"The choices we make have very real consequences," said Matt Baumgartner, student ministries pastor at the Bethel Assembly of God in Temple.

A man can choose to beat his wife. A boy can choose to use drugs. And a girl can choose to meet one of her online friends in person.

Those are the scenes in Hell House, an annual Halloween program at Bethel.

"They are real life things that happen every day," Baumgartner said. "We hear about them all the time in the news."

And the images can move Hell House visitors to tears.

"It's very common," said Jonathan Parker, the creative director of Hell House. "It's not out of fright, but from the reality of it. They see some aspects that are mirrored in their own lives and memories."

For the members of the young adult group who serve as actors, Hell House is scarier than traditional spooks.

"Reality is scary," said Denise Arredondo of Temple, 18.

"And hell is pretty scary," said Anastasia O'Brien of Temple, 18. "Not all the decorations were up, and I was screaming."

The Hell House tour starts in a hospital room where a surgery is under way.

"But the doctor happens to be a demon," Baumgartner said. "And it doesn't matter to him whether the person lives or dies because in the end, the soul belongs to him."

That's the shock factor that sets the mood for the remainder of the program.

And then someone from the church who's dressed as a demon will take you the rest of the way. Tour groups of about 25 people will see several mini-plays, one where the father beats his wife and children.

In another, a boy overdoses on drugs he finds in his brother's dresser.

"One of the most powerful scenes is where a girl meets a man she meets online," Baumgartner said. "He's not a psychopath or pedophile. He's a regular guy, and he rapes her."

And in the course of defending herself, the girl kills the man.

"But she's pregnant," Baumgartner said. "And she chooses to have an abortion. But she can't live with the guilt and ends up taking her own life."

At the end of the visitor's trek, there's a coffin.

"You walk inside it," Baumgartner said. "It's dark. You're in there with about 10 other people, and you hear voices talking about the choices you've made. It's frightening."

And on the other side of the coffin is hell.

"Satan has control," Baumgartner.

But that's not how the story ends.

"Hell was not created for people," Baumgartner said. "Only Satan and his demons. People have a choice to make. They can choose to invite Christ in their heart."

That's the goal of Hell House - to plant the seed of Christ.

"Souls can be saved," said Gary Gober of Temple, the intern who helped design Bethel's Hell room. "I've seen lives change in response to programs like these. I want to do all I can to help that happen because I know how it is not to know Christ. It was a tough, tough time in my life."

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: Hell House

WHEN: 7 p.m. Oct. 21, Oct. 23-25, Oct. 28-30

WHERE: Bethel Church, 22621 HK Dodgen Loop, Temple

COST: $8 per person

NOTE: Due to the adult nature of the program, the church says children under 12 should not attend.