October has always been a quiet month for travel due to the fact I spend my time volunteering for a haunted house. From the last weekend of September until the first weekend of November I am a scare actor on top of my full time job! Don't get me wrong there are definitely things I would do if I was not so committed to doing this work. I figured I'd change it up a bit and give you a view into the day of a scare actor. A lot goes into working at one of these places, but the work can be fun in it's own way.
Haunted hoses usually run from the last weekend of September or the first weekend of October through to Halloween with varying dates depending on the venue. Friday, Saturday and Sundays are the norm, some do Wednesday and Thursday as well. Doors usually open at 7 or 7:30 pm. Rarely do the run in the day time. The lack of natural light adds to the creep factor.
Actors arrive on site usually between 4-5:30 pm to start getting placed in various rooms (if there are no permanently assigned rooms). Once placement happens, the magic of creation begins! Makeup, costumes and character development is what goes on in the 2-3 hour gap before open. It can be a challenge when you are new but the team of actors are always there to help.
Character conceptualization is different for each person. For me knowing which room I am in and what scare styles my neighboring actors have helps, but is not required. After nine years of doing this work, I can be placed in almost any room and do most style s of scares. Some call me a Pro-haunter, I don't consider myself to be so as I still feel I have lots to learn from other more senior actors.
I get lots of questions from people who find out I do character acting in a haunted house (feel free to ask questions in the comments if they are not here!). Here are a few:
Don't you laugh when you scare people? At first, all the time. It was hard to not break character when you send someone screaming bloody murder into the next room. With practice, it became easier to stop my laughter and eventually got to the point I no longer laugh or break character.
What is the most annoying thing you have experienced? Drunk people I guess are one of the more annoying things of this job, the ones who have trouble standing up. If you go to a haunt and want to drink, don't drink until you can't walk. You will hurt yourself. You are walking through dark spaces with people jumping out at you and props moving around you not to mention uneven ground in some spots. Please attend sober, and in reasonable shoes (avoid heels, flip flops and slip on shoes).
What is the best scare you have done? There are several I can recall. If I had to pick one it was my first season. It was a team scare that resulted in a group of teens falling over and one of them having a code brown. I earned the nick name Witchie-Poo that year.
Code brown? What is that? A code brown is a term we use to say that someone pooped their pants. We also have code yellow (pee), code green (vomit), code black (passed out) and code blue (death/medical emergency, yes this happens). I have witnessed all except blue, and caused only code yellow and browns.
How physically demanding is haunting? It can be be very physically demanding. By the end of the season I have bruises, sore muscles and sometimes a sore throat. Not to mention the lack of sleep while working late nights and a full time job, the season can be tough.
What are the dangers of haunting? Haunt CAN be dangerous as an actor. You are playing with peoples fight or flight reactions. We get into peoples heads through bombardment of sound, sights and smells. With these things people can become unpredictable and you have to learn how to read body language. I've been hit, pushed, kicked and yelled at while haunting. I even had someone try to punch me in the face. I've witnessed other actors having their nose being broken by a customer, and some of my coworkers have been tasered, pepper sprayed and knocked out. It is a risk you take, and something I accept could happen. Outside of the customers unknown reaction, sometimes there are things in the haunt that can hurt us as well. Corners of walls, props and even weather can make it dangerous.
How do you keep your voice through the season with all the screaming? One thing I have learned in the 9 years of haunt is that every scare does NOT have to have a loud scream. My first year I blew out my voice in a couple days, and had issues until season was over. I've learned better techniques to keep my voice solid throughout the season. First thing I changed is I hardly scream any more. I've found that even body language or a whisper can be just as scary as a scream. Second thing I learned is I never drink cold water. I always use room temp or warm water when in the haunt. Third thing is I always keep a bottle of fresh hot tea for the end of the night with honey in it. This soothes my throat if I use my voice a lot and helps support it bouncing back quickly.
What is the best thing about working for a haunt? Best thing I would have to say is working with a team that becomes your haunt family. We look out for each other, support each other and help one another be the best monster we can be! We share scaring tips, costume tips and makeup tips to elevate each team member. We celebrate when someone scares a customer really good. We innovate together, team scare and have fun.
All in all it is an amazing gig to have. For me it's not about money. I do it because I love it. There are some haunts who pay their actors, many who don't. Though my haunt is volunteer, the owner pays for makeup for the team, gets costume pieces for us to share, keeps a constant flow of water and soda for us and brings in food for us at the end of the night. If you love Halloween, check out your local haunts!
