The Quickest of Welcomes

Welcome to the Southern Spooks blog page, a place where I will be documenting and discussing my journey into the world of haunted houses and haunted attractions. There will be fun stories, insider information, regurgitated training courses and classes, and even a few creative ideas trickled in. To protect myself, you can just refer to me as Jaz, your resident Wicked Witch of the South. I'm sure no one will be interested enough to try and figure out who I am (and if you do find out, don't ruin the mystery for everyone else, okay?) Hell, I'm sure not many people will even see this blog, but who cares? This is going to be fun and it'll help keep the creative juices flowing during the off season. To whoever is reading this, thank you for checking out the blog. I hope you enjoy it.

-Jaz ☾

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What is Haunt Season?

Something I picked up quickly when I first started getting into haunt was the times of year that things were happening. When haunted attractions are live and open, it's referred to as "Haunt Season" (which, in the south and to my great displeasure, is always misheard as "hunting season"). Haunt season begins at different times for different people. For the actors, behind the scenes crew and volunteers, haunt season usually begins in the first week of September through the first week of November, but for the owners and creative team, haunt season starts up in February or March and lasts until the first week of December. (This doesn't include conventions and special events which are scattered throughout the year specifically for haunters.) For the cast, crew, and volunteers, auditions will usually roll around in the first week of September, giving the haunt enough time to hire them, train their cast, and have early opening dates for that year's haunt. Th...

Let's Get Physical

When I acted for the first time at Ravenwood Manor, I had a very idealistic mindset. I was one of those "method actor wanna be's" that had their heart in the right place, but probably should've been a little bit smarter. One of my first roles that I was allowed to fill in for was a hillbilly grave robber. All I had to do was stand in the graveyard out back, say my lines, and be a hillbilly. (Now, mind you, the graveyard was filled with sharp, loose, pointy gravel. That'll be important later on.) I had gotten my lines and practiced once or twice before heading into costume and makeup. Normally, the girl who played the part wore her sneakers while acting(which completely kills a character who's set to have lived in the 1800's) and having grown up in the bayous of Louisiana, I knew that your typical hillbilly would be barefoot most of the time. Thinking nothing of my choice since, "Eddie runs around for hours barefoot. If he can do it, I can do it!...

Don’t Be A Gus

Happy Holidays and Happy New Years everyone! I hope you all enjoyed some well deserved time off with your family and loved ones before school and work starts up again. I sure as hell know that I'm excited for my little get away in the next few days, far away from anything haunt related. I can finally give my brain the small breather it needs, so when I come back I can kill it with this season's preparations. (I'm already dying just thinking about all the working out I'll be doing to mold myself into some crazy, acrobatic, high energy...thing. Damn, I really need to figure out this character soon.) With the new year, there are always new opportunities on the horizon. With every season that comes and goes new job positions open up, new roles are created, cast members cycle in and out, and the chances of doing more are endless. I'm a big believer that if you work hard and show you are dedicated, you can achieve anything. It doesn't hurt to want more responsibi...

Southern Spooks

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