#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.

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

VINCENT PRICE --

THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963)

[makenna-made-this]

BAWKtober Day 16 - Frankenstein

Frank-HEN-stein by Mary (Egg)Shelley

[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.”

[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

[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.

[filmnoirsbian]

october 2023

monster mutant boogie by bloodsucking zombies from outer space

tw flashing lights and jumpscares

[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.

[firstelevens]

#57 for the prompt list and sambucky, mayhaps?!

57. secretly dating

[barista voice] one sambucky fic about secret dating, dash of British actor Tobias Menzies, hold the canon timeline for uhhhhhh Emperor?

[fragmentedblade]

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

[finest-darkastle]

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

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

Some of my favorite Screencaps I've made of Vincent Price as Frederick Loren - The House on Haunted Hill (1959)

[starlene]

So @neroushalvaus told me that in the current Finnish production of Så som i himmelen, after a big assortment of other questionable choices, they interpret the finale as some sort of Literal Vision of Heaven... and in there, Tore magically heals of his disability.

The more I think about this, the more disappointed and angry I feel about it.

I mean. The whole entire point of the character of Tore is that the others learn to accept him exactly as he is, and that he has a unique, valuable voice just like everybody else. Besides that, he's a very rare instance of disabled representation within musical theatre. Sure, he's often played by non-disabled actors – but the Helsinki production showed us how you can achieve great results by splitting the role between a disabled and a non-disabled actor, so the role can also be an opportunity for disabled actors, given that they're provided enough support throughout the process.

Or it can be an opportunity for a non-disabled actor to treat disability like a costume you can simply take off when you're done with it and for a production to imply that disabled people are not good as they are, I guess. Cool beans!

Incredibly disappointed with the director and everyone else involved.

[rotisseries]

i think the most tragic thing in the byler fandom is that I have not seen any celebrity secret relationship aus 😔

[oldbutchdaniel]

additional notes:

tickets are very cheap

hadley fraser is in it (love that guy)

love rufus wainwright obviously

if i do this i will only have one night there where i'm NOT seeing a show. and it's because they don't do shows on sundays