Halloween season is a great opportunity to try out some spooky activities like a haunted hay ride or a haunted house. And Americans really love to get scared. According to the trade association America Haunts, there are about 1.2k paid haunted attractions in the U.S., and another 3k charity ones.
We as customers often don't see into the nitty-gritty of what the actors of haunted attractions go to. So, to let us see things from their perspective, one person online asked: "Haunted house workers, what is something that a guest did had said or done that made you break character?" Turns out even the toughest and scariest characters can break and bust out a laugh at a customer's shenanigans.
#21
We were at Universal during the Halloween event - basically the entire park was a giant haunted house and it was extremely over the top - one part of the park was known to be particularly scary as it involved (prop) chainsaws.
When we got that far the girls were starting to look nervous. The leader of the scary ghost pirates noticed this. She was this really cool lady that ended up making my two small girls her crew mates. This granted them the ability to strut through the very scary parts and if someone tried to scare them they would say “Back off , we’re in Madam Carrey’s pirate crew!”
Worked like a charm and made for a great family memory! If anyone likes a good scare I definitely suggest checking this park out during Halloween times. You do have to buy a separate ticket for Halloween nights admission but it’s a great experience and very well done.
When we got that far the girls were starting to look nervous. The leader of the scary ghost pirates noticed this. She was this really cool lady that ended up making my two small girls her crew mates. This granted them the ability to strut through the very scary parts and if someone tried to scare them they would say “Back off , we’re in Madam Carrey’s pirate crew!”
Worked like a charm and made for a great family memory! If anyone likes a good scare I definitely suggest checking this park out during Halloween times. You do have to buy a separate ticket for Halloween nights admission but it’s a great experience and very well done.
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43points
#22
Used to work at a haunted house that ran as a charity where I would hang on some rafters and swing around at people. Every now and then I would grab somebody's hat and throw it into the next room where the next guy could give it back to them. One big guy got pissed and grabbed me and dragged from the ceiling and threw me up against a wall. I shouted to the guy in the next room who was a cop who came in and dragged the guy out of the house.
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43points
#23
My (horrible) ex boyfriend would force me to go to haunted houses even though I was totally horrified.
My way of dealing with it (after crying) was trying to humanize the actors so I would talk to them. Some would be pretty chill and some would get mad at me.
I remember this one really great guy. I guess there were too many people in front of me so we weren’t really moving. So we started talking about how he would only work at the haunted house on the weekends and that he had some regular 9-5 during th week.
It’s one of my favorite memories because this guy was dressed up and supposed to scary and we were just having a normal conversation.
My way of dealing with it (after crying) was trying to humanize the actors so I would talk to them. Some would be pretty chill and some would get mad at me.
I remember this one really great guy. I guess there were too many people in front of me so we weren’t really moving. So we started talking about how he would only work at the haunted house on the weekends and that he had some regular 9-5 during th week.
It’s one of my favorite memories because this guy was dressed up and supposed to scary and we were just having a normal conversation.
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41points
#24
I was a haunted bush in this grave yard where almost everything was someone ready to scare you
there was this one guy. His reaction was the most feminine scream suddenly abruptly followed by a “damn bruh you need some hedge trimmers up in this b***h”
Myself, the bush next to me, the two buried guys next to him, and the tree behind the guy busted out laughing.
there was this one guy. His reaction was the most feminine scream suddenly abruptly followed by a “damn bruh you need some hedge trimmers up in this b***h”
Myself, the bush next to me, the two buried guys next to him, and the tree behind the guy busted out laughing.
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39points
#25
Source of the broken character.
So it was my first semester of college, and some roommates and I decided to go to this place called the Haunted Mill. There's a section where you leave one building and cross through a field to get to another. So my roommates and I have just left the building, and out of the long grass runs this scary dude with a chainsaw.
My friends scream, but I process fear a little differently.
So instead of screaming, I instead say "Are you here to warn of the dangers of d**g use?"
And he just kind of stops. He slumps, and I hear a strangled noise come from him. He finally just waves us ahead, and I could hear him laughing as we left.
So it was my first semester of college, and some roommates and I decided to go to this place called the Haunted Mill. There's a section where you leave one building and cross through a field to get to another. So my roommates and I have just left the building, and out of the long grass runs this scary dude with a chainsaw.
My friends scream, but I process fear a little differently.
So instead of screaming, I instead say "Are you here to warn of the dangers of d**g use?"
And he just kind of stops. He slumps, and I hear a strangled noise come from him. He finally just waves us ahead, and I could hear him laughing as we left.
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38points
#26
As customer. I went to a haunted house when texas chainsaw was big. The big finish the chainsaw dude would chase everybody out. The one I went to was a few towns away. Anyways, I was young and terrified of it. Saw the movie and it scared the s**t out of me.
Well, during the end of the house the dude chased us but singled me out, picked me and , slammed me on the ground, not hard I wasn't hurt or it didn't hurt. Gassed the chainsaw while standing above me scared the living s**t out of me to when I was literally crying. Dude lifts up his mask and it's my f*****g cousin! Son of a b***h! Still gives me s**t for it. I was around 12 at the time.
Well, during the end of the house the dude chased us but singled me out, picked me and , slammed me on the ground, not hard I wasn't hurt or it didn't hurt. Gassed the chainsaw while standing above me scared the living s**t out of me to when I was literally crying. Dude lifts up his mask and it's my f*****g cousin! Son of a b***h! Still gives me s**t for it. I was around 12 at the time.
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38points
#27
Used to work in one years ago. I worked the crowd - but mainly by standing at the entrance in a coffin that was fitted with an undertaker. I walked in the undertaker’s feet but my upper half was in the coffin. One night I was standing there. Bone still. I did my own makeup and frankly it was good. Made me look “fake”.
I’m standing there completely silent and still. Some German woman; drunk (because you can smell the beer on her) goes “is he real?” Cue me to kick the back of the coffin as a jump scare. She then proceeds to back hand me across the face.
She did not get to go through the haunted house and was not refunded her money.
I’m standing there completely silent and still. Some German woman; drunk (because you can smell the beer on her) goes “is he real?” Cue me to kick the back of the coffin as a jump scare. She then proceeds to back hand me across the face.
She did not get to go through the haunted house and was not refunded her money.
34points
#28
One night while working around the outside of the haunted house, I was in charge of the chainsaw. As I was going around doing my thing, a small child about 6/7 walks up to me and one of the other monsters and says "You smell like shame." He then ran as fast as he could back to his parents. I was both shocked and impressed by his immense bravery. My fellow monster and I had to step away and laugh for a couple minutes after that.
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34points
#29
Convinced my dad to take me to a haunted house when I was like 7. I remember begging him and telling him I wouldn’t get scared. Well I did get scared and almost had a panic attack in there. A couple actors felt so terrible they took their masks off and said “look! I’m a normal person, it’s just pretend! It’s ok!!” One of them showed us out the side door to save me from more trauma. No more haunted houses after that.
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33points
#30
When I was younger I went to one, and about halfway though we got to this section where the scare actor flubbed his lines hard.
I looked to a friend and said “I think he forgot his lines”
The scare actor looked right at me and snarled “you try doing this 100 times a night!”.
I looked to a friend and said “I think he forgot his lines”
The scare actor looked right at me and snarled “you try doing this 100 times a night!”.
32points
#31
Mine from a previous post;.
In my high school haunting years there was a fairgrounds haunt with three separate attractions/houses, mine being a called The Mineshaft I do believe. I was positioned at the end of a hallway, proceeding a maze, with a 180 degree corner/turn the patrons had to make to continue thru the haunt. A light above, in the corner, gave me a great hiding place. Pair this with some black clothes, black trench coat (cause I was an edgy teen), a black leather mask and now I'm a cross between Bane & the gimp (a la Pulp Fiction).
Now my job was a simple jump scare with a twist, or more a shovel. Per instructions, I was to strike the shovel on the ground as patrons approached, yielding a nice reaction 70% of the time. Nothing too dramatic, just gasps, jumps and some screams. As time went on in this post I also discover that the shovel blade plus concrete could produce a spark when struck right.
Enter the couple in grey sweats.
I hope, as long as I live, that I never forget the couple in grey sweats. In haunts it's easy to hear if there's a lively group approaching and they were no exceptions.
In ~15 seconds this all unfolds; a VERY heavyset couple leaves the maze and begins to approach, wearing matching light grey sweats pants and sweatshirts. I spark my shovel. She screams bloody murder. Takes off like a startled baby rhino. I dodge her like the matrix. She slams full speed into and takes out the wall behind me, not the best construction as it was a temporary event, completely missing the 180 degree turn that was mentioned earlier. Hangs a right and hauls off down the employee access tunnel towards the exit door.
Leaving a very dumbfounded me and her significant other in the aftermath. In the end, lights had to be turned on. Traffic had to be temporarily stopped. The wall was patched back together. Her suitor was escorted to the back exit where he was reunited with his bonny lass as she was being menaced by a clown with a chainsaw.
Now I'm no spring chicken myself, but if that teacup hippo would have been going a tad faster, she'd have left a Wiley Coyote style hole in that plywood wall.
In my high school haunting years there was a fairgrounds haunt with three separate attractions/houses, mine being a called The Mineshaft I do believe. I was positioned at the end of a hallway, proceeding a maze, with a 180 degree corner/turn the patrons had to make to continue thru the haunt. A light above, in the corner, gave me a great hiding place. Pair this with some black clothes, black trench coat (cause I was an edgy teen), a black leather mask and now I'm a cross between Bane & the gimp (a la Pulp Fiction).
Now my job was a simple jump scare with a twist, or more a shovel. Per instructions, I was to strike the shovel on the ground as patrons approached, yielding a nice reaction 70% of the time. Nothing too dramatic, just gasps, jumps and some screams. As time went on in this post I also discover that the shovel blade plus concrete could produce a spark when struck right.
Enter the couple in grey sweats.
I hope, as long as I live, that I never forget the couple in grey sweats. In haunts it's easy to hear if there's a lively group approaching and they were no exceptions.
In ~15 seconds this all unfolds; a VERY heavyset couple leaves the maze and begins to approach, wearing matching light grey sweats pants and sweatshirts. I spark my shovel. She screams bloody murder. Takes off like a startled baby rhino. I dodge her like the matrix. She slams full speed into and takes out the wall behind me, not the best construction as it was a temporary event, completely missing the 180 degree turn that was mentioned earlier. Hangs a right and hauls off down the employee access tunnel towards the exit door.
Leaving a very dumbfounded me and her significant other in the aftermath. In the end, lights had to be turned on. Traffic had to be temporarily stopped. The wall was patched back together. Her suitor was escorted to the back exit where he was reunited with his bonny lass as she was being menaced by a clown with a chainsaw.
Now I'm no spring chicken myself, but if that teacup hippo would have been going a tad faster, she'd have left a Wiley Coyote style hole in that plywood wall.
31points
#32
I wasn't a worker but I was the person that made them break character. Long ago when I was in high school, my friends and I used to go to all the haunted houses around town. One in particular had a guy in a wolf mask jump out and scare people. He bumped into me when he jumped out, in retrospect it was likely an accident. At the time, I just reacted and reached out, grabbing his mask and pulling it from his face. Wasn't intentional. Anyway, next thing I know I'm stumbling through a dark hallway with a wolf head in my hands, not sure what to do and I hear him call out, "Hey kid! Come back with my face!"
I don't know where that wolfman actor is these days, but I hope he can laugh about it like I do.
I don't know where that wolfman actor is these days, but I hope he can laugh about it like I do.
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31points
#33
Not me, but my friends and I were walking through and there was this girl with make up to look like she had a slit throat and just sat there and said “do you wanna play” and he responded with “nah I‘m not ticklish“ she said it again and he said with quite a bit of force and said “Look woman... I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR KICKBALL!” and she broke out laughing.
28points
#34
A customer:
I was walking through a haunted farm with my friends and wearing my Virginia Tech sweatshirt, when this group of ghouls popped out and screamed. We made our way past them and they all jumped back in front of us and said in a ghoulish voice “GOOoooOooOoOoo RadFOrD” (a neighboring/“rival” college) and we all got a good kick out of that.
I was walking through a haunted farm with my friends and wearing my Virginia Tech sweatshirt, when this group of ghouls popped out and screamed. We made our way past them and they all jumped back in front of us and said in a ghoulish voice “GOOoooOooOoOoo RadFOrD” (a neighboring/“rival” college) and we all got a good kick out of that.
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27points
#35
I went to a famous haunted prison where they can actually grab you. One of the workers lunged at me and accidentally grabbed my boob. He went from scary monster to overly appologetic and blabbering. It was adorable. We laughed about it.
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27points
#36
Customer story
Last year my boyfriend and I went to the fairgrounds near my house where they had three different houses. The first one was a space horror theme, like an alien containment facility or something. We're heading through this section with chain link fences up to the wall. There's bodies hanging from it along with some props, not to mention people behind the fence somewhere waiting to scare. Did I mention there was strobe lighting too?
Anyway, my boyfriend is very easily scared by horror movies and such, so he's a bust for protection. But we pass by this one guy gripping the fence staring down at us, still surrounded by other scary s**t. In a panic I scream to my boyfriend, "I can't tell what's real and what isn't!"
The man hanging from the fence, in a sly tone, replies, "Oh I'm real baby!"
I tense up and say, "OKAY THANK YOU!" Pretty sure that got a smile out of him but kind of hard to tell with the lighting.
Last year my boyfriend and I went to the fairgrounds near my house where they had three different houses. The first one was a space horror theme, like an alien containment facility or something. We're heading through this section with chain link fences up to the wall. There's bodies hanging from it along with some props, not to mention people behind the fence somewhere waiting to scare. Did I mention there was strobe lighting too?
Anyway, my boyfriend is very easily scared by horror movies and such, so he's a bust for protection. But we pass by this one guy gripping the fence staring down at us, still surrounded by other scary s**t. In a panic I scream to my boyfriend, "I can't tell what's real and what isn't!"
The man hanging from the fence, in a sly tone, replies, "Oh I'm real baby!"
I tense up and say, "OKAY THANK YOU!" Pretty sure that got a smile out of him but kind of hard to tell with the lighting.
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26points
#37
I didn't work at a haunted house, but I was the one that made a guy break character.
We were at this amusement park sponsored haunted house. At the very end, a guy dressed as Leatherface was running around getting in peoples' faces and scaring them with what was supposed to be a chainsaw. Except it wasn't. He came up to me and I told him, "Sorry, I'm not scared of your leaf blower." He just stopped in his tracks. I don't think he had expected anything like that.
We were at this amusement park sponsored haunted house. At the very end, a guy dressed as Leatherface was running around getting in peoples' faces and scaring them with what was supposed to be a chainsaw. Except it wasn't. He came up to me and I told him, "Sorry, I'm not scared of your leaf blower." He just stopped in his tracks. I don't think he had expected anything like that.
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25points
#38
I was the guest, going threw and I tripped and smashed my head on a barrier. Really pulls you out of the fear with 2 zombies and vampire come running to see if your okay.
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24points
#39
Not me but,
I was with my cousin (he's easily spooked by everything). One of the workers jumped out & screamed to scare us. I pretty much never get spooked, I just enjoy the time & laugh, but my cousin screamed like a five year old girl, grabbed my arm, & yelled, "I'LL SMACK YOU!!!!!" & the worker burst out laughing, barely able to form a single sentence.
I was with my cousin (he's easily spooked by everything). One of the workers jumped out & screamed to scare us. I pretty much never get spooked, I just enjoy the time & laugh, but my cousin screamed like a five year old girl, grabbed my arm, & yelled, "I'LL SMACK YOU!!!!!" & the worker burst out laughing, barely able to form a single sentence.
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23points
#40
My mother in her youth group when she was a teenager said they hosted a haunted house. One of the scenes was a girl struggling with a noose. She was in the room next door. Not sure how they rigged it but it actually turned into a real noose and the guest after entering the room said something like “man she was kicking so hard and went limp for too long. Was expecting her to jump out at us or something”(apparently she was supposed to do that) which made the others go check on her. They resuscitated her luckily but I can’t help but think how those people unknowingly saved the gals life thinking it was a good performance.
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22points