It’s here…Well, it’s here for me at least. Last week I reunited with my morbid “family” for some good old-fashioned pants-peeing fear-mongering. As I settled into my groove and became acquainted with my fellow scareactors, it reminded me of a fundamental reason why I love the industry so much.

Hat ON.

Many of us involved in the haunt industry are not, as some would believe, vampires who sleep all day and stalk all night. Most of us have day jobs (or school responsibilities) during the “normal” waking hours, venues that are rife with politics, cliques, and endless drama. Spending all day, every day, with the same group of people is the ideal incubator for those social diseases that can suck a lot of fun out of life. In the haunt industry, though, I work with my fellow scareactors only a couple of days a week for only one and a half months out of the year. That’s not to say that it completely prohibits the growth of those social parasites; no, they are clearly alive and well, but between the limited hours, the finite season, the various characters we have to play, the masks and makeup and costumes that we wear, and the common goal of scaring the collective pee out of the unsuspecting public, the amount of room for such social barriers to develop diminishes greatly.

Goatman Hollow's Twisted Family (photo: HA Mag)

For the most part, then, we scareactors can enjoy our camaraderie and not worry about how our clothes look, whether our hair is fixed appropriately, if our voice sounds funny, or whether we’re being accepted into the “IT” crowd. As a result, the industry has a remarkable air of acceptance that is noticeably absent in most other facets of society as a whole, and to be able to escape into that alternate reality for a few hours each week is a breath of rotting-fresh air.

Hat OFF.

Haunt Season is Drawing Near

For some of us, IT’S HERE. For others (like myself), there are a couple of weeks or so to go until our haunts open. Whatever the case, the witching season is near…Here in Ohio there is a cool nip in the air, cornstalks reaching toward the stars, and Halloween superstores popping up everywhere. This week down the rabbit hole let’s discuss the importance of experimentation, while our neonatal Halloween season is still gooey and awaiting its newborn spank.

Hat ON.

Technically I only began my haunting career one year ago, so almost everything that I’m doing is still experimental for me. I expect that many veteran haunters with open minds are likewise constantly involved in similar experimentations. For a newbie haunter like me, though, I learn a thousand new things every night. From scaring methods to makeup techniques to dealing with difficult members of the public, there are multiple opportunities every night for experimentation. Thankfully, I’ve found that most haunts encourage their employees to experiment. Any good haunter will know if a particular technique is working in soliciting scares; likewise, any good haunter will want to experiment with a different technique if things aren’t going so well. Of course we all have our boundaries and are responsible for keeping within those boundaries, but it’s not like we’re assembling computer chips…There is no mathematical science in this gig. What works for one group might not work for the next, and one reason that haunt owners hire actors instead of buying animatronics is that we are capable of adapting to various situations. Is one hiding-place not creating a satisfactory number of scares?

Plant Monster from Evilusions

Hat OFF.

Gore Galore's Goblin Monster

This week let’s put ourselves into the shoes of the customers and try to figure out how we can infect those fresh little minds with incessant, head-pounding images of our haunts that will translate into sweet ticket sales.

Hat ON.

Most people’s budgets are tighter than ever these days, so while most Halloween enthusiasts would absolutely love to hit up every haunt within a thousand-mile radius every year, it’s just not feasible. With a limited amount of time, high gas prices, and tight budgets, most Halloween junkies plan carefully before embarking on their haunt jaunts. If they’ve experienced a haunt before and don’t have any reason to expect anything new this year, there is a huge possibility that the supposedly “stagnant” haunt will be stricken from their shortlist. Most haunts, of course, do enjoy various improvements during the off-season, the extent of which vary from one haunt to the next, but the haunters should always strive to avoid the stagnation stigma that becomes associated with various attractions. After all, we very rarely see a movie in the theater more than once. If it’s the same old show, what’s the point, especially if there are many fresh ones out there vying for our attention (and money)?

So, how can a haunt avoid that stigma? As both a Halloween enthusiast and someone deeply interested in the industry, I enjoy hearing about construction updates during the off-season. Whether you send an e-mail newsletter or provide updates via social media, snapping a quick picture and shooting it out to your customers with a little teaser of what’s going on will keep you fresh in their minds. Of course you don’t want to give away too much, so maybe the picture you snap is deliberately crooked, with something intriguing but somewhat fuzzy peeking its way into the frame at one corner of the picture. It might not be a totally radical change that you are teasing the audience with, but it’s (presumably) an improvement nonetheless, and your audience will realize that you are doing something new to the haunt this year. Most of the public likely assumes that you just walk into your haunt for the first time that season on opening night, unlock the doors, flip the lightswitch, and voila, it’s spookin’-time. They probably don’t realize the amount of love and work that goes into your attraction each and every off-season, so be proud of that dedication that you have, and let your audience in on it. At the very least, it will let them know that you will be open for business this year.

Universal's Halloween Horror Nights

The Halloween Horror Nights Twitter feed (@HorrorNights) is a great example of an outlet that keeps its customers engaged, through games for followers to guess the themes and names of the new attractions, to construction updates, to acting tips. Everyone in the haunt industry knows about Halloween Horror Nights, so the event would still sell plenty of tickets without such a feed, but the organizers of the event recognize the need to keep themselves fresh in the audience’s mind. Even though your haunt probably doesn’t undergo as elaborate of a transformation every year as Halloween Horror Nights, it’s still vital to keep your haunt at the forefront of your potential customers’ minds as they are mapping out their haunted attraction plans. Let your sado-masochist tendencies take hold. Tease your customers. Tickle them lightly with little hints and games. We haunt enthusiasts love that. We don’t want to have all of the surprises spoiled before we get into the haunt, but we do want to know that there are indeed new surprises to be uncovered when we get there.

What other methods do haunters out there use to engage potential customers? What do some haunt enthusiasts out there like to see from the haunts during the off-season? Scream away in the comments.

Hat OFF.

The time has come for me as a scareactor to build out my September/October calendar, ensuring that all of my days scheduled for costume fittings, rehearsals, and active haunting nights are free from all other earthly commitments.  As I’m sure that many others are doing the same, I want to offer a few tips on attendance.

Hat ON.

Terror on the Fox Haunted Attraction

It’s true that we in the Haunt industry have a ton of fun at our jobs, probably more fun than is allowed by law.  The party-like atmosphere that we oftentimes enjoy makes makes it difficult for me to call it “Work.”  Of course it is in reality very hard work for everyone, but the connotation of “Work” implies something boring and not particularly rewarding.  For the next couple of moments, though, let’s associate what we do to the word “Work” and accept that we as scareactors need to exhibit a certain degree of professionalism, particularly when it comes to attendance.

The owners of the haunt hired us, either as paid employees or as volunteers, to perform as live entertainers inside their attractions.  When they hired us, most likely we committed to performing all nights or had a predetermined agreement for select nights so that they can plan accordingly.  I doubt that many haunts hire on a “show up if you want to” basis.  Sure, the owners could have instead invested in a brand new animatronic that will be there, on time, every night, but they recognize the value that live haunt actors have inside an attraction, and in turn we owe them a performance that won’t disappoint.

Lexington Screampark Haunted Attraction

By recognizing the investment that the haunt owners make in us, hopefully that’s enough for you to drag your rotting carcass to the dressing room each night.  If you’re still considering skipping out to catch a football game, though, consider your fellow workers.  Unless you’re a a useless lump on a log, you probably have something valuable to offer your group.  And I’m willing to bet that anyone invested enough in the industry to be listening to Rotting Flesh Radio and browsing its website is probably someone who has some skills and is valued by his or her fellow workers.  So ignoring the few instances where we’re better off without Whiny Wilma or Lazy Larry, your fellow workers are counting on you to be there.  If you don’t show up, your spot might have to be filled by someone else.  Do the concessions people have to make due with one less person if one is called to fill your spot?  Does a scareactor in one position have to be called away to fill yours?  Or does a scareactor now have to cover double the area?  Logic tells us that two actors, both working hard, will be more effective than one overworked actor who is spread thinly.  Or maybe your spot will just be left empty for the evening.  In any of these cases, the overall experience of the haunt will be diminished.  Will patrons have to make due with a suspiciously unstaffed spooky hallway?  Will people have to wait an extra ten minutes in line for a funnel cake if the concession stand is understaffed? How would that then impact the ticket sales?  If people feel the haunt was understaffed, they’re probably not going to come back.  It’s a domino effect, because the absence of one person can’t be swept under the rug.

Of course there’s always the “circumstances beyond our control” clause.  Things happen, so always be sure to check with your supervisors on the emergency absence policies and procedures.  As professionals, though, it is absolutely imperative to never do a “no-show” without informing your supervisor.  A stunt like that will put you on the blacklist faster than that kid who always wears white shoes to work scare.

Hat OFF.

Jumping headfirst into the Haunt Industry can create many unexpected shocks for a newbie, so I’ll share a couple of physical shocks that I encountered in my first few weeks of scareacting.

Hat ON.

First, I’m not really a late-nighter during most of the year; I usually start nodding off around 11 PM (of course while watching something creepy-kooky-spooky on TV like The X-Files or a Freddy movie, in case some of you were nearly ready to revoke my Creeper license).  So, the first time I was up until 1 AM doing my scareacting it was admittedly quite a shock to me.  Of course, I was having a blast, but I couldn’t help but feel like my body was in sleepwalking mode for the last couple of hours.  And boy did those hours drag on.  Again, I was having unprecedented thrills watching people retreat into the fetal position which continually refueled my energy, but I definitely began to realize how hard the work actually is.

After just a couple of nights, I happily discovered that the late-night fatigue had diminished significantly.  The remarkable human body adapts quickly to new conditions, and my desire for sleep had automatically shifted a few hours later.  All good there.  But something else was happening that was a bit more troubling–and painful.

Top Industry Scare Actors: Chad Savage & Colt of Terror on the Fox

My location involved a ton of pop-scares.  Scrunch down, jump out, say some lines, quickly reset, and repeat for the next group.  Unfortunately my Richard Simmons’ Squattin’ in the Spookhouse tape was buried deep in the closet, so I had been using muscles that I hadn’t really used much before, and after a couple of nights of those continual squat-pops, for hours on end, I found my legs hurting immensely, and I thought, “Oh fiddlesticks; am I dying?” (which wouldn’t really make much of a difference with my final career goals, as I do plan to come back after I’m dead to haunt places, but I do admittedly have unfinished business in the mortal realm).  During the day I would grunt in pain as I stood up like an old arthritic man, and going up and down steps was an ordeal to which I contemplated installing one of those little mechanical chairs that putters up and down the stairwell.  Being in my mid-20s, I was a bit concerned that I was retreating into old age a bit prematurely.

So, I consulted my physician (Dr. Google, MD), to see what was happening, and to my relief I discovered that what was happening to me was a perfectly common condition called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) that exhibits its symptoms (tightness and soreness in the legs) a day or two AFTER performing a new type of exercise.  It’s not Haunter-specific, of course, but I can certainly see it being a common occurrence when we’re contorting ourselves into positions that aren’t normal for us the rest of the year.

Scareacting Workouts to look like Resident Evil

So how do you avoid it?  Well, I don’t think there’s a way to completely prevent it.  When it happened, some light stretching alleviated it very slightly for me, but the best healing method that I found was just to ride it out.  It’ll hurt for a few days, and every time you move you might cringe a little (but hey, that just enhances your scaring performance, right?). After a week or so, though, the remarkable human body will adapt, and you’ll be as good as new again.  And then the next year shouldn’t be nearly as bad, since your body has already adapted once to those conditions.  I might even try setting up a little tombstone in my living room and spending some evenings in early September squatting and popping out at my cat, just to prime myself.  Some spooks out there might even like getting a case of DOMS, having a painful “battle scar” to limp around with for a few days, evidence of the hard work that we put in for our public, and some sadomasochists might boast that it “hurts so good.”

So you’re not dying!  Most of us would probably classify that as good news.  The human body is an amazing machine, and it’s good to know that our rotting flesh will not prevent us from having a great time scaring the pants off all of those “normals” out there.

Hat OFF.

The Fear Fair Haunted House

The producers of “Indiana’s Scariest Haunted House” are planning a day of education in the art of haunted attraction acting and makeup to be held at the Fear Fair Haunted Attraction on August 6th, 2011 from Noon until 6:00pm. A faculty of expert actors and makeup artists plan to present a fast paced schedule of classroom style instruction, practical exercises and demonstrations.

“We have always held a casting call for new cast members in later summer/early fall,” said Fear Fair Director, Brett Hays. “This year, we thought it was time to step things up a notch though. We are bringing together some of the most talented actors and makeup artists in the haunted attraction industry to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for our current cast to improve their skill levels and for potential cast members to get an intensive exposure to the world of haunted attractions” said Hays.

A Fear Fair Volunteer Does Make Up

Fear Camp is collaboration in the truest sense as multiple haunted attractions will be represented among the instructors. Bud Stross, co-owner of The Dent Schoolhouse, will provide instruction on acting and makeup. Bud is one half of the comedic queue line duo of Jasper and Jynx. The killer clown couple has found renown on Youtube, at the Dent haunted attraction and various haunted attraction industry events. Bud is currently providing makeup for a major film production.

Tad Dezarn, Teddy Summers and Lucian Tomes, Jr. of Baxter Avenue Morgue will also be providing instruction. Baxter Avenue Morgue is one of the longest running haunted houses in the nation and has long been known for excellence in acting.

Lucian Tomes, Jr, who plays the iconic Warren Vanderdark at the Baxter Avenue Morgue has over 35 years of experience in haunted attraction acting.

Ravens Wolf / RFR Casket Crew's Katie Lane

The days’ fast paced schedule of instruction will be followed by a cook out and party. Anyone who has ever considered acting in a haunted attraction, doing makeup in the haunt industry, or who just wants to learn to scare the bejezus out people cannot afford to miss Fear Camp.

There is absolutely no charge to attend Fear Camp, but advance registration is required and only limited spaces are available. This event is expected to reach capacity rather quickly, so those wishing to attend are encouraged to reserve their space early by sending an email to: fearcamp@fearfair.com. Please include your name, gender and age in the email. Fear Camp is only open to those 16 years of age and up. Registration is open to both current and prospective Fear Fair cast and crew members.

Fear Fair
800 A Ave East
Seymour, IN 47274

Date: August 6th, 2011
Time: Noon – 6:00 pm

ABOUT FEAR FAIR
Fear Fair is ranked as one of the top haunted attractions in the Midwest by Ohio Valley Haunts, City Blood Haunt Reviews, Louisvillehalloween.com, and other noted review sites. Fear Fair was recently featured on the haunt tours for Hauntcon, and National Haunted House Industry Convention.

BARREL O' FUN Magazine

National Haunters Convention

Haunted Heaven

Making of a Diamond event coverage

and much more!

If you would like to find out more about BARREL O’ FUN visit the DAFE homepage at: www.DAFE.org and while there, join the organization dedicated to the Dark Rides we all love!!

ABOUT DAFE:
The Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts, or DAFE (pronounced “daffy”), is a not-for-profit organization, staffed by volunteers, dedicated toward the appreciation, support, and documentation of attractions related to darkrides and funhouses. Appreciation manifests itself through each members individual memories. Support comes through the many events were we gather together to ride and tour these individualy unique attractions. Documentation starts here on this website and in our publication, “Barrel O’ Fun”. Some of the attractions we enjoy include: funhouses, walk-throughs (haunted houses), darkrides, glass houses (mirror mazes), mazes, Old Mill rides (tunnel of love), Noah’s Arks (a rare type of funhouse), mystery shacks (tilted houses), haunted swings, and other illusion attractions. These attractions may be located in amusement parks, carnivals, or fairs. Some full-time stand-alone and seasonal attractions are also included.

Sit down, keep your hands and arms inside the car at all times, and enjoy your ride!

Fearmart Haunted Attraction Videos

Fearmart is your one stop shop to get everything a haunt may need from Custom Commercials, to stock commercials specifically branded for your event. There even have creep queue line loops and more. Fearmart picks up where the, now defunct Elswarro, left off.

Elswarro was a true gem to this industry, then they decided to focus on their film making leaving the industry lost without a video company. And now we have FEARMART.

Fearmart’s team is a solid one that is diverse, knowledgeable and ready to help you. Kitsie was recently on Rotting Flesh Radio Show #239 talking about films she has done and more. She also continued to explain more on the horizon from her and the team. The team of Kitsie, Chris, Larry, and Derrick do a fantastic job.

In addition to the commercials and custom loops, they also have Window Videos, Door Videos and more. So shop around, check it out and get your orders in. And if you are on a tight budget, the stock videos with your haunt branded on it are rottingly great!!!

To find out more and to contact them visit: www.FearMart.com

Dark Imaginings Changing Portraits

Dark Imaginings Custom Changing Portraits

For more information visit: www.DarkImaginings.com

The Scarehouse Haunted Attraction

The producers of “One of America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions” (Travel Channel) will present a fun and full day of scaring, screaming, and surprises with the first annual ScareHouse ScareCamp. The team of expert designers, artists, and performers plan to present a fast-paced schedule of classes, demonstrations, and an exclusive look at plans for their new attraction: Pittsburgh Zombies.

“Mr. Bradley has created one of the most influential and intimidating horror icons or our generation,” said ScareHouse Creative Director Scott Simmons. “This is a rare opportunity for both current and potential ScareHouse performers to learn the secret skills required to create unique and original characters.”

The day’s schedule will also include a rare lecture from Todd James, winner of a Guinness World’s Record for creating the world’s longest walk through haunted house. And the first-ever Zombie Academy will offer expert and in-depth instruction in movement, communication, and flesh-eating.

There is NO COST to attend The ScareHouse ScareCamp but advance registration is required and only limited spaces are available. Only registered guests who receive invitations from The ScareHouse will be allowed to attend. Walk-ins are not permitted. Event expected to reach capacity very quickly.

Registration is open to both current and potential ScareHouse cast and crew members.

The ScareHouse
118 Locust Street
Etna, PA 15223

Date: June 11th, 2011

Time: 10:00 am- 6:00 pm

Email: ScareCamp@gmail.com to request an invitation.

ABOUT SCAREHOUSE:
The ScareHouse is ranked as one of America’s best haunted houses by Travel Channel, AOL, Forbes, Fangoria, and Haunted Attraction Magazine. “Pittsburgh’s Ultimate Haunted House” is open on select dates from September 23rd through October 30th. Tickets, directions, and more information available now at www.scarehouse.com.