10 Women Reveal What It’s *Really* Like to Work at a Haunted House (Warning: Bodily Fluids Are Involved)
Halloween isn’t just a holiday-it’s our entire October mood. So celebrate the best time of year with a month’s worth of stories that will keep you up all night long. (Binge-watching and eating candy, probably. Same, tbh.) Cheers, witches!
Ever wonder what it’s like to work at one of those haunted Halloween attractions? You know, when you’re not screaming, or crying, or asking other questions like, “It’s behind me, isn’t it?” and “Can we go home now, please?!” Well, the answer isn’t as crazy as you might imagine-it’s crazier. (Also, yes. It is behind you.)
Here, to a few “haunters” (that’s the official job title, FYI) on what it’s like on the other side of those crazy, creepy masks. Spoiler alert: seeing people pee their pants and run into walls is all in a day’s work.
Aleida Gibson, working at Fear Factory SLC for 1 year:
“One night, we switched things up. Instead of having a male master, the leaders let me be the queen vampire. It was crazy how such a little switch drastically changed the vibe for the whole night. Many people found it slightly unnerving to have female order the vampires to attack.
I remember one woman asked, 'But where is Dracula?' Without hesitation, I responded 'Dracula is a myth-I am the one you should be afraid of!' She dropped to the floor and then very quickly ran out the room. I guess she took the warning!"
Kelly Weissinger, working at Spookyworld/Nightmare New England for 5 years:
"I’ve worked in haunted houses for 16 years, but 2 years ago, I saw a man propose to his now-fiancé. He asked me and all my coworkers that work midway (that’s the space outside of the haunts; we are the ones entertaining you while you wait in line and while you’re walking around) for help. So, we pulled him out of the line and pretended to throw him to the ground, then surrounded him in a circle so no that one could see him.
When we pulled away, he was down on one knee with a ring! It was cute. She said yes, and we were all happy to have been involved. Under the masks, most of us are just gushy, anxiety-ridden humans that love love. It’s not about terrorizing people. I love to entertain, and I love to make people laugh and scream at the same time because it shows me that they are having a great time."
Bobbi Davis, working at Field of Horrors for 5 years:
"My second year at the field, I was in a slanted shack with 3 others playing demonic, possessed girls. Someone dropped their hat on the field, so he and his group of friends had to wait in our scene while someone got his hat. We had so much fun tormenting them, telling them we were going to roast them like marshmallows and demonstrating by holding our dolls over the fire. The most fun was playing Ring Around the Rosie around the cringing group!
My third year, we won the grossest scene on the field because we were voodoo cannibals. As one of us ripped a ‘victim’s’ head off, I was on the altar eating the ‘intestines.' I would rip the entrails up in my mouth, and it always made me chuckle when I heard someone say with disgust, ‘What does she have in her mouth?!' This year, I went through rehearsals with my 1-year-old son and he loved it!"
Tara Anderson, working at Field of Horrors for 4 years
"Some customers aren’t always as easy to scare. I had this little girl, no older than 8, trying to have a staring contest with me. Of course, I played along for a few minutes-until her mom, who was clearly more scared than her, exclaimed ‘Come on! Stop having staring contests with the creepy, crazy girl! We need to get out!’
Another funny-and one of my most embarrassing-moments would have to be the time I got stuck on one of the fences. I went to jump onto one to scare somebody, and when I went to jump down my boot got caught in the fence and I landed face first on the ground. I still made it work nonetheless.”
Angie Hanson, working at Blood Manor for 4 years, and in haunted houses in general for 14 years:
“Our haunt is actually haunted. I have worked as a ‘victim' inside the morgue room for the past four years, and each day, we would find props missing that would then turn up in another room. The table-an extremely heavy, real mortician’s table-would be moved across the room, glass bottles would break with no one near them, and doors would slam. I personally had an earring go missing 3 years ago in a different room, only to appear last year in the morgue.
On one of the last nights of the season, the lights in our room went haywire, strobing like a rave. My acting partner said, 'Just lay on the table. You running around is upsetting whatever spirit is here.' As soon as I laid down and put my head in the cradle, the lights stopped and went back to normal!”
Kristie Milos, working at Field of Horrors for 4 years
"I spent my first 2 years in ‘Insanity,’ a chain-link fence maze with an abundance of fog, strobe, and loud music that fits the scene. My character was an insane little girl, so I wore a blue hospital gown and carried around a ripped and bloody teddy bear. In Insanity, I've watched several people run from fear. They're typically not able to see well, so I've watched people run face first into the fences.
One year, I actually smashed my face on the fence, giving myself a bloody nose. I went into the makeup room and one of the artists complimented how real my makeup looked. I had to explain it wasn't makeup, and asked them nicely for some tissues."
Morgan Walston, traveling scare actor who has worked at such haunts as Netherworld in Atlanta, Massacre in Chicago, and Nashville Nightmare over the past 4 years:
"Scare acting is quite possibly the most interesting job I have ever worked. I've experienced everything from intoxicated guests, to assaults, to someone literally passing out in front of me. I have been hit, thrown up on, and become a stranger’s best friend-all in one night. The stories I have collected in this industry are absolutely endless, but one of my particular favorites is a scare from last year at Dark Harbor coined ‘The Beer Goggles.’ A mild-mannered blonde woman came in holding a beer in each hand. They were practically overflowing and I could tell she was focused on making sure they did not spill.
Of course, this was the perfect opportunity for a slide (sliding is where you slide at patrons on knee pads and metal gloves). I waited for the fog to roll in around her legs and took off running. I hit the ground right around her feet, she screamed, and her immediate reflex was to smash the cups of beer into her face, as if she were wearing binoculars. She was soaked! She and her friends absolutely lost it laughing and I made my exit quickly through the fog. Priceless.”
Erin Bruneau, working at Field of Horrors for 5 years:
"We called the role I was playing a ‘roamer,' which allowed me to travel the entire staging area including the parking lot. One particular night, I was dressed as a very bloody clown. There are many areas to hide while waiting for our next victim, and in one area, I was able to hear a certain customer stating how scared he was. It was a perfect opportunity to scare and, at the same time, get a great reaction from the rest of the customers waiting to get in.
When the perfect moment hit, I popped out and ended up scaring him so bad that I chased him across the entire parking lot until he got into the car and screamed. He would not go in for the rest of the night. I scared him so badly that he waited for his friends to do the haunt while sitting in the car!”
Erica Porter, working at The 13th Gate for 6 years:
"In Haunt World, I am known as Matilda ‘Tilly’ Barkley. She’s a mental patient who killed her baby sister in 1902 and was sent away to the Vatican House for the Criminally Insane. Tilly has multiple personalities, and she’s not a clown, she’s a princess... who looks like a clown to everyone else! I’ve had a few funny reactions, including someone peeing their pants right in front of me.
One year, this little old man came in with a cowboy hat on, looks at me from head to toe, and says ‘This zombie has been eating chicken. This here is a big, healthy zombie.’ I literally wanted to take him and chew him up, forreal!”
Janelle Mercado, working at Blood Manor for 3 years:
“The best was when we had a group of college tough guys come in and try to run through the place. It took three woman to take them down. They almost broke down the set because they thought there was a door where there wasn’t one; one even cried and wanted to leave. They admitted they had been acting like big hot shots and didn’t want to see us anymore and left, but we went back down and scared them all the way to the train station down the block. It’s great to know the power you have as a woman working in a haunted house.”
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