If you’ve visited a fright night or haunted house, you’ll have encountered a terrifying scare actor.
Their job is to terrify you, and if you've not left without screaming your head off, they're not earning their keep.
It's possible when confronted with a snarling beast or hysterical crown that you've simply chosen to run and ask questions later, but for those whose job it is to terrify, the need to scare doesn't stop.
Mirror writer Danielle Wroe worked as a scare actor, spending one fateful Halloween looking to terrify willing horror funs. It was a fun job, which she reflects on fondly - but it requires more than simply daubing on some face paint.
Getting the job
Danielle writes: When I was in my first year of college, I wanted to dip my toe into the world of work. Nowhere would really take me on because of my lack of experience and age, so when I stumbled upon a job advert to be a scare actor at Spooky World, I jumped at the chance.
I had no idea what the interview would entail - I'd never been to one before - but it's safe to say I've never been to an interview quite like it since. Many scare-actors-to-be sat in a circle and we were asked to perform in our own characters we'd envisaged and I had a major panic. I was drastically unprepared. My mind was doing overtime, but when it came to my acting, I somehow managed to wing it and apparently acted a little bit scary.
So, I'd bagged the job. I was ecstatic - I was finally employed - booked and busy!
Working at Franko's Fun House as a terrifying clown
The shifts were short, and the pay was laughable, but I genuinely couldn't have been happier. The aim was a lot of of jump scares and general creepiness, and obviously very extravagant clown costumes and make-up.
Ironically, I cannot stand clowns (despite IT being my favourite Stephen King novel), so it was quite an interesting experience that involved me scaring myself somehow every shift I worked - usually by convincing myself I was being followed.
Each night, I would wear a cute clown dress, which was naturally paired with my comfiest shoes (it was SO muddy!), a thermal vest, and leggings underneath it because of the freezing cold October nights. Alongside my clown make-up, I really looked the part each night and was so ready to do some scaring.
A few shifts in and I was in my element - I was at the start of the scare attraction in a 'bedroom' style set up where I would hide in the corner of the room, or under the bed, and would subsequently jump out at people and scare them. Naturally, there were a lot of screams and I found it absolutely hilarious that people were having this reaction to lil old me! The power! The adrenaline rush!
I'd follow them down the corridor with gusto, then would run back to hide under the bed or in the corner of the room. That's one thing nobody tells you about being a scare actor - it's actually incredibly physically demanding.
I then moved to a maze section of the fun house, where I worked on my own throughout the night. I had a lot of fun with it and made the best of the situation asI'd get myself psyched up, get the adrenaline pumping and then I was able to do my best scaring.
I felt like I was in Monsters, Inc making people scream and run away when I was hiding in the maze - more so than in my previous position. It was such a thrill and I was sad I couldn't do it all day every day.
The one rule the public shouldn't break
Sometimes it wasn't all fun and games though - there were times when I almost got smacked in the face but managed to dodge it. Obviously, when people are scared, sometimes their natural reaction is to flail around in fear, but this led to a few near misses for my nose.
Thankfully, it managed to stay intact during my stint as a scare actor, but the same can't be said for one of my colleagues who was smacked in the face. Looking back now, we can laugh at the situation, but at the time it was a bit unnerving.
If I can send one message this Halloween season it's this - if you're going to any scare attraction, please don't grab, hit, spit at, or be mean to scare actors. At the end of the day, we're just people in costumes and whatever you do that's unpleasant has a genuine impact on people. You're well within your rights to be scared, of course, that's the whole point - but be mindful of the humans behind the costume, and be kind.
Safety notice aside, scare actor Paul Ware, known professionally as PB, agrees with me that one of the best things about the job is seeing the sheer terror on people's faces when you scare them. Having worked at places like Stockeld Park, Love/History and Farmaggedon, his eleven years in the industry have given him a real taste of the scare acting world - and it's a job he loves and wants to keep going back to each spooky season.
PB said that he 'fell into' the role after speaking to a friend at a party, and he ended up enjoying it thoroughly. About his role, he said: "It's acting, like any other gig. You build your character, you learn your lines and you perform."
Despite there not being an average day for a scare actor, PB divulged that in his current role at Farmaggedon he gets into his costume each evening and it takes him 40 minutes to an hour to get his make-up on - that's some serious prep time. He also told me that he's currently working as part of the 'queue line', scaring people out of the attraction whilst they wait in queues, and they also offer photo opportunities too. He also said that they get involved in flash mobs throughout the park to entertain people.
He reminisced about past roles, mentioning times he had a chainsaw (not working, of course!) but he said the sound was enough to scare people off and 'they looked real enough to people coming in'.
PB said his favourite part of the role is definitely scaring people and seeing their reaction to him. He said: "You get the scream, sometimes people run away from you, sometimes you're making a beeline for one person and then someone else reacts so you then go for them.
"It's great though because when you find someone who reacts to you, you'll make a beeline for them every time you see them - just to add to the excitement and the terror of it."
Speaking about the industry generally, PB said that he thinks people want something bigger every time and people are less easy to please. He said: "People love true crime now, and so they come along to a scare attraction and they want to see gore." This, of course, makes it more complicated for organisers at scare attractions, but they're doing a fantastic job.
Speaking about the ways he winds down, PB said he 'relishes' his days off because he needs to 'let my voice recuperate' as he does a 'lot of shouting and gravelly voices'.
If you're interested in becoming a scare actor, PB said that you've 'got to be thick-skinned' and prepared to work hard - as I mentioned before, it's a really physically demanding job which will see you chasing people, running around and jumping out at people. You've also got to be prepared to immerse people into the world you're a part of because people want to feel like they're not 'in the real world'.
Scare acting is definitely fun, but it's not an easy job by any means. Whether you just enjoy going to spooky attractions or fancy acting in one, it's something I'd definitely recommend doing at least once.
Have you ever been to a scare attraction? Let us know in the comments.
