Scare actors primarily aim to draw a frightened reaction from their audience. This unique approach to performance art has led to many of the most fascinating stories from these professionals behind the masks and ghoulish make-up.
These people collectively shared their firsthand experiences answering this Reddit question: “What’s something a guest did that almost or completely made you break character?”
While most of these accounts are hilariously foolish, a few got quite scary and out of hand. These anecdotes give us all a peek into this interesting profession that is more than just playing dress-up for Halloween night.
#1
We had a group of teenagers come through with a little kid about 4 or 5 years old. My haunt was scripted, so the group stopped at my station and I could tell the little one was ready to lose it. I toned it way down for the little guy. His older brother was an absolute s**t squirrel. He kept telling the kid I'd be coming to their house to [end] him later. I stopped completely, broke character and got down on the kid's level. As loudly as I could, I told the little one that nobody from my haunt would be coming to his house to [end] him and that his brother sucked. Told the kid he was braver than all of the teenagers who thought it was fun to scare a little kid. I promised him that he would make it through just fine and nobody would get him. We had tour guides at our haunt, so the guide went ahead of the group and put the word out. The rest of the cast made things as fun as hell for the kid.
Image credits: KringlebertFistybuns
#2
Not an actor but made an actor lose their s**t giggling. When I was 18, my best friend and I took dates to a haunted house. In one room, there was a mannequin dressed up as an asylum patient laying on a surgical table. Being a teenage moron, I go up to the mannequin and proceed to dry hump it's hand for humorous effect. As I'm humping this hand, I say out loud, "Huh. Weird. This hand is so warm. "
It was a dude. He proceeds to give me a little squeeze and cackles maniacally. I holler, jump a couple feet in the air, and everyone else loses their s**t.
I flee the room, and ole boy is just laying there laughing til he cries saying "it's so warm" and then breaking into more fits of laughter.
It's been 20 years and I still haven't lived it down ?.
Image credits: Budget-Ad6704
#3
Not an actor. I once went to a haunted house with friends. Someone jump scared us, i didnt know there were gonna be jumpscares and i hate jumpscares. A zombie with a machachete jumped us, i was so shocked i clung to my friend’s backpack
Well my friend had a different reaction: he tried to run
Cue me being dragged across a fake scary bridge holding on to a backpack while my friend screams his heart out thinking that he’s being dragged back by zombie machete
Zombie machete burst out laughing then helped me up.
Image credits: ihaveviolethair
#4
Not an actor but a participant - we (a group of late 30s women) were running from this massive tall actor weilding a chainsaw. I went straight into panic mode and now know that chainsaws are not for me. We ended up huddled in a corner like deer in the headlights. He eventually lowered the chainsaw and muttered quietly "you're supposed to run out the exit". We were like "BUT WHEEEERE WE DON'T SEE IT". He gave us a pitying look and pointed. We ran.
Image credits: Jinxletron
#5
Was walking around the lobby/parking lot in a show for all ages where we were zombies. Little kids were given wands that, if waved at us, signaled that we would turn away and shamble after someone else.
My friend shambles up to a little boy, probably 4 years old, who apparently doesn’t have a wand but instead just begins viscerally and repeatedly flipping us off for all he can manage. Non stop just finger after finger after finger, both hands. All of us had to stumble away laughing, both because we got the hint and trying not to break character.
Image credits: kjexclamation
#6
I work at a haunted cornmaze. Countless crazy stories. One that I always laugh at is when I jumped out to scare a father and his son, they both fell to the ground and when they hit the ground one of them ripped a giant fart. All three of us couldn't control the laughter.
Image credits: Strict_Alps_97
#7
I was the guest but a scare actor I guess must have had an odd vantage point because he leaps around the corner to scare me and is head level with the bottom of my chest and in full normal a*s voice goes, 'holy s**t you're big'.
Image credits: oiraves
#8
Participant here, I was at the IT escape room or SAW in Vegas, I can't remember which one.
At one point, you're in this barn looking setting and one of the actors pops in with a chainsaw (I think, he was behind me so I didn't see very well what he was holding) to scare you. I was crawling in all fours at that point to get through a tunnel. When the door swung open and the guy came in screaming, I just decided to twerk at him while on all fours telling him "I'm so scared daddy"
This is the first time I've seen one of the actors burst out in laughter. He quickly ran back out and closed the door behind him. You can hear him cackling behind the hidden room.
Image credits: da1nonlyoska
#9
From the other side: I was about 6-7, loved Halloween and scarey stuff, but still pretty young. Local park district had “Haunted Trails,” through the nature walk we would always go to. I did pretty good with the whole thing until we got to the end where it was scarey, un-dead Disney characters, bloody zombie Mickey and Minnie, Goofy, Donald Duck ect. I lost my s**t, small child screaming and melting down crying.
I’ll never forget Minnie Mouse kneeling down beside me, pulled up her bloody dress and in her normal voice said: “hey don’t be scared! This is all make-believe. I’m a real girl just like you!!! Look.” And showed me her Converse Chuck Taylor’s. Broke character to comfort a little girl. Bless her, lol, I go to haunted houses every year.
Image credits: Lobotomobile93
#10
We had our own code. When small children are present, you don't scare. It's not their fault their parents are jerks and brought them to an adult event. There were always some parents who would walk through with their small children and complain because nobody was scaring them.
Image credits: instant_ramen_chef
#11
On a trial walk through I scared one of our bosses and she said "you grabbed my boob" I immediately took off my gas mask and started apologizing. Couldn't see s**t in that gas mask.
Image credits: MattiasCrowe
#12
I scared the literal s**t out of a guy. My room smelled like human feces for at least 20 minutes (luckily he was able to contain it all in his pants). People kept coming in and complaining, I was so embarrassed, I was worried they would think I did it so I broke character a lot during those 20 minutes to explain what happened.
Image credits: FilthyMublood
#13
As a participant my brother and I went into the haunted house. We were getting scared the whole time and we were ready to leave.
In the final area there's a chain link fence and it's really dark. As soon as I see a large mat attached to the wall an actor comes out and use a chainsaw against a fence and sparks are flying everywhere. My brother and I are so scared. I jump into my brother like Scooby Doo into Shaggy's arms. Both of us are screaming like little girls and can't stop.
The actor breaks character and says guys the exit is right there. We race out the exit. There's a line of people and everyone asked where the girls where that were screaming their heads off. We were so embarrassed.
Image credits: etm105
#14
I was playing a Samara/The Ring-type character and emerging from my well and some guy grabbed my hair in his fist and yanked really hard. I think he thought it was a wig - i lost it and told him to get the f**k out of my section.
Image credits: butterflydeflect
#15
I worked the first year at a scare event in the UK, we had a stooge in the groups and my role was to grab the stooge out of the group and drag him in to a shed. There was a fairly quick turnaround and we'd gotten in to a routine, I'd drag him in to the shed the I'd take my mask off and we'd grab a couple of sweets from the tub I'd brought in then he'd head off through the back door to go join another group.
One time there was a hero in the group, after I'd dragged him in to the shed I'd taken my mask off and grabbed the tub of sweets, the one of the customers from the group barged in to the room and stood there with a blank look in his face. I offered him some sweets but he just backed out of the room and closed the door.
Image credits: 6ftCastle
#16
When I was a little kid like 7 idk, i had a little fake knife that like sunk into the sheath so it looked like you where being stabbed, but the thing looked real, like shiny blade and whatnot. My parents took me to a haunted house and didn't know i brought it, and a guy jumped out to scare me and I pulled the knife on him and he got real serious and backed off like "sorry bro, sorry"... My mom was horrified and took the knife right away and showed him it was fake, but yeah, sorry scary guy.....
Image credits: Voidtoform
#17
I volunteered for a haunted forest trail walk in highschool for a few years in a row. They had me set up dressed as a ghost girl swinging in a tree at the very end of the whole thing. A motion light would come on and I'd sing creepy lalalas while people walked by. Then while they were distracted by me, our chainsaw man would pop out from the bushes behind them and rev the chainsaw and chase them to the exit
At one point chainsaw guy needed an unplanned break so the werewolf came and took his place for the final chase. Well, the werewolf wasnt super fit and didnt know that area as well. So when the first people walked by he *crawled* out of the bushes and immediately began slipping on all fours in the mud on that path and he ended up accidentally ripping his mask off trying to get up.
He just started laughing and apologizing to the 3 people who were walking through and I couldn't help but laugh too. They werent upset lol. He did not work that area again.
Image credits: LeoDiCatmeow
#18
Also not an actor but was the participant. I was walking through a section and saw a part that was slightly more dark than the rest. I kept looking at it walking out having a feeling someone was there but nothing happened, just as I was exiting to the new room someone jumped out, and i screamed “I knew it!” Some young girl in zombie makeup fell to her knees laughing.
Image credits: Ghaz_Ghoul
#19
I got fear slapped a few times which wasn't too much of an issue, some people react that way when genuinely scared and would usually be very apologetic.
Did get groped, kissed and then slapped by the same mid 50s drunk lady within the space of 2 seconds. Very odd but I was just glad it didnt happen to someone else who might have been affected badly by it. Radioed it in to the security guy and she was promply escorted out, naturally screaming she hadn't done anything wrong.
This was around 10 years ago so I do hope she has worked through whatever issues she had that made her sexually aggressive towards a chainsaw wielding lunatic ??.
Image credits: _Haze_There
#20
I was working in a Chucky themed Haunted Maze and my boss was a tiny woman so she was dressed up as Chucky.
This big 6 foot 3ish beefed up man got sie startled when 'Chucky' jumped out that he punched her in the face!
He tried running off and a bunch of us either ran after him or tended to my boss.
Image credits: TattooedTinkerbell13
#21
Not a scare actor myself, but a relevant story. I knew a bloke who was hired as a scare actor for a local ghost walk. The ghost walk went through tunnels that went underneath the city centre. He was paid a good wage to sit in the darkness in a reportedly haunted tunnel and wait for the group to arrive. He would then jump out and scare the groups witless. He said he was one of several actors along the various routes who would jump out. I did a different ghost walk by the same company a few years later. I was on edge the whole time expecting someone to jump out of every dark corner and was relieved when we were inside a reported haunted hotel room in the light. We'd been in the room a good 10 minutes hearing tales of hauntings when the guide left the room to check on something. Suddenly the wardrobe door flew open and a dark figure jumped out. It terrified us all including a friend who tried to leave the room. She somehow forgot how doors opened and went straight smack bang into the door instead. She dropped to the floor, curled up into the fetal position and cried. The actor had to break character to check she was ok. Terrifying at the time, but hilarious looking back. I didn't think for one minute that the well lit room inside a wardrobe would be where the inevitable jump scare would come from, but I live and learn!
Image credits: StitchConverse
#22
I'm not an actor, but my wife and I got married on Halloween and then went out of town for a honeymoon. So it's probably November 2nd or 3rd, and we're walking around Gatlinburg, and there's this Haunted House.
My wife is really excited because she had been there before and greatly enjoyed it. So we go up there and investigate if it's open the week after Halloween.
The guy that greets us says. "Yeah, we're open, but you'll have to go through the place slowly, there's only three of us still working here."
Another couple came in off the street around the same time and go through with us.
These two guys and this one girl do an absolutely insane haunted house. Like you can see/heat them ducking through back rooms and trying to do costume changes. At one point, the Wolfman has a chainsaw because he apparently didn't have time to get the wolf mask off.
The female worker does a scary nun outfit at one point, then literally drops her entire frock running out the door as a costume change.
We had the greatest time ever. I wish I had some extra funds to tip them, but we did profusely thank them for their performance.
Wolfman was coated in sweat and just full blown panting by the end.
#23
Last year, the horror show I worked for set me up with a cabin in the middle of a corn maze, and I did a back woods/hills have eye character. I'm 6'5 and was about 385 lbs at the time. These 4 teenage boys were talking tough as they were coming up the trail. I waited until the very last second to turn the corner out of my cabin and the lead kid screamed like a 4 year old girl and fell. He took 2 of his friends with him and the 4th one s**t his pants. I didn't know what to do. I just froze. Then I lost it. I was laughing so hard. For a split second I thought about leading s**t pants through the back way out if the trail, but then I remembered that he had the biggest "I'm a Big Badass and none of this scares me" So he did the walk of shame out of the trail.
Image credits: Traditional_Crew6617
#24
Narrow indoor maze draped with lots of loose fabrics, faux spiderweb etc hanging from the ceilings. Very VERY dark. Guy decides it’s too dark for him and decides to illuminate his path with a LIGHTER. There was only so many zombie grunts I could muster before telling him to put it the f**k away before he [unalived] everyone there.
Image credits: wakeywakeybigmistaky
#25
While my fam was in a haunted house, one person broke character to ask me for my mother’s name, then proceeded to go to the end of our line and call out her name over and over, freaking her out.
Image credits: USSanon
#26
Again, not an actor, but I’m pretty proud about getting them to break.
Went to one and they had us crawling on our hands and knees as they walked beside us telling us to repent and yelling “what is your sin?”
I said “bigamy”?
They stared at me for a half beat and came back with “that’s awfully big of you to admit”
Which I thought was hilarious.
Image credits: meatpit
#27
Someone proposed to their partner right in front of me while I was in full monster mode. I almost dropped my chainsaw prop in surprise. Love when this happens.
Image credits: PrettyPeachyBaee
#28
We had a guy hauling a*s through the corn maze. Our particular scene was the wild West. It was dark in the scene, and the path kinda came around a corrall, so when he came around he slipped and fell head-first into a barrel. A real one, too, not a prop. They must've weighed 200lbs so it'd be like hitting a brick wall. He just kinda laid there for a second and my husband and I completely broke character as we were right by one of the emergency exits. We were like "omg dude are you ok? For real, are you alright? Do you need to leave the maze? Do you need medical attention?" And he was lying on the ground panting with his eyes as wide as possible and he just kinda shakes his head at us. We were like "are you sure? You're ok?" And he just slowly nods at us. So I look at my husband and then back down at him and go "THEN GET THE HELL OUTTA MY TOWN!!" And my husband was like "GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE WE SKIN YOU ALIVE!!" and the dude got up and just hauled a*s right out of our scene and into the next one.
Image credits: suestrong315
#29
Not an actor:
Going through a haunted house with my somewhat attention-seeking friends who would scream at anything, we came into one of those foggy rooms. This one had this super cool laser thing at about waist height that was mesmerising but also made it damn near impossible to see through.
I went in the room first and the guy was probably waiting for me to either get mostly through or get more of the group in, for some reason the rest of the group was lingering "creeped out" in the hallway so I had time to really stare into this fog knowing full and well there had to be someone in there. I ended up making dead-stare eye contact with this guy hunched down wearing a spooky paintball mask. I probably smiled like the Prince and raised my finger to my lips in a whisper before holding up the two people with me "waiting" for the rest of the group to catch up.
After he got his scare driving the whole group out of the room, he gave me a fist bump while I laughed my a*s off in the corner that still makes me feel awesome years later but would be completely out of character for his creepy evil ghoul ninja vibe.
Image credits: Cosmiccomie
#30
When I was 16 I worked in a haunted house dressed as a swamp monster with a full mask on. I jumped up from behind a half wall and made monster noises at a guy who then punched me hard in the face. I started crying and the guy was apologizing over and over, saying that he didn't mean to punch a girl. My nose was bleeding in my mask. He got kicked out and banned, while I got to go home early with a full night's pay. I'm still mad when I think about it, what would he have done if I was a guy?
Image credits: radioactivegummygirl
