Scare Actors Reveal The Most Extreme And Low-Key Hilarious Stories From The Job
She Flirted With Guys And Threatened Their Girlfriends With A Hatchet
From an actor's account in USA Today:
I decide to become a murderous “flirty demon,” a name I will continue to call myself days after this job. I approach men who are walking arm-in-arm with their dates, and hold intense eye contact. Then, I strut alongside them, tousle my hair and put my hand on my hip. Finally, out of nowhere, I threaten their girlfriends with a hatchet.
Once I master that, I widen my scare demo: I stalk stare... Some flirt back. Others scream. A few say, “Hey girl!” Plenty laugh.
He Got Kicked In His Nether Regions
From Redditor /u/NeverEnoughMuppets:
We had a guy who would chase after you with a chainsaw (chain removed) after you left the house. You know, just run after you a few steps when you came out the door.
Well, one time these two girls came out and I swear to God, one of the girls just had like an extreme panic response and I guess her body chose fight over flight. She literally chased the guy down while he was yelling, "I'm just kidding! It's just a joke!" and she kicked him in the balls so hard he vomited.
She apologized and said she just freaked out.
Sometimes, Non-Scares Can Be The Funniest
From Redditor /u/FatalB:
We had a haunted outdoor maze section. I would chase people dressed as a hillbilly werewolf with a real chainsaw ([replaced] the bar and chain with a fake one). The smell of real chainsaw exhaust would hang in the air and only added to the effectiveness of the scare. I liked to hide near the exit in hidden walls. I would start the chainsaw only five feet away from my prey.
One night I was scaring a particular group of teenagers particularly well. The girls where borderline in tears and the guys where trying to push them in front but would run away full speed anytime I started the saw. They only finally made it to the exit when a group lead by a 10 year old passed them and the youngest [made fun of them].
The kid barely flinched when I ran at him with the saw, and when I got close he just stopped and looked at me and said, "If you're a werewolf then why would you need a chainsaw?" Proceeds right past me out the exit.
The Supervisor Congratulated Them For Making Guests Pee Their Pants
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
Some guests are runners. Some will cower in the corner. That’s the worst thing you can do; that means we’re all going to surround you until you get on the floor and curl up in a ball. Then all six of us would hold hands and dance around them until we saw a puddle on the floor. We’d get a high-five from the supervisor if somebody pissed their pants.
Good Scarers Make You Pee, Great Scarers Make You Barf
From Redditor /u/Edymnion:
One year I'm doing the autopsy room. Body parts everywhere, a basket of intestines [dangling] from the ceiling, blood everywhere, you know the normal stuff. One night early on I had missed dinner, so I raided the candy bowl and grabbed a bunch of those fun sized Snickers and hid them in the gut basket. Group comes in faster than I expected just in time to see me take the candy bar out of the basket and pop it in my mouth.
A woman screams, "Oh my GOD HE'S EATING SH*T!"
She swears she saw me squeeze a big old lump of sh*t out of one of those intestines (which can't be true, they were made out of expanding insulation foam and painted, they were all solid). After that I started working that into my routine. Made more than one person vomit that year...
She Got Kicked In The Chest By A Scared Guest
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
Everyone I know has been assaulted in some way. People get punched in the face all the time. I know a girl who popped out of a maze and got kicked in the chest. It can get dangerous. People pay a lot of money to go to this event to get scared. Then they get upset that they got scared.
Some Guests Don't Respect The Art
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
A lot of guests would get upset when the actors wouldn't take selfies with them. Remember that you’re walking into a live performance. Would you stop actors doing Hamlet and say, "Hey, would you take a picture with me really fast?"
The Actors Carefully Select Targets
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
We try to go after the ones that are in the middle of all their friends. That one person is going to give you the best scream. If you show fear, you’re going to see something.
Their Vocal Chords Suffer
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
There are some roles where you’ll have someone screaming or speaking, but if you’re constantly screaming your voice is going to be gone the next day. I had a very loud, high-pitched scream I worked on that I could do night after night. The scream got a lot of scares and my voice held out until the very last night.
Even Kids Can Be Terrorized
From Redditor /u/spookyyy_throwaway:
We're emphatically told to scare everyone. A lot of scare-actors don't like to scare young children, which is understandable, but I do... Children shouldn't be there in the first place. The parents usually force them to go. Not my fault your kid is going to have nightmares.
Some People Have Unexpected Reactions
From Redditor /u/spookyyy_throwaway:
The best reaction (or at least the most memorable) was [a] man who, instead of screaming, just yelled, "JESUS," over and over and over. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't do my job for a while.
No Scare Post Is Ever Left Empty
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
You always have multiples of the same character. One year we had eight girls of similar height and similar facial structure playing the same part on constant rotation. She appears in multiple places in the same maze.
Halloween Begins In July For Professional Scarers
From Redditor /u/spookyyy_throwaway:
The audition takes place in July. You go in with a group of people and do some different improv things, then either move on and get a golden ticket or don't and have to go back the next year. Casting emails go out about three weeks later.
Snack Breaks Can Be Tricky
From an actor's account in Los Angeles Magazine:
When you’re in full prosthetics with lips glued around your mouth you can’t bite into a giant cheeseburger. Recently I played a creature with a huge animatronic head and I’m completely locked inside this thing, so they had me sucking a Jamba Juice smoothie through a straw in this creature’s neck.
Some People Are Tougher Than They Look
From Redditor /u/Edymnion:
Little old lady, had to be 80 dragging her two 60 year old sons by their hands into the haunt, telling them in the sweetest little old grandma voice you can imagine, "Now now boys, don't be [scared]." She gets into the last room which was dressed as a movie theater where the entire screen would break open as a giant monster jumped out. She sat front row center.
My friend literally got his phone out and dialed 911 and was waiting to hit Send. Monster jumps out two inches from her nose, she shrieks, and then just collapses. We all rush in, she turns and looks at us and starts laughing.
The Grim Reaper Always Means Business
From Redditor /u/Edymnion:
I was dressed as Death, big antique scythe and everything. This little boy, like maybe 6 to 7 years old, got it in his head that I wanted to personally [off] him. He's crying like a baby, I get yelled at to take my mask off. So I take my mask off, everybody turns around to look at him going, "See? He's not going to [get] you."
I on the other hand am furrowing my brow, nodding my head, and mouthing, "I'm going to [end] you." He starts shrieking, "He's STILL going to [get] me!"
Scaring People You Know Is The Best
From Redditor /u/brendan685:
I volunteered at one for a few years in high school. The best thing that happened was that I saw a girl from grade school going through the room. She obviously couldn't recognize me, so as she passed I whispered her name. She got a huge fright and the next day she asked on Facebook who was working in the haunted house. I never told her who it was. Sorry Jenna.
