#haunt actor things

[femme-enby]

For anyone reading my haunt AU fanfic… I need you to understand just how many “and then everyone clapped” events occur every season. I personally have had at least one each season. There’s also so many things that just sound so stupid, or absolutely insane.

Also I have no problem potentially stating identifying details bc if you identify me that means you’re also on tumblr, and that’s a you problem, not a me problem.

For example- first season, early in the season, we’re getting rained out. We’ve paused, my hicks and the clowns who were our neighbors, (where my love for the clown position started) and while we’re all huddled in a ride’s backroom of sorts, the managers call for a potty break. Randomly they pick me to escort everyone and ensure everyone gets back together. I did not volunteer, for all they know I was gonna get up to shenanigans bc I was pretty quiet my first season.

I take my job very seriously, ofc, and I have everyone walk ahead of me so I can keep my eyes on all of them. We get to the restrooms and iirc I told them to holler something to the effect of “monsters on potty break” to lessen the chances of them startling guests by just flooding in there. I stand outside like a guard dog, and as they come out I have them huddle around me, under the smoke section umbrella now. Did I simply go off of sight to tell me if we had everyone? No of course not, I can’t be normal about shit.

I holler out the hick call- “YEEYEE!” And wouldn’t you know it, even the clowns replied. We did in fact have one straggler who I heard call from the restroom, to which I sent in a monster to check on them (issue w costume I believe?) and once we truly had everyone, we marched back.

The guests were looking at us like this was the cutest shit they’d ever seen- waterlogged monsters traveling for their potty break in a gaggle, being herded by some 5’3 Texas chainsaw lookin ass motherfucker.

Alternatively, another night where we got rained out, I once again opted to bring up the back of the line (this is my norm. I want to ensure I’ve got everyone.) and we were instructed to scare but keep moving.

Well, one of our “Star monsters” at the front lunged at a guy, and he lunged forward grabbing them by the throat. The entire line stopped short and I swear I damn near teleported up to them past maybe 30 or so other monsters bc it was a combo of hicks, clowns, and zombies.

Dude must have been about 6ft, yet I immediately got between him at the monster he grabbed and chewed him tf out. I berated him like he was some misbehaving child and I was his fed up parent. “Do NOT touch the monsters, did you not see the signs? Hear the announcements? Notice how no one was touching the monsters nor were the monsters touching guests??” “Yeah but-“ “So you did. What made you think grabbing a monster, by the throat no less, was acceptable?” “It’s not but-“ “so you knew it was unacceptable. If you cannot control your fear response then you should not be at a haunt because you are a danger to yourself and others. At the very least we have No Boo necklaces. You know that right?” “Yes but I didn’t want to look stupid-“ “I do not care what you want. You hurt one of my monsters, you need to go home. Now.” “Which way-“ bro looked properly ashamed by that point, after looking ready to talk down to me at the start. Pointed him out and told him to put his hands in his pockets if he can’t keep them to himself. He did. Monster was fine, I checked briefly before laying into him, and then again after. From that night on I never saw their partner monster further than arm’s length.

The shenanigans also do not stop once we clock out, regrettably.

We regularly would frequent this one fast food place & camp out in front while we ate. Folks would show up w half faces of makeup, half a costume on (if they had gotten approval to wear their own clothes & have them altered by costuming if necessary) and ofc few of us look like your average cishet, socially conforming members of society.

So obviously by 1-3A weirdos other than us are also out on the streets, also looking for quick cheap food.

We ofc had a few negative interactions there, but the most recent/notable to me incident was when a car pulled up and IMMEDIATELY a dude was clearly inebriated and trying to start some shit. He was already talking shit about us for being weird for sitting on the ground (mind- unless we all wanted to sit on/in our cars, there was no other option, the location did not have outdoor seating.) threatening to spit on us (believe this was the first season after the haunt had been closed for a year due to lockdown, so that was meant to carry that weight unlike it might have prior to the height of the pandemic) and just stomping around and between us trying to start something.

Bless nearly everyone for resorting to just acting as though he didn’t exist aside from a few glances, but… oh, my darling friend. With all of their anxiety, their fear response is “fight” in a sense. For them, verbally.

They start telling him off even as they’re clearly trying to melt into the wall they’re sitting against, voice starting to shake as he also just keeps going, now focused on them and threatening to start shooting.

My personal rule of thumb is- do what you will to me, but not to my people. No, that is not the healthiest mindset to have, no it does not convey me having any sense of self preservation. In that type of situation, I really don’t.

Having had enough of all of that shit, I stood up, ignoring and brushing off folks trying to stop me, and got between him and my friend, now realizing dude is at least 5’10, and simply standing there staring him in the eyes. Blank face, dead eyed stare. He’s hollerin, threatening to shoot me in particular. Ngl, I 100% intentionally squinted slightly and flexed an eyebrow which made him get even closer, (like damn bro we gonna make out?) which seemed to be the tipping point for someone else, one of the managers I believe (I refused to blink or break eye contact in any way) who stood up and started inching his way between us, and then another did the same, and eventually I had about 5? Monsters/managers suddenly in his face, now yelling him down, and his friends FINALLY got their shit together and grabbed his ass, packed him into the car, and left.

Another incident that I heard of (but did not witness), and I will firstly note that haunt acting draws in neurodivergent people like moths to a flame. At least half the folks are autistic, got ADHD, or both. Probably more actually.

At one point, there was this dude who was a major creep to anyone he viewed as a woman (so if you were trans but didn’t “fully pass” then that was good enough for him) and that didn’t exclude minors. People ofc complained, but he had one of THOSE mom’s. She would show up whenever there was a WHISPER of firing him, and threaten to go to the news and talk about “discrimination” bc her “baby has autism! He doesn’t mean any harm!”

Well. Someone had QUITE enough of that shit, when the norm became walking AFAB actors to their cars and ensuring they were loaded up and locked in.

Our hero, a slider, apparently took his gloved hand (with the spark puck attached) and open handed smacked the creep.

When management tried to go after HIM, he, and all the other monsters who got the chance to speak up, said “well he’s autistic! He just got overwhelmed by the dude being a creep and couldn’t regulate his emotions!”

Creep did not come back iirc.

Also, I’ve had guests come into MY space, tell ME to leave, and put their hands on me when I didn’t move from the spot I was TOLD TO STAY AT (Saturday night, crowded af, we had assigned spots for safety), I’ve had folks try to actively push me out of the way as I yell “NO.” “WRONG WAY.” “TURN AROUND.” All while exaggeratedly shaking my head, I’ve had guests run INTO MY ROOM, JUMP ONTO A TABLE, then act like they could not have possibly guessed that they WERE NOT supposed to do that despite bringing up the rear of a line that is actively walking AROUND the table.

I’ve told folks some version of “your mama ain’t raise you right” which MOST responded by looking truly ashamed, some laughed, and ONE actually told me “my mom is right behind me” to which I could not stop myself from lookin at her like she was the monster and saying “damn, and she raised you to act like that?” “Yup!” O_O

That one… that one still actually makes my brain grind to a halt. I had to take a minute after that interaction because my flabbers were completely ghasted. Gobbs were smacked into the ether. I had to go sit out back and just stare at the ground for a minute to try and either process it or just stick it in a box. (How do you process that? Like how does someone truly raise a child like that? How were they raised if they raised their child like that? I’m grown and if I acted like that my mom would snatch my ass up so fuckin fast it ain’t even funny. The entire park would have to hear her bitch me up, down, and out and then walk me out of the park like nothing happened.)

Oh, I almost forgot- one season I got picked in the middle of the shift to be a part of the monster meet and great. By the time I got there the drizzle had become a downpour, I looked like a drowned rat already, and they had me stand behind the stage. Never did come get me for the meet and greet and behind stage was also just open to the sky so by the time they remembered me and just went “oh… you can like… go back I guess?” I was completely drenched.

Went back to my area… and everyone was gone. I had to track them down, asking any straggling monsters along the way (which there had been like… 2, one who pointed me in a general direction and later another who said they were probably headed to a specific enclosed attraction bc that was where my attraction would go if it got rained out.

When I found my people, at least two of them said something like “I TOLD YOU WE WERE MISSING SOMEONE” (bc a manager from a different area had been watching us that night) and she was like “oh, I forgot about you. You can come with us to *enclosed attraction* since you’re here I guess.”

Cue monsters from that attraction asking why it looks like I took a swim & me having to explain the story between scaring the piss out of guests. This is where my true love for that specific attraction started btw.

Being a haunt actor can be truly wild. You witness neurodivergent folks unmasking (beautiful sight to see) you see some of the worst people ever (thankfully almost exclusively reserved for guests) and you just generally have some wild experiences (both good and bad) and you do get to grow as a person.

I know folks who have never been haunt actors might not think so, bc most seem to view it as folks picking out their own costumes and just yelling at people then going home… but think of it like… customer service on crack, with a majority of your customers being inebriated and viewing you as even less than human than they usually do, bc now you don’t even LOOK human.

Yeah… but hey! I’m much better at speaking up for myself now! And I’m much more comfortable with who I am and more sure of who I want to be. Things I’m not sure I could have figured out so quickly if I had just stuck with usual customer service gigs.

[sp0o0kylights]

I know halloween just ended and I have technically missed my window for Haunted House Steddie but I put to you

1) its a haunted corn maze not a house, they're in Indiana after all

2) Steve (and most of the party) have seen so much actually awful shit that the scare actors in cheap costumes (that they themselves have added onto for the love of the game mind) just aren't scary.

Like they're there to ACT scared, to have a fun time and giggle sure, but it's mostly them laughing at each other.

Cue something happening where either they stumble across someone whose terrified and has to be escorted out (Holly or one of Hellfire makes the most sense but Tommy is the funniest) and Steve's Older Brother instincts kick in.

I'm imagining scare actor Eddie, having the time of his life, suddenly witnessing Steve and Robin's personalities "switch." They go from laughing and jumpy and well, like everyone else, to just dead calm.

Robin's leaning in, asking if the panicked party wants to be escorted out through an exit or if they want her and Steve to ruin it for them, and Eddie is fatalistically curious as to *how exactly* they can ruin the maze, only for Steve to lean in and loudly whisper;

"Are you really gonna let the theater kids have this much power over you?"

He can't help it he laughs so hard he gives himself up, and then ends up helping the trio get out of the maze.

He offers to escort Steve and Robin back in rather than make them go back to the front and pay a second time, but makes a comment about their personality change.

Steve shrugs and tells him they've seen some shit and Robin adds that this stuff is too corny (pun intended) to be frightening.

Cue Eddie telling them he WILL scare them at the end of the night.

Steve tells him if he can pull it off he'll buy pizzas for the next Hellfire game.

TLDR Eddie does indeed end up scaring them but it's by accident when he falls off a ladder in a scare attempt and hurts himself. Steve panics at *that*, rushing over to check Eddie didn't crack his skull open. Admonishes Eddie for scaring him and the second the words are out of his mouth, Eddie's got a hand in the air as he wheezes;

"VICTORY!!!"

Then Steve forces Eddie to hang out with him all night as he's absolutely convinced the idiot has a head injury and Eddie makes six million nurse Stevie jokes the end

[asherraccoon]

Friendly reminder to not sexually harass haunted house actors

Do not flirt with, catcall, or touch us. We did not consent to it. Costumes are not consent.

Especially if the house has minors hired as actors, that is NOT okay.

I worked at a haunted house today as an actor. My character was a victim tied to a chair.

Someone noticed I was tied up and said "You like it kinky, don't you?" and someone said "He's edging!!" at me. (I was screaming in an attempt to scare them)

Another one of the actors in the room was called "daddy"

The girl in our room was asked for her number multiple times.

All three of us where touched without permission.

It is common knowledge that you are NOT allowed to touch the actors in a haunted house, just like they aren't allowed to touch you. (Unless a consent form was signed)

Do not make us uncomfortable.

We are people behind the costumes.

[fumifooms]

Makima, devils and self-fulfillment

Dumping some Makima and CSM thoughts after a part 1 binge bc I think about her forever and ever. I’m sure I’m forgetting some devil lore, feel free to correct what i get wrong/what’s been confirmed. On the table of contents there’s why & how Makima got fixated on Chainsaw, her revealing liking for the country mouse and discussion of her nature & emotions & desires. Was the scorpion doomed to be a scorpion?

The most of this post was thought of during a conversation with @saccharineomens and I don’t think it makes sense to jump into the spiral it sent me on without first laying down the interesting groundwork theorizing she did:

"Thinking about how makima herself wants to be deified. I wonder whether she recognizes the difference between Love As Worship and the love that Aki, Power, and Denji had. She says she wants to help humanity by having Chainsawman eat the “bad” devils, but why does she want to help humans? Because she was ordered to by the Prime Minister? No, her drive seems much more personal than that, it seems like she teamed up with the PM for contractual reasons. (In the most recent chapters we see governmental members wanting certain devils to be eaten, too. What was Makima’s relationship with them? She’s too independent to just follow THEIR orders, she’s Control.)

So is she wanting to better humanity for the accolades, or out of the goodness of her heart? She sees the big picture. She sees any small sacrifice as worth it for the end result, and she’s ruthless. Perhaps she thinks that a more sedate human race would be easier to control? But Makima doesn’t loathe humanity. She never acts like she sees all humans as lesser. She loves humanity’s creations, like good food and movies. She just wants Good Things all the time

She says she prefers the country mouse BUT adds a story where she helps exterminate country mice like vermin. She likes the simplicity yet rejects the idea of being simple. Makima the complex individual you are"

~

The story itself seems to prefr the country mouse. Well- it strikes a balance, shows that a risk to live good & fully can be very worth it, but still that stability over ambition is preferable, proning having a simple happy life over fame, a simple job instead of a dangerous one, etc etc. And I do find Makima’s answer on this so so interesting, she prefers the country mouse, but this preference isn’t out of affection or sympathy but because of how relaxing it feels to exterminate them when they cause problems.

Order satisfies her. Her order satisfies her. She likes the action of rooting out disorder. Maybe this is the devil part, like how Power especially wants blood and drinking it, I feel there’s an itch to every devil, and for Makima it’s a very rigid world view/morality/standards & making things follow her rules and submit to her order.

And maybe this is why she’s attached to humans too, why she felt it was worth it to stick with the government- because devils are chaotic by nature (it’s a whole plot point that hell is essentially a free-for-all battleground for example), meanwhile humans are the species that universally rule Earth with systems they invented and instilled. They made then enforced rules, complex and intricate webs of them. She feels alienated amongst devils but she understands the humans’ need for an orderly organised society, and now she wants to be part of it. Control and conquest require social dynamics after all, requires civilizations or groups. War is chaotic while peace is, well, peaceful— Makima resents her sisters for being death, famine and war, things that throw the world in such chaos. She wants a world of perfect order, no matter how much collateral damage there will be if the end result is control.

This is even more interesting if you consider that yes, Makima is untouchable of her own design, she deifies herself with her omnipresent amount of control and the sway over others that she seeks and encourages— There is this urge to dehumanize her for it, that yes, she is the devil of control and that means she was never going to be any different, have any more feeling be any less uncanny. And I love part 2 so much for this, because it shows us the war devil and the famine devil and we see how frankly uncharismatic with poor self-discipline they are, Nayuta too, and it helps us realize just how much Makima’s success was self-made.

She admires Chainsaw Devil, the Hero of Hell, because he had his own code and his own rules and he made Hell, the chaos pit, submit to them unfailingly. Wherever he goes he decides what he does and what happens to the people he encounters but does so consistently, he has his mechanism and his rules that he always obeys, and he fulfills them every time. It’s still a mystery the why of Chainsaw Devil’s behavior back then and how it works exactly, maybe Pochita left hell because he was tired of these rules he lived by like chains, but still, he was a servant to his code. Makima would have been glad being killed and eaten by Chainsaw Devil because it’d have been becoming part of his design, his conquest, his domination, she’d have been part of that —his— order. Through her death she would be shaping his world and be part of a conqueror’s making history. Like how she appreciates the country mice that die for the sake of order. Like how sacrifices must be made to herself, like listing the name of every person whose life was lost to the Gun Devil— All for the ~greater good~, for her vision for the world. Conquest always thinks its reasons are justified.

And she does mention with the country mice thing that she goes out to a friend’s farm every year! She has a human friend?? That she visits yearly and she genuinely likes it?? Ultimately she lives a busy city life because of her goal and drive and her urge & satisfaction with overseeing shaping the world herself, but part of her, like so many characters including Angel and Aki and Reze, wishes she could live a slow peaceful country life. Moviegoing and dogs and mice in a farm- Wouldn’t it be so much simpler if Makima could find fulfillment and happiness in being a farmer, in keeping control of her own farm, getting satisfaction from exterminating vermin and expertly getting everything right, the right crops grown at the right time on the right soil? Here, too, in a way it’s trying to have full control of an ecosystem, but her goals would be easier to achieve and better, without ceaseless sacrifice or much pressure. But Makima wants grandiosity and her goal does matter to her on a fundamental and moral level, she does think she knows what’s best for the world, and with the power to change it why wouldn’t she strive to? Visiting the farm is just a break, just something she does in fall to help out and just in time to see the vermin extermination. It calms her, then it’s back to actual work.

In capitalism, even the one at the very top of the ladder is ultimately alienated from others and often unsatisfied by their lifestyle, always wanting more and more power because surely that’s the extra edge they must be missing to be content— like how Makima thinks she wants to dominate Chainsaw Devil instead of being his equal. And she says it herself too, she likes humans the way humans like dogs…….. And she keeps so many dogs :( Makima prefers the country mice because they’re calming to root out, maybe because she usually mainly deals with city mice. It’s very easy to equate humans to the mice in this allegory because it’s pretty direct and she’s already likened humans to lesser animals compared to her. She’s self-isolating by design for her design but she still craves relationships and contentment, and the dogs are the embodiment or her want for bonds and occasional simplicity because there is no possible ulterior motive, no way they tie back into her wider plan. They’re her personal life— something that feels so alien when speaking about Makima. Personality and individuality and likes and preferences and friends they visit every year. She likes how easily she can train a dog and how they become putty in her hands, at her beck and call, how much they love her and how much she enjoys their love. How simple and straightforward and easy it is. She keeps them because she likes being loved by them and loving them, and she’s gotten and raised so many. A conqueror always wants more and more and more, is never satisfied.

Devils and agency

Like Power the blood devil wanting blood and having a fixation on drinking it like with Denji’s, or how it was shocking that the violence devil was pretty tame and nice and how he himself theorized it was because he was a fiend and possessing a human body… There’s something to be said about nature vs nurture with the devils. The way they reincarnate and always embody their fear makes it seem categorically like nature, that they always always end up fulfilling the role they were named after and born to fill… Outside influence they’re helpless but to conform with. Like the humans accepting their spot in the social ladder and the shittiness of their living conditions and job under capitalism. Makima craved being equals with someone despite being the control/conquest devil, Angel Devil despite claiming to be a devil who likes to see humans dying was haunted by their deaths and wanted to avoid ones like Aki’s. The Ghost Devil being ironically haunted by Himeno, seemingly helping Aki in her memory out of… Lasting affection? Or maybe it was less about being haunted itself and more about it recognizing how Himeno haunted Aki, and acknowledging that, with the memento, paying her respect to the ghost of her. It’s Angel Devil’s devil nature that makes him like human suffering, so then is it his angel nature too to still care about their deaths? Is there truth to this or is that just personality, just our confirmation bias haunting every part of their identity like it might in their own view of themselves too? We do know different reincarnations of devils do have different personalities after all.

Yoru, war devil, is the most interesting one when talking about the nature vs nurture debate with devils. There is how through her we see the perhaps the most the consequences of a devil stopping being feared— we see a horseman for a concept as universal and horrifying as war be reduced to some bird who needs a contract with a human to have any power even just on the situation when meeting Asa. And through the story we get to know her better, and it becomes clear that her goal is fueled in good part by simply wanting to be remembered and respected through fear. Liked, validated, seen a powerful. But what is more isolating than war? Or control? We also see Nayuta accepting others’ house rules. If part 1 shows perhaps the futility of running away from the truth, with Denji’s memory, with escapist coping mechanisms, with passivity and denial under a corrupt system and with abusive relationships- running away from your own feelings and from the reality of things and from all that you are, more complex than simply human or devil or both or neither— part 2 builds upon the theme of cult of personalities, the chainsaw church, etc. The apocalypse is coming, but this celebrity superhero might save us all, or doom us all uh, dunno. The hero of hell reliving the cycle of pressure from responsibilities and expectations, maybe the part will end with Denji running away like Pochita did~

But yes, on the reverse, I think Famine is a very interesting example of how a devil’s namesake may be more innate than coerced by circumstances. One would think that a famine devil would only like inflicting famine upon others, not being famished itself, but Famine has a bottomless stomach that can never, ever be satisfied, sated. I struggle to find a psychological explanation for this, except that maybe instead of her being hungry it’s her feeling empty when she’s not eating, tasting and having that high sensory experience that releases serotonin in humans, sort of like drugs? But I do take this as a step towards the compulsion theory overall, feels like a reach in the consistency otherwise. And compulsion does not mean it’s something that they like nor that it’s something that they fight against, pretty neutral, just a nature that nudges you towards one path. Maybe it’s even just their go-to for entertainment. Maybe it’s the only thing that makes them feel right and whole. But still the debate remains, what is it, a compulsion or an urge or an itch or an active desire or a conscious chosen want? Does it change anything in practice?

And because of all of this earlier, devils being self-fulfilling prophecies with their role is not in unsignificant part nurture, because doing their atrocities is how they stay remembered— feared, powerful, known— hell and devils are a very isolating place and breed after all, and we do see devils can want companionship. Existentially, it’s their purpose and how they justify their place in the world, in the terrifyingly vast and unknowable cosmos.

We still know so little of what makes Chainsaw Devil so special, why his carnage is so self-controlled. Despite a chainsaw maybe being possibly one of the most "nature" thing you can be— a tool to cut things, a human tool that can be helpful for many things, something to be wielding by another at their judgement on what they decide, but mainly something to cut, a tool suited for carnage, to hurt and to destroy. A blade with a toothed chain, spinning around and around and around endlessly on the same road at the same pace. Such a…. Innately circular concept. And yet the Chainsaw Devil is his own, not driven by an urge or by chaos but his very own brand of order, his own unique assigned purpose, a "if you call i’ll come running to help" policy equalizing everyone. He chooses to withhold his destruction and interference otherwise, and then he chooses to be used. If it’s a choice, of course.

Maybe this is what inspired Makima so much, that Chainsaw Devil could decide what to make of himself despite expectations or innate role. Because even Hell he decided & managed to subjugate under his will and whim, with a precise vision and process. When Chainsaw Devil acts like Denji or is defeated, Makima clicks her tongue and loses her admiration and respect. Makima admired and liked Chainsaw Devil, but only as long as he matched her great image of him in her mind, as long as he followed he rules for what she thinks he should be like. She admired him for his unrivaled self-made success, but once he stepped out of that to truly embody self-fulfillment and agency, disappearing from hell to live on his own road at the beat of his own drum… Well. Surely that was a mistake she has to correct. However their second battle ends, the better conqueror will have prevailed and she’s happy about that, all in the spirit of domination and subjugation.

Imo Makima’s biggest tool, similarly capitalism’s most helpful effect for its own purposes, is complacency. Resignation and passivity helps uphold the system and go along the flow of the will of the people in power. Aki and Reze go along with orders even when knowing their job is trash, etc. In Angel Devil especially we see him go along with the flow uncaring about anyhing, and we discover it was in part due to Makima taking away memories that motivated him. If every devil decides this is just how things are and how things should be that’s what they’ll continue to be and do mindlessly, not pursuing a better life like Chainsaw Devil and Denj and not seeking to change the world like Makima. I think even Makima veils herself to a lot of things, she doesn’t like to think deeply about some things, like her desire for connection, or how making bad movies disappear is strenuous and unsustainable and requiring sacrifices at best— how her judgement is as subjective as anyone else. How liking the country mouse and her friend back at the farm and her dogs could be not devoid of sentimality. Wanting bad movies erased is her one biggest show of selfishness, of pettiness and individuality, it’s about her tastes, simple as. About how she can have tastes, and cry seeing a scene of people hug, and want things that aren’t logical, her ideology and mind twisted into a pretzel to avoid acknowledging that she doesn’t live and breathe purely for the mission she’s made a single-minded robot out of herself to accomplish. Nayuta is assertive and selfish and loud, Makima is manipulative and strategically both for her goals and for coping hollow.

Everything in her plans and goals she says is for the greater good, necessary evil, manufactured happiness the way she’ll have decided for people— and that’s the thing isn’t it, like with War, it’s the crack that shows it was all truly about herself after all. Her self-made deification still had the flaw that a self made it. Makima is not omniscient, and it’s not Chainsaw Devil the not-so-fellow-kindred-soul conqueror who gets the best of her, but a city mouse, a dog, someone she would have never thought to respect, Denji.

[makenna-made-this]

BAWKtober Day 16 - Frankenstein

Frank-HEN-stein by Mary (Egg)Shelley

[smogteeth]

Gentle reminder as the spooky time has arrived: If you go to a haunted house/attraction, remember that you paid to be scared. Do not go to a haunted house, and try to impress your friends by assaulting the actors. I would even go so far as to beg you to please stop trying to show off how not scared you are. Please stop this mind set that "not being scared" makes you a cool person. It doesn't. It makes you look like a jerk. And I get it, sometimes, you are legitimately not frightened. I worked Haunted houses, I've been legitimately not scared or impressed. You know what DOES make you cool? Scream anyways. Screaming at jump scares makes it more fun for you and your friends. It makes it more fun for the actors. It makes for an overall better time. If you go about a haunt, acting a fool that's not impressed, the haunters will not waste their time, and they will find someone else who gives them something to work with.

[angelmush]

tis the season !

[shipskicksandgiggles]

click here to read Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fall in Love on ao3

It was no secret that Halloween was Eddie’s favorite time of year. 

Yeah, sure, it makes it easier to be a freak this time of year because everyone’s a freak on Halloween, but that wasn’t why he loved it. 

Eddie has always been, first and foremost, a theater kid. Which meant that his costumes and decorations were always over the top and incredible. 

Plus Gareth had gotten them involved in a Haunted House a few years back because he owed someone a favor, and Eddie had gone back every year since. 

Being a scare actor was a lot of fun. Picking a new fear to embody every year gave him the opportunity to explore new characters and play around with personality traits he wouldn’t ordinarily show off. 

Case in point, this year he was donning a scarecrow mask. It was pretty realistic too, and if he stayed still enough, guests wouldn't notice him until it was too late. 

He tested it on Jeff before they opened just to be sure, and Jeff would swear up and down that he didn’t scream like a toddler, but Eddie knew the truth. 

His costume wasn’t unlike that of a scarecrow’s typical garb. Eddie had borrowed an old plaid shirt of Wayne’s and found pants loose enough to give the illusion there was stuffing in them. He’d found a straw hat and vest at a garage sale over the summer, and his work boots would work just fine. 

The only complication was the weapon. An ax would be easy enough, but he wanted something that would really drive home the theme of freaky farm ornament he was going for. 

He ended up finding a wooden scythe at a craft store in Indy that he was able to modify for this exact purpose. 

His costume was complete. 

The barn they held it in was set up over the next couple of weeks, and they were able to run it through with some of the understudies before they opened it to the public. Eddie was about two-thirds of the way through, and was having the best time figuring out how to lay just so people would think he was a real scarecrow, and not a person waiting to scare them. 

It worked best if he was draped backwards over a few bales of hay. His arms hung loosely, but one hand was sure to be poised over the scythe so he could grab it and roll upwards to chase after whoever came through. 

He tested it on Jeff again, who this time admitted to screaming like a child. 

Everything was perfect. 

Once the crowds started to flock to the haunted house, it was the same as it was every year. 

Eddie was always able to pick out the different kinds of people that went to haunted houses. 

There were the seasoned veterans, the people who came year after year, searching for the thrill of being scared. Sometimes Eddie even recognized people from the years prior. 

Right up alongside them in Eddie’s favorite customers list were the kids. Usually between the ages of 8-12 where they pretended to not be scared, even if they were. He’d always tone down his act for them, but it was still cute to see them and their costumes. 

Then there were the couples. The boyfriends who showed up with their girlfriends under the guise of protecting them, using it as an excuse to cop a feel. It was fun to get all up in the guys faces when his character allowed for it, plus it usually got a laugh out of the girls too. 

There were usually a few odd stragglers too, random people who stopped by that Eddie couldn’t always get a read on, but that wasn’t his job. He just had to scare them. 

One part of his job that wasn’t technically required, although he would argue otherwise, was playing a game he liked to call ‘Fight, Flight, or Freeze’. Basically, he’d predict which approach people would take to being spooked. 

Flight and freeze were the most common, but occasionally he’d get a fighter, and he really didn’t want another bloody nose. 

Sometimes he got groups that kept him guessing though. Those were his favorites. 

Case in point, a trio. Eddie couldn’t figure out what their specific dynamic was, if it was a couple and a sibling, a group of friends, or if there was something else going on there, but regardless it was a guy and two girls. 

This could go one of three ways: 

The guy pretends to be macho for the ladies and either pisses himself or decks Eddie,

The short girl punches him because she looks scary and more apt to punch him than the guy, or

They all just run.

Eddie’s money was on 3, but he wasn’t ruling out 2 just yet. 

What he didn’t expect was for it to be none of those possibilities. 

The door out of his room pushed people into a fork in the road. 

Go right, continue on with the house. 

Go left? Dead end. 

It was actually an emergency exit, but they’d managed to prevent people from mistaking it for the main path thanks to some cleverly placed decorations. 

So when Eddie dragged himself up from his position and gave this group a spook, he figured he’d guessed correctly as they ran, and he chased them to that fork. 

Which is exactly when things went sideways. 

Upon encountering the fork, the group did the unexpected: they split up. 

The guy went left while the girls went right. 

Eddie also went left for two primary reasons. First, to direct the guy back to the correct door, and second, that short girl really was scary. He liked his chances with the guy. 

A moment later he came up behind the guy who was discovering very quickly that he wasn’t going to be able to escape that way. He kept his back to the door as Eddie approached. 

He heard him swear under his breath and watched as his eyes darted around the room. Planning an escape route. 

Eddie held up the scythe, ready to swing at the guy, but as he went to do so, found that he was unable to. 

The guy caught his wrist and spun them so it was Eddie pinned against the door. He used the hand not holding him to push up his mask. Then, he leaned in. 

His lips were soft. He tasted like apple cider. 

And then as soon as it happened, he was gone. Sprinting back out the way he came, yelling for his friends like it was a game of Marco Polo. 

Eddie was still frozen where the guy had pinned him. That wasn’t how people typically reacted to being cornered. 

He heard a door open, and someone grabbed the back of his collar before pulling him through the emergency exit. 

Gareth. 

“Dude, what the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know,” Eddie cried, yanking his mask off the rest of the way. “He just kissed me!”

“Dear god. That’s your sign from the universe to go take your break. Go smoke somewhere the crowds won’t see you and have your little freak out in peace.”

He loved that man so much. “Thank you.”

Gareth waved him off. “I don’t want to hear about him later either, by the way!”

Eddie laughed as he slipped out to the back of the barn. They didn’t route guests out this way, so he figured he was good to chill out for a few minutes. 

Except just as he lit a cigarette, he heard voices. 

“I don’t know, Robin, I was just trying to get out of there to find you.”

“At no point did it need to involve your faces being smushed together.”

Oh no. 

“I don’t know,” a new voice chimed in. “I’ve seen him in a relationship and in a fight. Sometimes when you push someone against a wall, your signals get mixed up.”

“So he accidentally socks his partner or kisses his opponent. Sure, I’ll buy that,” the voice he’d determined was Robin said. 

“Stop it, both of you,” the guy said. “Go get in line for donuts or something, I’m going to go try to find a staff member to pass along an apology for me. What was their costume again?”

“God, you made out with them and you don’t remember their costume?”

“Scarecrow, I think,” the other girl answered. “Try out back, someone might be taking their break.”

Shit, shit, shit. 

“Thanks Nance, I owe you one. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

There was the sound of footsteps, and Eddie briefly thought of bolting, but where was the sense in that? Instead, he took another drag and hoped the guy wouldn’t see him. 

Of course, he was never that lucky. 

“Hey, do you work here?”

Eddie exhaled. “Depends on who’s asking.”

“Listen, this is going to sound insane, but do you know the person dressed as a scarecrow? Maybe has one of those curved sword things?”

“A scythe,” he corrected without thinking. 

“Yeah that.”

“Any chance he looked like this?” Eddie held up his mask so the guy could see. It was dark, but the lights from the front of the barn should have been enough to illuminate it. 

“Oh shit,” the guy said. 

“Yep.”

“I am so sorry.”

“No hard feelings. It’s not exactly the worst way someone's reacted to me scaring them. Honestly, it’s up there with one of the best.” Eddie wanted to scream. Why did he say that?

“Really?”

“Yeah, well when most guys would punch me in the face, I’m not going to complain about something that’s not that.”

“That certainly would hurt. One of the best, though?”

He shrugged. “It was a good kiss, and certainly memorable in terms of reactions. You’re going to give a guy a complex.”

“I see.”

“Like I said, I’m not complaining.” The guy didn’t move, seemingly stuck on a thought, so Eddie spoke up again. “Want a smoke?”

“I just came back here to apologize, and anyways, I’m trying to quit.”

“That’s not a no.”

“Maybe just a drag.”

Eddie handed him the one he’d just lit, and tried not to overthink it. Their mouths had touched, and yet he was focused on the indirect trade of spit over a cigarette filter. 

“Thanks. I’m Steve, by the way.”

“Eddie,” he responded, taking his cigarette back. 

“Nice to officially meet you. Usually I try to learn people’s names before I kiss them.”

“Well, you know it now.”

“I also prefer to get the numbers of the people I’d be interested in kissing again.”

Gareth was never going to let him live this down if he didn’t kill Eddie first. 

“Do you have your phone on you, or a scrap of paper maybe?”

“Sure.” Steve produced his phone from a pocket, and opened his contacts so Eddie could enter his number. 

“Just so you know, I don’t make a habit of giving customers my number.”

“Good.”

“Also, I get off at 11, and there’s a late night diner down the road I always stop at for coffee.”

“Great. I’ll see you at 11:15 then?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. I have to get back though.”

“Of course, I should probably go find my friends anyway. One last thing before I go, though.”

“What’s that?”

Steve stooped down and kissed him, softer this time, and Eddie wasn’t so shocked that he couldn’t enjoy it. 

As he pulled away, he could feel the giddy smile on his face. “See you around, Steve.”

“Bye Eds.” He waved goodbye, and Eddie stood, letting himself bask in the moment for a bit longer until the door behind him opened, an echo of his first kiss with Steve. 

Gareth gave him another unimpressed glare. “Dude.”

Eddie waved him off. “You’re going to hear about him.”

“I hate you so much, oh my god.”

[nostalgia-tblr]

finally caught up a wee bit with dr who, i skipped the babies one cos it sounded terrible, went with the music episode.

good things: i like the doctor and the baddy was fun and clarose (i forgot her name twice now) is fine. also a very good episode for reaction images:

less good: i think i made a few of those faces myself while watching. what i assume was foreshadowing was pretty bad (had someone decided "one word repeated every episode" wasn't enough?). i am not sure why the doctor knew exactly what was happening, i don't mind that as an occasional plot device (they do know pretty much everything, after all) but it felt over done in this. why was there a music battle? why was there a song? WHY IS MURRAY GOLD BACK, HAD WE NOT AT LAST BANISHED HIM?

[solargeist]

can u explain the hands in ur most recent grian and xelqua comic perchance

the gloved hand is kingdom of valor, the hesitant one in the middle is YHS, and the last was another au of mine bc I couldn’t think of another tragic grian 😭⭐️

doesn’t make perfect sense, but I liked the idea of reference instead of random implications ? @_@ if that makes sense

[velvetjune]

my nightmare of Alan Wake and Control having tv and film adaptions is coming true omg. ill be crushed if they don’t keep the same actors

[strangetheskeleton]

Is there any particular way to get started with being a scare actor?

Easiest way to start is just by doing it. Nothing will truly be scare acting until you're scare acting. Don't worry though, we all start out this way.

Whether it be your local amusement park, haunted house, or just a community-ran scary forest. I started out in a haunted GARAGE. So there is really no wrong way to go here as long as it's safe. You can usually find applications to scare either online or within local communities.

And if you want some extra advice...

After you find your haunt, I'd recommend learning everything you can about it. What auditions are like (which is usually improv and it's super awkward but so WORTH IT) and what rules they have in place there. Most haunts tend to have similar rules such as:

1. Not getting too close to guests (try to not get within arm's length as to prevent them from swinging at you). As well as avoid guests who look angry as a whole. Eventually you'll get what I call Scare Actor Senses. You can take a quick look at a group and know if they'd be a good scare or if they could be a danger to your haunt. Always trust that sense.

2. And SCARE FORWARD! Which means don't scare directly in front of people. It might sound silly to get into a traffic jam of people and monsters in a haunted house, but it can be very dangerous as well. Scaring from behind and to the side to get the guests running out in the correct direction is always the better call.

After you've auditioned, met your haunt team and are nearing opening night, ITS TIME TO PANIC!!!! But wait! Don't worry because you've been PREPARING for this!!

1. Drink LOTS of water throughout the week before opening night (I like to do stretches throughout the week as well but as long as you stretch before a night of scaring, you should be good) don't forget to bring water with you to your haunt as well!

2. Write down line and character ideas!! It's no fun if you're just grunting at people all night. Who IS your monster?! What's your name, back story, and goal? Are you a crazy townsperson baking people into pies? Or a creepy clown possessed by their former performance partner? It doesn't need to be a novel, but these ideas can help shape your interactions and make you more memorable. Think about your costume and prop. Who would use and wear those?

3. Take a deep breath. You've got this. Performance anxiety is the worst, but realize that a haunt is a mini community, too. Once you're in, people have your back. Guests will do things you're NOT expecting, which is why it's always good to be near your fellow monsters.

The biggest thing to remember is to pace yourself and HAVE FUN!!! Some nights can be crazy but the good 100% outweighs the bad. Haunt season is here! Meaning there's no better time to start than now!

I wish you good luck and if you do become a scare actor...

Welcome to the freakshow.

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

VINCENT PRICE --

THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963)

[darrengrave]

I honestly had a better introduction to Beetlejuice than any other kid, because when I was a kid a local haunted house went ALL OUT one year for Halloween and the opening room was a sort of safety brief fakeout that had a call and response that "accidentally" led you into summoning Beetlejuice, who literally crashed in through a wall with two demons on four wheelers who laughed at us and revved their engines and they circled us while Beetlejuice finished the brief. I straight up encountered that motherfucker for the first time in real life.

[finest-darkastle]

Yes I made art of my haunt character and YES I miss spooky season

[fragmentedblade]

I think I've become an official HI3 player. I check the HSR leaks hoping for iterations of HI3 characters now