 30 at racinesfactoryoffear.com.