Want to Scare the Bejesus Out of Someone? Open Auditions at the Bates Motel Haunted House

Each Season Haunt Actors want to get their Scare On. Be that scaring little children, old ladies, or just people looking for some haunt and Halloween Action within a Haunted Attraction. And as the Haunt Season is approaching fast, many events are holding open auditions for those extra special haunt people who love to scare people and are good at it.

The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride is holding an open casting call this coming Wednesday, July 27, 2011. This Haunted Attraction that has been featured on the Travel Channel is where you can get your haunt on, show your stuff, and become a ‘Hauntertainer’ as Crazy Bob turner from the Haunted Hydro would put it. They are looking for those individuals who will scare, terrify, and bring their haunts to life. It is the Haunt Actor who makes the haunt come alive once the show is on and the lights are dimmed.

Auditions will be held at Arasapha Farm, at 7:00 pm right outside the Bates Motel. And just in case you cannot make it on Wednesday due to zombies holding you up, there will be an additional casting day on Sunday, July 31st at 4:00 pm. So be scare, make people scared, and prepare your character to the fine tweaked demented person you are inside.

If you are looking to get your haunt on and want to break into the Haunting business, this is a great way to have fun, and live out other peoples fears. For more information on the event feel free to visit the official Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride website at: www.ScaryHayrides.com.

MORE FROM THE BATES MOTEL ON HAUNT ACTORS LOOKING TO AUDITION:

Our dates of operation are Friday, September 30th thru Sunday, October 2nd and Friday, October 7th thru Monday, October 31st. We are open dusk till 9:30 Sunday thru Wednesday and dusk till 10:30 Thursday thru Saturday. Call times for employees will range from 4:30pm – 6:30pm. Some weekend nights may go well past 10:30pm. We will hold open auditions/interviews on Wednesday, July 27th at 7pm and Sunday, July 31st at 4pm.

Requirements to be part of our team are:
* Individuals MUST be 18 or older

* Have a clean criminal record

* Have good work ethic (arrive to work on time, respect for managers, fellow employees, and costumers, etc)

* Have reliable transportation to and from work

* Have energy, enthusiasm, and be open-minded

* Be available during our operation dates and times

* Be of good health and physicality

2011 Paid Positions Available:
* Actors for our haunted hayride, haunted corn maze, and haunted house

* Parking lot attendants

* Security

* Tractor Drivers

* Makeup Artists

Please contact Angela at: batesmotelandhayride@gmail.com to set up an interview during the above audition dates and times.

The Bates Motel Featured on the Travel Channel:

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BATES MOTEL FEATURED ON THE TRAVEL CHANNEL

Hitch a Ride with Limited Edition Haunted Mansion Prints, A Gruesome Mask and more!

As the summer heat is cranking away, you are deep in the heart of a haunting mood preparing for October, the Haunt Season and to be scared out of you mind. And with all the prepping your haunted attraction, preparing to attend haunts or just getting in the haunting mood, we all feel the season is upon us.

And in getting in the haunting mood let’s sit and think about some of our favorite things the haunt season has to give us…Halloween Masks and the Haunted Mansion. With that, Eric Pigors of Toxic Toons is ready to give it to us.

ALL-NEW thru July 2011 is Limited Edition Prints you had a chance to see debuted at the 2nd Annual Tribute to the Haunted Mansion at the Halloweentown Store in California. These prints are a beautiful work of art, especially for you Haunted Mansion fans out there. And right now you can get ALL 6 HAUNTED MANSION PRINTS for only $60.00 (sixty dollars). These illustration prints are frame ready with store bought frames, and they come signed by Eric Pigors himself. You can get these limited prints directly in the Specials Section of the Toxic Toons Store.

Eric has said himself: “Look at how nicely displayed my haunted mansion print looks, hung over at the Van Buren’s home. They even own the pen and ink original for the print.”

Now moving on from the Haunted Mansion, how about a Halloween Mask to bring a Toxic Toons illustration to life this season!

Here is what Eric has to say about his masks: “HALLOWEEN IS CREEPING UP AND MY HALLOWEEN MONSTER MASKS ARE IN STOCK! You all know how much I love Halloween,and now I have 4 masks to wear or decorate your doorway or haunted house with. These look awesome! And you can scare lil old ladies into giving you all there candy on Halloween when you say TRICK OR TREAT! My 4 Toxictoons Monster Masks pictured below are named , “FANG- ROT – BRAIN EATER – GRUESOME” and they are now in stock and are ready to buy and ship at www.TrickorTreatStudios.com.”

You can also get a few of the Gruesome Masks on the Toxic Toons website signed by Pigors for the collector’s item.

So as we prepare for Halloween, the Haunt Season, and Trick or Treating, let’s get your haunt on with some limited edition Haunted Mansion Prints and Gruesome Masks. For more information visit: www.ToxicToons.com

Down the Rabbit Hole with Hatter99

by: RFR Casket Crew Hatter 99

On Friday as I was driving home from work in Ohio, I happened to glance out my window and beheld a beautiful sight…a vast field of little cornstalks, swaying lightly in the breeze as they reached upward toward the clear blue sky, anchored in the far distance by a creepy white farmhouse surely crawling with zombies…Oh, how I wanted to climb out of my car, frolic through the field, and join them in their carnivorous feast.  But no, I thought.  I must wait.  In two months the harvest will be MUCH sweeter.

I’m Hatter99 (aka Josh), a newly-inducted member of the Haunt industry as of Fall 2010 when I embarked on the glorious world of scareacting.  The thrill of the scare latched onto my heart like a bloodsucking leach and drew me into the exciting Haunt community, anchored by killer conventions, a plethora of media resources, and a close-knit community of haunters who truly love what they do.  Now I’m honored to be sharing my thoughts on the RFR blog.  For me, the facets of the Haunt industry (and all things macabre and mysterious) are an escape into a world of dark wonder where nothing is as it seems.  Reality is a nice place to be sometimes, but occasionally it’s nice to shake things up a bit…read a creepy book, research a mysterious cryptid, watch a mind-bending movie or TV show, or put on some makeup and a neat hat and scare the bodily fluids out of people.  (That last one only really works well around Halloweentime; the mall cops don’t really appreciate it the rest of the year when I jump out of the rack at Victoria’s Secret at timid guys who are discreetly shopping for nighties…for their wives, they claim.)

So, when I want to step through the looking-glass and explore my own wonderland I choose one of the aforementioned activities, among other things, and that’s what I plan as the major basis for my posts, exploring the ways that I fill that deeply-rooted need for dark amusement.  In exploring those interests I’ll also be reflecting on my experiences as a newbie in the Haunt industry, offering my thoughts and soliciting input from others so that I can learn how to better build that alternate reality for myself and for those whom I am scaring.  The more convincing the experience, the more satisfying the adventure for both the haunters and the hauntees.  Ready?

Hat ON.

As we’re all gearing up for the Haunt season, I’d like to mention to all those Haunt operators out there how important it is to me as an actor to have some type of theme/backstory for the Haunt that all of the actors are aware of, whether it’s a story for a particular room if your Haunt switches themes from one room to the next or a universal theme that works through the entire Haunt.  

Of course it’s important to make the audience aware of that theme as well, but it’s just as important to get the actors on the same page.  If we’re inserted into a spooky environment, given a costume, and told to “Be scary,” the Haunt experience is going to fall apart.  Some actors might be telling guests to “Get out,” while others might be telling them to “Stay for dinner.”  You might have one actor speaking in an American accent and another with a British accent, with a hillbilly thrown in for good measure.  
Unless it’s your own twisted little version of the “It’s a Small World” ride (which is totally creepy, by the way), then the theme of the Haunt becomes broken, and the atmosphere’s scare factor diminishes, leaving the onus on the actor to make up that difference.  Sure we’ll get some scares, but it could have been much more intense had we all been briefed on what our story was.  And if the atmosphere becomes too broken, the scares are next to impossible for us to extract from the guests.  And I know that my energy comes from seeing someone jump, or hearing the screams.  If I can’t get that reaction due to a broken atmosphere, then after an hour my energy is drained, and I feel like I’ve failed.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate.  We actors are creative.  We can fill in the gaps, and we certainly don’t want to be handed our lines, but the key is to have a brief understanding as to why we’re in the environment that we’re in.  Maybe a bunch of spooks have come to collect Granny in exchange for a deal that she made fifty years ago.  Or maybe your house was a bed and breakfast where the proprietor had a bit too much demented fun with the guests.  What’s your setting?  Are you in the South?  London?  The backwoods?  Are you in this century?  It can be a short and sweet little idea, and you might be surprised how much energy your actors can extract from that little spark.  Having that small understanding between the designers of the Haunt and its actors can work beautifully in creating a coherent, ominous atmosphere that is amplified by the actors who can now work together toward a common goal.  It makes a world of difference for me as an actor, and it could make a world of difference for your Haunt.

What do you think?  Have any Haunt operators out there found success in NOT providing a theme to the actors?  Do any actors out there enjoy NOT having a theme?  Chime in.

Hat OFF.

The Red, White, and Boo!

by: RFR casket Crew Unknown Scare Actor

The 4th of July is upon us deadites. And as we are getting ready for our nation’s birthday, the Mortician is spinning show #240, and the Zombies are having a cookout without the grill. Most Pro haunts have started this season’s work. But we all need to enjoy the weekend, the fireworks, and the company of good friends and family.

And let’s not forget our founding fathers, the men who founded the country that gave us our haunt industry. And always honor the fallen men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedoms. I , the Unknown Scare-Actor, take off my mask to all of these American Heroes, and say thank you for giving me and all us us in the haunt industry, the choice to do what we love.

God Bless America! and Rot on Deadites!!

Actor Training, Consulting, and Growth for your Haunt with Rabid Badger Haunt Consulting

RFR Casket Crew’s Rabid Badger is a voice staple to RFR. In addition to being one of the legendary RFR Casket Crew, Badger also runs a successful Haunt Consulting business called RABID BADGER HAUNT CONSULTING.

“Drew Badger and Rabid Badger Haunt Consulting are committed to making your haunted attraction reach its full potential. Whether it’s training actors at some of the nation’s top haunts, laying down voice tracks for your radio and TV commercials, or helping design your new haunt from scratch, let us work with you to ensure you and your actors scare the pants off your customers.”

Now in addition to the consulting he also runs a variety of Actor Training Seminars like those you had seen the the Midwest Haunters Convention in his BOO CAMP seminars. These classes were packed and jamed with Actors and Owners wanted to grow in their technique, style and most of all make their haunt better in character development.

Badger has also worked on a variety of Commercial Spots and offers voice over work with Spooky Voices. So if you are looking to grow your team, crew, actors and haunt, just consult with Rabid Badger Haunt Consulting.

To find out more visit: www.RabidBadger.biz – Tell him you listen to him on Rotting Flesh Radio and you never know what he may drum up in conversation.

CHECK OUT BADGER AT THE 2011 MIDWEST HAUNTERS CONVENTION:

Scarehouse Haunted House Getting you VIP Access for 2011 Season

Recently the ScareHouse Haunted House wrapped up their scare camp with special guest of honor Doug Bradley. It was a huge success and the Scarehouse continues to push the limits in marketing, branding and most of all scaring with their haunted attraction. From having celebrities, to the Ghost Hunters as frequent guests to being featured on television all over, they keep amping it up.

Now as a Haunter, Halloween Enthusiast, or Fright Freak you need to journey and venture to the Scarehouse Attraction this season and right now they have a variety of ways to save if you plan on busing you and all your freaky freak friends to the event as well.

VIP Group Options Let You Get Scared in Style:

The ScareHouse offers special VIP packages for large groups and corporate events. Get access to the exclusive Scare Lounge, RIP Admission straight to the head of the line, Zombie Makeovers for your guests and much more.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ON VIP PACKAGES

Save up to $3 per Ticket and Get Front of Line Access:

If you have a group of 20 or more people you can save as much as $3 per ticket AND proceed directly to the Express line with this special offer.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ON GROUP RATES

Don’t miss this chance for your group to experience The ScareHouse: named as one of America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions by Travel Channel, Forbes, AOL, and Haunted Attraction Magazine.

The ScareHouse – “Pittsburgh’s Ultimate Haunted House” – is located just minutes from downtown Pittsburgh in Etna and is open select nights from September 23 though October 30.

CLICK HERE FOR A SCAREHOUSE VIDEO

Dreadworks FX Famous Fast-Transfers Store Now Open

Hey there all you Deadites, over the years many come out with new products from animatronics and props to FX pieces and make up. Sometimes these are very revolutionary, and other times just a really good version of something old. Fast forward to 2011 and bring up to the studios of Dreadworks FX and Jon Shroyer.

Jon and Rotting Flesh Radio “The Original Halloween and Haunted House Weekly Show”, go way back to the beginnings of RFR. We have become good friends, he has done make-u at the RFR Booth at a variety of conventions and his fiance has also donned the carved in Rotting Flesh Radio words selling raffle tickets into her back.

A few years ago Jon told me and demonstrated a unique quick transfer to help those rushing to get FX done in your haunt that was quality, fast, and most of all looked rottingly good! He came up with the fast transfers. These transfers go on in under 5 minutes and can blend with minimal makeup to look as real as a 2 hour make up job. (you can hear Jon interviewed while vending at Transworld 2011 and demonstrating the FX on RFR Transworld Show 3-18-2011 [Click Here to Listen]).

Well now the official store for the FX Transfers is up and ready for you to check out. The best part is you may think these will cost you a good dime but some start for as little at $4. These professional-quality transfers apply easily with skin adhesive (spirit gum or pros aide), and remove easily
with alcohol.They accept all kinds of paints and makeup. The feathered edge blends the piece into the skin.

So check them out and add some good realism while getting your actors out in a timely manner. To visit the store check out Dreadworks FX BY CLICKING HERE TO THE OFFICIAL SITE

When Should a Scare-Actor Start Scaring??

by: RFR Casket Crew’s Unknown Scare Actor

How old should a person be when they start scaring? This is a very subjective question.   A lot depends of the child and the parent.

My personal opinion is that a parent should allow this to develop, if the child shows an affinity for haunting.  I probably started scaring people around the age of 7.  The funny thing was, I couldn’t watch a horror movie without having nightmares. However, I had no problem with dressing like a monster, using make up  or masks to sneak up on people, especially my mother, and giving them a fright.

Of course, all of this may very well be contingent on the parents disposition.  Parents that are haunters are probably more inclined to teach and help their children, to the point of having them involved in some way, such as a home haunt.  I don’t feel that haunting should be forced on the child at all, but they can be encouraged.  At what age this should happen, I couldn’t say, it will vary from child to child, but I can tell you this….. I have a 15 year old junior Scare-Actor in training.

Until next time Deadites…Sit Back, Relax and Rot Away…

An Midwest Haunters Convention Poem by: The Unknown Scare-Actor

by: RFR Casket Crew’s Unknown Scare-Actor

Twas the night before MHC and all through the haunt, not a monster was stirring, no patrons to taunt.

The hotel was decked out, lots of scary stuff to buy masks and props, intestines and eyes.

The vendors were selling, the classes were taught, the animatronics were on demo, the scare tools go “pop” the haunt ball starts, see costumes with zest, as we vote to crown a new “Miss Scary Midwest“, See body art exquisite, dancing and drink, as the evening goes on, no once sleeps a wink,

Sunday is here, the show floor is loud, as pots of coffee are passed through the crowd

As vendors sell out and the show winds down

The last guy out the door is a sad-faced, evil clown

As Barry and Kathy and Kelly bid us good bye

Everyone says goes to Midwest-now I know why.

Haunt Fear? Horror Fear? Fear Itself?

by: RFR Casket Crew Unknown Scare Actor

Greetings Deadites.

Have we really become so jaded?  I was sitting here this morning, deep within the recesses of my own dark, twisted mind, and it struck me.   Our society has become numb to a lot of this related to horror, whether they are fictional or real.  Think about it.  40 or so years ago, the movie “Psycho” was considered shocking.  How many of you have watched this movie? 

While the premise can still be considered a bit disturbing, there is really nothing scary about it at all, compared to the genre as we know it now, but I digress.  I am comparing apples to oranges. The level of gore in a horror movie has increased to the point that the most gruesome of mutilations is actually cheered by the audience. As a horror fan myself, I must admit that whenever I see a new and unique way to “dispose” of someone in  horror film, I am intrigued.  The funny thing is, none of these movies scare me.  As of late, only 2 movies I have watched have made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and neither one of them had any visible gore.

Anyway, the “conditioned” attitude of the horror fan, has given us haunters a daunting task, create an environment that is frightening and believable.  Most haunted attractions achieve this, and scare-actors keep the fear alive. These are just a bit of my musings, in my quest for the “perfect scare”

By the way, if you think you know what 2 movies scared me, drop me a line at: unknownscareactor@rfrpodcast.com, and I’ll give you a shout out on an upcoming “Haunt Fears” segment.

Everyone………..is afraid of something