Walking into Talladega Frights, I was shocked and pleased that the room I was standing in wasn’t a mass-produced corporate structure but handmade and completely original.

Located at the Fruitvale-Norris Park, Talladega Frights started out three years ago at a house in Talladega Court that “just kept expanding,” said Adam Stubbs, a founder of Talladega Frights.

Now sponsored by North of the River Parks and Recreation, founder Mike Wilbur began setting up haunted houses at his home because where he came from in Utah, they would have 100,000 square foot haunted houses, and he wanted to bring some of that to Kern County.

This year’s Talladega Frights includes four different scenes that you walk through, and according to Stubbs, a crew of 4 to 5 guys worked on the entire set on nights and weekends for about 45 days.

Dana Martin, the acting coordinator, said that each of the four scenes has a background story, and she encourages the public to go to their websites and read the back stories before visiting to enhance their experience and know the background of each different tale. “Each separate area is its own entity, like four different houses. There are different hallways, floors, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. It’s like being inside of a scary movie,” she said.

I had been to many haunted houses before and this time I was going with four other girls, two of whom I practically had to drag because they were so terrified of haunted houses.

From the second we walked in, however, we were all in awe at how amazing the set was. It felt like a set that would have been in a major theme park because it was put together so nicely. The decorations really enhanced the experience because I didn’t realize that I was still outside, and I wasn’t actually inside of a house.

After walking in, a bellboy with moss growing out of his face told us a story about Charlie, and how and why he haunts the hotel. Then, we were led to an elevator.where the horror began.

I don’t want to give away the unique spooks and thrills of Talladega Frights because, like a good horror movie, things catch you off guard and terrify you at the perfect moments. But I will tell you that the actors actually looked real, and they played their parts so well that I did actually feel like I was in a horror movie.

Being braver then the rest of my friends, I was chosen to lead the way for them, but as soon as the bellboy was finished explaining his story, and we were on the elevator, my heart rate increased, and I was anxious and nervous about what would happen.

In the 20-25 minute tour of Talladega Frights, you walk over a quarter mile and by the time my friends and I were finished, we felt like we had just finished running a race for our lives: It was the perfect way a haunted house should make people feel.

After catching our breath and recovering from the tour, all we could do was talk about how amazing the experience was. Even the two girls who hated haunted houses said that it was a ton of fun.

The decorations and special effects were awesome, and we were even more impressed that the actors could hold their characters so well and not laugh when they scared the crap out of us. They knew the perfect time to scare us, and they really helped to enhance our experience.

I can say that Talladega Frights is the best haunted house that I have been to and that I will definitely be returning for a second visit. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fun Halloween experience.

Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and all Halloween week, Martin encourages people to become fans of their Facebook pages and to watch for free ticket questions as well as read up on their back stories at their Web site, www.talladegafrights.com.