Creating a successful haunt takes much more than scattering actors in a field and leaving them to their own devices. It's like saying that you take a bunch of vitamins and medication without speaking with your doctor first and you just hope your body knows what to do with all the drugs you're pumping into your system. (Sudden death. Wasted. K.O. Not good.) Without a clear, planned out, and tested course of action, nothing but madness would ensue (and not the good kind of madness). Just like your body would be unable to function without its head, arms, or legs, a haunt can't function without understanding the groups, understanding scares, and properly putting everything into practice. Before you ever get to scare somebody, it's important to know the underlying guidelines to ensure that nobody gets hurt, upset, or has a bad time at your haunt. Nothing can upset The Powers That Be more than losing customers because their actors were careless, and I care enough about all of you to help give you tools and tricks you can use to keep The Powers That Be at bay. I know this isn't the most fun topic, but knowing the basic rules of haunt acting will definitely keep you out of trouble and put you in a good light.
Note: These rules, guidelines, and ideas are strictly opinion based. They are not law nor should they be followed exactly as described. These are suggestions based on the things I've learned, classes I've taken, videos I've watched, and things I've witnessed working at Ravenwood Manor and other haunts. Don't be scared to tweak these rules and make them your own.
Understanding Your Groups:
Before any scaring can be done effectively, it is important to understand your groups. Reading people is a learned skill that will help the customer AND the actor avoid any injuries or spoiled fun. Over time, you will be able to read groups as if it were second nature, I promise. There are three sections to most groups. The front, middle, and end. (Of course, you will run into the occasional person a mile ahead of their group or the slow poke in the back taking their sweet ol' time. Just make sure you are ALWAYS in character even when your room is empty. I learned this the hard way.) Know which area of the group your scare works best with. One shot pop-out scares tend to hit the first person best, drop panels can hit the first and middle, creepers and stalkers can hit the middle and back. There are so many different combinations that work with each scare. It's up to your Stage Manager and trainers to decide according to how your haunt is designed. (Because a good haunt designs everything around a scare, not the other way around.)
The front of a group is typically more scared of the upcoming environment. They are leading the pack and are a vital key to keep the flow of the haunt going. They are on the lookout for any twists and turns. Of course, they are waiting for actors to pop out, but that tension of "where are they" is the key to scaring a person in the front. Fear is caused when something you suspect to happen doesn't. So if the first person is waiting for you to jump out of the closet, then spring out from under the bed. You never want to waste all your scares on the first person. If you do, the entire group will see what's coming and you will miss out on scaring them later. Also, by scaring the first person too much, you can potentially send the group running in the opposite and WRONG direction.
The middle of the group, no matter how safe they may feel with a person on either side of them, is the most vulnerable. They can't move forward nor backwards if a potential threat comes toward them. They are ultimately stuck and your job, as the scarer, is to take advantage of this situation. Groups typically expect things to come at them from the front or behind, but their sides and any space above them is usually out of sight and out of mind, giving you the perfect vantage point to get a good scare.
The back of the group is a tricky place to get a scare. There are usually three outcomes that I've encountered. The first, you chase after the group, causing a mass hysteria as they plow their way through the next few rooms, ruining the scare for any actors after you. Also, trampling may ensue. Nobody likes a stampede. (Just ask Mufasa. ....too soon?) The second, an actor can TRY to follow and get a last minute scare, but are either unnoticed or wander too far from their scene and miss the next group. Finally, there is a small window of opportunity for an actor to separate one or two of the last people in the group, making them vulnerable, but giving them a personal, one-on-one experience to tell the rest of the group about later. This last tactic is by far my favorite and the most successful, but I highly recommend reading your groups because nothing is more dangerous than singling out a hot head or a cryer. (Perhaps I shall do an in depth post on separating groups and tactics on how to accomplish this strategy. Opinions?)
Other than knowing what part of the group to scare, it's also important to know what types of people there are to scare. It's a general rule of thumb to NEVER scare small children to the point of tears. That will only create an angry parent and a ruined experience. The same rule applies to women with possible, large, scary, hot headed, jock boyfriends. Instead of an upset parent, you may end up with a black eye from a boyfriend in "protector mode." Though, I'll admit, a good portion of scares come from the larger men who play tough, but the moment you come at them, they freak out and bolt. Also, if you are dealing with any drunks, unless you're a comedic character, I would steer clear of the obviously wasted.
There are two things that an actor can NEVER recover from if they occur within their group. Broken Promises and The Red Zone.
Broken Promises:
Now, this is a rule that I will 100% say every haunt SHOULD follow. I always wondered why some haunts just never seemed to scare me, and it wasn't until I heard this rule that it finally clicked. When people go into a haunt, they are now in another world. They are in an established environment and the realm of believability is their new reality. If I see a zombie, it will eat me. If I run into a killer that points at me and says "I'm going to kill you," then once he reaches me, he will kill me. But what happens when the zombie DOES get to you and you're still unharmed? What if the killer reaches you? Will he just keep telling you he will kill you, but never seem to get around to the deed? Once these type of encounters happen, all believability is gone and the veil is lifted. Nothing is scary anymore, because it is now seen as fake and the threat of danger is gone. These are broken promises. You, as an actor, are promising a customer that you're character will do what it's character type is meant to do. Once that's gone...you can never get your group back to being scared.
So far, the only way I've seen this avoided is by never actually reaching your target. Zombies can stumble and fall, giving their target an opportunity of escape. Killers can become distracted by things in their environment. Getting creative with how you won't break a promise is always a plus. I suggest that any Stage Managers should think of easy outs for all the roles in a haunt that may come into close contact with the customers.
The Red Zone:
There is a fine line between scaring a person and annoying a person. Sometimes it's hard for an actor to accept the fact that a person just won't be scared. This may cause an actor to continuously pursue a customer and attempt to scare them. Once a customer is annoyed, it's almost game over. They are no longer having fun and will start getting mad. Once a customer is mad or "In the Red Zone" there is almost nothing that will bring that person away from being angry. It's been psychologically proven that the emotions of Fear and Anger can NOT exist at the same time. It's like Flight or Fight. You can either chose one or the other. You can never be both. So, if a person looks like they are nearing the Red Zone, simply abort the mission. Ignore that person or try your best to not engage with them.
I've been told that the ONLY way a person can be brought back from the Red Zone is through humor. So, unless you are a comedic character, I suggest backing away from the mean, scary Hulk unless you wish to get hurt.
Scaring Forward:
When you are acting in a haunt, the main thing the Powers That Be are concerned with is how many customers they can have throughout the night. If customers come running out of the haunt through the entrance rather than the exit, then those were customers lost. To avoid this, one must scare forward. There are many ways to accomplish this. You never want to block anyone’s path forward or back them into corners. You have to heard them like a sheep dog. Keep them moving. Of course you can’t grab anyone or break character and tell them to go, but if you scare them toward the direction they have to go then they will follow the path of the room to the next scare. This is also the reason scaring people in the front of the line can be viewed as difficult since you don’t want them back tracking, but it’s not impossible.
Real Haunters Don’t Say “Boo”:
There are four things that any real haunter will NEVER say in their haunt:
- Boo
- Rawr
- Grr
- Get out
Rawr and grr fall under the same stupid sound genre. If you say these two phrases instead of giving a REAL growl or primal sound, then just stop. Nothing on the primal or zombie spectrum will ever naturally say “rawr” or “grr”. Put in the extra effort and give a real, gutteral growl. Nobody likes a cop-out. It’s just being lazy. (Plus, does anyone else get PTSD from those early 2000’s, emo/scene days where “Rawr” was written everywhere?)
As for “Get out!” I completely understand why this one seems the strangest to be on this list. Victims would clearly say this and it is in the realm of possibility, but think of it this way...the customer paid to walk through. We want them to get their money’s worth, stay, and enjoy the show. Why would we scream for them to get out when they just started going through? A good victim role can get creative with what they say. (But only according to what the Stage Manager has approved.) They don’t have to say “Get out!” As much as we want the groups to keep moving, we don’t want them rushing and missing scares either.
Most of these words can be eliminated by a well written script and a good grasp on one’s character. So, it’s important for actors and their Stage Managers to be on the same page with character dialogue Do’s and Don’ts.
For now, I think this is a good stopping point. The next topic that needs to be discussed is the Anatomy of a Scare where I will go into detail of each type of scare I’ve encountered, the mechanics behind why it works, and how they tie in with the things mentioned in this post. Until then, class is dismissed. Please leave anyquestions or comments below or on the Southern Spooks Facebook page.
Stay scary and happy hauntings!
-Jaz
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