SHANGHAI: Are you a daredevil? Can you take a visit to the haunted house?

It's a new experience catching fire in Shanghai, especially among white-collar workers aged between 25 and 34 who come to have the wits scared out of them because, they say, it helps relieve the stresses of the day.

A "ghost" gets down to work at the haunted house in the city's Cultural and Community Events Center in Shanghai's Putuo District. Zhang Dong

"Merely by word of mouth and Internet messages, we will greet at least 60 new visitors each day," said Gu Hao, manager of the haunted house.

Shanghai entrepreneur Zhang Xinghai conceived the house as a way to relax after work. The idea came from Japan, where Zhang had worked for several years.

Shanghai's haunted house was set up last year in the Cultural and Community Events Center in Putuo District. Zhang and his staff renovated the 150 square meters for optimum scream enjoyment.

There are five levels of scariness, Gu explained. The mildest, designed "for girls", who are required to just zigzag through a narrow, dimly lighted path in 15 minutes.

For Level II, staff members turn on certain gadgets and machinery so that scary puppets might pop up during the walk.

On Level III adds audio and lighting effects, and on Level IV, workers act as ghosts.

As for Level V, "I want to keep it a secret since nobody has been daring enough yet to try Level V," Gu said. "But one important thing is that the customers need to go through all these alone; no company is allowed."

As he spoke, two women visitors started screaming.

"The house is pitch dark, lighted by ghost- and fire-like greenish lights," Zhang Lei, one of the women, said afterward. "We had to walk down the narrow path by touching the wall for direction. Suddenly a ghost with a bloody mouth appeared before me."

Even so, Zhang added she and the other woman felt carefree and happy upon finishing.

Sun Rong, one of three men in the same group, suggested men bringing their female friends wear good quality shirts, in case the women tear at the sleeves in fear.

Later, a young couple emerged, excitedly discussed the experience with the first group even though they were strangers.

The discussion lasted 15 minutes, as long as the time spent in the house.

"If you play again, you should take some menthol drops," the girl in the couple, surnamed Li, told Zhang. "I heard you screaming, and your voice now sounds hoarse."

A third group consisting of three male college students joined the discussion after finishing in less than 11 minutes, apparently fearless.

"That is one interesting part of the game," Gu said. "Different players exchange experience and then they become friends."