On a dark, chilly Saturday night in Englewood, Dave Allen scanned his surveillance cameras, checking to see if all his monsters were in place to open the haunted house.

Into the loud speakers, Allen commanded his army of scare actors to listen up: “What happens when a pumpkin drinks alcohol? It gets smashed!”

Echoes of laughter rang through the dark, decrepit hallways of the haunted house.

“Let’s have some fun tonight,” Allen told his cast.

It’s part of a unique scare culture instilled in what the husband/wife combo of Dave and Brittani Allen envision for their family-owned “The Ritual” haunted house.

It is the annual ritual, so to speak, of a family rooted in metro Denver. They have operated their haunted house for almost five years. This year, they are in their third operating in their home town of Englewood.

Located in a strip mall several miles south of Denver is where the Englewood-based Allen family – two sons Mason and Landon, extended family and friends — teamed up with local metro Denver scare actors and staff to create what they envision as a daunting storytelling experience.

Their indoor walkthrough attraction portrays a story of sacrifice and dark journey.

The Ritual’s 15-20 minute experience begins inside a rickety shack, where participants are asked to take part in a ritual ceremony. Through the journey, participants are continually followed by merchants of the ritual. The dark, mysterious hallways lead into rooms of the ritual, where the monsters and ghouls are waiting.

In one room, those submitting to the sacrifice will cross “the swamp” to the other side.

The vision is to create an engaging storyline with unique props and characters. Much of the props inside are home-made and refurbished from recycled items, according to the Allen family.

“Building something to share with people is one of the coolest things,” said Dave Allen.

“I love seeing people come out at the end of the haunted house, happy, excited, like watching the cameras,” he said. “That’s what I enjoy, honestly, being able to build this for people to share with others.”

But what really stands out, he added, was the aspect of family.

“The fact that we get to do this as a family is pretty crazy,” Allen said. “What other job do you have that I can be with my wife and my kids and friends and we’re all together?”

In the eyes of Brittani Allen, she said the love of scaring people runs in the family.

“It’s become part of their identity,” she said of her children and close family members. “It’s a part of their own haunted world.”

In its third year operating in Englewood, the Allen family shared their aim to grow and build more attractions in the area where they grew up.

Dave Allen expressed interest in doing year-round attractions, including the possibility of escape rooms and in-house haunt events.

“It’s not just haunted houses,” he said. “We want to build stuff just to share with people.”

The Ritual haunted house, located at 301 Englewood Parkway, is open every night until Nov. 2. Gates to the ritual experience open every night at 7 p.m. The house is open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and open until midnight on Friday and Saturdays. General admission tickets are $25, while VIP less-wait tickets are $40.

Editor’s note: Check in with The Denver Gazette later this week to read first-hand experiences of other metro Denver haunt experiences, including for The Ritual.