You know that split second when someone jumps out at you unexpectedly, and your brain forgets how to behave like a normal human being? Now imagine that happening in a haunted house, surrounded by monsters just waiting to scare the living daylights out of you. The reactions can be absolutely priceless.
Haunted house actors shared the funniest things they’ve witnessed while trying to scare people, and some of these reactions deserve their own horror-comedy movie. From visitors doing unexpected things to actors struggling not to burst out laughing, these stories prove the scariest part of the job might be keeping a straight face.
Get ready to laugh, because the monsters aren’t the only ones causing a scene.
#1
My costume was vaguely like the girl from The Ring, a year or two after the movie came out. Pink little girl's dress, long black wig over my face. I was pretty tiny back then and quite flexible, so I could contort myself in pretty creepy ways.
Add a strobe light and you've got some terrifying movements. Without fail, it was always the huge football players in letter jackets who would absolutely lose their minds in my room--screaming, trying to climb the walls to get away, breaking and running, the whole works. Usually their girlfriends would be standing by calmly.
One guy's reaction was especially delicious. Once he saw me in the corner, contorted but slowly uncurling to drag myself across the floor, he screamed "Oh HELL no!" and ran *through* the nearest wall. Just took it right out (made of plywood, plaster, and some dry wall). Someone else ended up having to take him to first aid because because even once I was out of character he still couldn't stand to be near me. I won an award that year for Best Scarer.
Add a strobe light and you've got some terrifying movements. Without fail, it was always the huge football players in letter jackets who would absolutely lose their minds in my room--screaming, trying to climb the walls to get away, breaking and running, the whole works. Usually their girlfriends would be standing by calmly.
One guy's reaction was especially delicious. Once he saw me in the corner, contorted but slowly uncurling to drag myself across the floor, he screamed "Oh HELL no!" and ran *through* the nearest wall. Just took it right out (made of plywood, plaster, and some dry wall). Someone else ended up having to take him to first aid because because even once I was out of character he still couldn't stand to be near me. I won an award that year for Best Scarer.
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15points
#2
I was working at Halloween horror nights. It was around 2am and the houses were starting to shut down, and only a few stragglers were going through the house.
Then the final guy goes through. it was some Japanese Businessman in a full suit and carrying a briefcase. His clothes and hair were rumpled like he had just gotten off some red-eye flight.
He was just ambling through and had such a look of child-like wonder and joy on his face as he took everything in.
Then the final guy goes through. it was some Japanese Businessman in a full suit and carrying a briefcase. His clothes and hair were rumpled like he had just gotten off some red-eye flight.
He was just ambling through and had such a look of child-like wonder and joy on his face as he took everything in.
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15points
#3
I was a talking head on a table. A group of five people led by a girl comes into my room and when the get close to me I say "Hello" fairly nonchalantly. The girl in front screams and falls backwards with a domino effect taking everyone else in her group with her.
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13points
For some people, a relaxing night out means dinner and a movie. For others, it means paying to enter a dark building where someone in a scary mask waits to chase them down a hallway. The appeal is getting a taste of fear without facing any real danger.
Psychologists studying why people enjoy frightening experiences found that knowing the threat is part of an experience they chose can make fear exciting rather than unpleasant. After all, it's easier to enjoy being chased by a monster when you know you can walk out the front door.
#4
Not funniest, but most rad for me.
I had a little girl come in. She was in a wheelchair, accompanied by her mother. She got to my room, where I was "the living doll". I had prosthetics that made it look like my eyes had been cut out, wrapped in barbed wire in a tattered tutu. She and her mom screamed, but then the girl started clapping and laughing. I curtsied and she said "Mama, I wanna do THAT!" Her mom was still panting and shaking. I looked at her, looked at her mom, and knew I had enough time to ask if she would like to for the night with me (they were the last group of the day shift). Happily enough her mom agreed, and we got that girl in full makeup with a sailor suit, bright doll eyes, got her legs hidden so pro with gore, and added all these gnarly stitches to my legs. Night comes, she has my eyes, I have her legs, and the f*****g terror on customer faces as we cry and moan and scream for someone to "please end it" just makes her giggle more once they leave the room. Bonding through haunting.
I had a little girl come in. She was in a wheelchair, accompanied by her mother. She got to my room, where I was "the living doll". I had prosthetics that made it look like my eyes had been cut out, wrapped in barbed wire in a tattered tutu. She and her mom screamed, but then the girl started clapping and laughing. I curtsied and she said "Mama, I wanna do THAT!" Her mom was still panting and shaking. I looked at her, looked at her mom, and knew I had enough time to ask if she would like to for the night with me (they were the last group of the day shift). Happily enough her mom agreed, and we got that girl in full makeup with a sailor suit, bright doll eyes, got her legs hidden so pro with gore, and added all these gnarly stitches to my legs. Night comes, she has my eyes, I have her legs, and the f*****g terror on customer faces as we cry and moan and scream for someone to "please end it" just makes her giggle more once they leave the room. Bonding through haunting.
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13points
#5
I found out I was about 5 weeks pregnant a few hours before heading to one of this places - with a history of miscarriages I was very nervous of going - there was one section where you had to crawl through these tubes that had like little obstacles in them and my boyfriend asked if there was an alternative for me because we’d just found out - sure enough this terrifying guy in costume lumbers up and maintains character bringing me around an actors area to bypass it - as he opened the door to let me rejoin
He growled perfectly in character “congratulations”
Absolute core memory for me and one of the happiest memories I have!
He growled perfectly in character “congratulations”
Absolute core memory for me and one of the happiest memories I have!
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12points
#6
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 h*****g 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.
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.
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10points
There's a sweet spot between thrilling and absolutely terrifying. A study found that people enjoyed haunted house experiences most when their fear was moderate.
Too little fear, and the whole thing might as well be a walk through a poorly lit hallway. Too much, and the fun can disappear altogether. The goal is to get your heart racing without making you seriously reconsider every life choice that brought you there.
#7
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 k**l 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 k**l 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.
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10points
#8
I volunteered at one for a few years in high school. The best thing that happened was that I saw a girl from gradeschool going through the room. She obviously couldn't recognize me so as she passed I whispered her name. She got a huge fright and the next day she asked on Facebook who was working in the haunted house. I never told her who it was. Sorry Jenna.
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9points
#9
Not exactly an actor, but I was the guy who opened the door when a group went from one room to another. I wore this black cloak that had a hood that almost entirely covered my face (was thin enough I could see through it). These two kids (13-15 years old) came around the corner as I was moving my head back and forth looking at people and one of them said "dude these animatronics suck". I took a single step forward and he screamed in a really high pitch and jumped so far back he smashed into the wall. His friend stopped moving for a solid minute to laugh at him.
Also the amount of appreciative looks I got from guys whose girlfriends got scared and clung to their arm was far higher than I expected. Except for the one guy who was making comments about how this place wasn't THAT scary and he would protect her, only to scream like a girl as soon as he turned the corner. His look wasn't so appreciative...
Also the amount of appreciative looks I got from guys whose girlfriends got scared and clung to their arm was far higher than I expected. Except for the one guy who was making comments about how this place wasn't THAT scary and he would protect her, only to scream like a girl as soon as he turned the corner. His look wasn't so appreciative...
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9points
When something suddenly jumps out of the darkness, your brain doesn't always stop to consider the most socially acceptable response. You might scream, duck, run, or freeze completely, as though standing still will somehow convince the monster that you aren't there.
These reactions are part of the body's automatic response to perceived danger, commonly described as fight, flight, or freeze. Because these responses can kick in before you've had time to think, people can surprise themselves with what they do. For haunted house actors, that split-second, unfiltered reaction after the scare can create unforgettable moments.
#10
We had a community haunted house when my oldest kids were little. Well I had the bright idea that I worked out with my son. I was in a crazy clown mask and I'd jump out and grab him and haul him away screaming into the dark garage. My son was wearing batman so he could easily blend into any group.
Well, group comes by, I grab him, he screams like a little girl and I'm thinking "wow, you're ding a good job".
Turns out wasn't my kid. He was in the next batch....
Well, group comes by, I grab him, he screams like a little girl and I'm thinking "wow, you're ding a good job".
Turns out wasn't my kid. He was in the next batch....
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9points
#11
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.
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9points
#12
Was a faceless hood trying to scare people from behind the curtains, but didn't hear them approaching, so I didn't manage to pop out to scare them. They pulled open the curtains and asked me which way the exit was. It was both humiliating and amusing tbh.
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8points
Not everyone approaches a haunted house with the same goal. Research on over 200 haunted house visitors identified two broad approaches: thrill-seekers who want to feel as scared as possible, and visitors who try to keep their fear to a minimum.
Interestingly, both groups reported enjoying the experience. One person might seek out the darkest route and hope for the scariest monster, while another might prefer a milder scare and keep a little distance from the action.
#13
I helped out with family-friendly Halloween walk a few years back, mostly involved sitting in a bush and letting some of the kids walk a little passed me before making some kind of sound in the middle of the group.
However for the parents I would always moan "university costs are rising - oooooOOOoooOoo!".
However for the parents I would always moan "university costs are rising - oooooOOOoooOoo!".
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8points
#14
Actor here. My town puts on a fairly large haunted house. In 2005 we had a 'bathroom' room, full on including fake scents. I was hidden in one of the stalls and had a sprayer hidden in my outfit that would spray when I threw open the door. Stepped out after the group was gone and there was a drunk guy using one of the fake urinals. He simply nodded and continued on once he was finished.
edit: I just want to add that volunteering at a haunted house is one of the most fun things you can do. If you have a local charity haunted house, they DO need help, and you WILL have a blast. Some of my most fond memories involve listening to The Misfits on my iPod, waiting in some fake coffin or whatnot to jump out at people. Do it, especially if it's for a good cause.
edit: I just want to add that volunteering at a haunted house is one of the most fun things you can do. If you have a local charity haunted house, they DO need help, and you WILL have a blast. Some of my most fond memories involve listening to The Misfits on my iPod, waiting in some fake coffin or whatnot to jump out at people. Do it, especially if it's for a good cause.
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8points
#15
One time me and three other actors were working the last group left in the house, which is always a really fun group because everyone gets to kind of focus on them. The group was a middle-aged woman and three teenage guys. We're chasing them through this maze area near the end and everyone's really enjoying themselves, and three of us manage to separate the mom from the boys. The three boys escape the maze by CLIMBING OVER THE WALLS like a buncha Spider-Mans (a first for us), leaving the mom all alone. We kind of "trap" her in a d**d end, and then started chanting to summon the chainsaw guy. We hear him rev up the chainsaw from across the room and the mom gets really wide-eyed, looks at all of us and goes, "Uh oh, are we about to have a g******g?"
We all just about lost our s**t laughing, had some more fun with them and eventually saw them out. We ended up running into them in the parking lot afterwards and they started gushing about how good of a show we put on for them and how much fun they had.
Working haunts can be really exhausting and you run into a TON of a******s, but great groups like that really made the time spent doing it worthwhile.
We all just about lost our s**t laughing, had some more fun with them and eventually saw them out. We ended up running into them in the parking lot afterwards and they started gushing about how good of a show we put on for them and how much fun they had.
Working haunts can be really exhausting and you run into a TON of a******s, but great groups like that really made the time spent doing it worthwhile.
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7points
Going with friends can make a haunted house experience even more memorable. You're not just dealing with your own fear; you're watching everyone else's reactions too.
The friend who insisted they weren't scared might suddenly grab your arm so tightly that you're both fighting for survival. At the same time, the person who promised to protect the group mysteriously ends up running several feet ahead.
#16
I was the guy at the end of the house with the chainsaw (without blades of course) scaring the s**t out of people as they left.
I would be behind a door in a little closet-like room and when the group would pass by I would kick it open very loudly and start the saw.
1 or 2 times, after I kicked the door open, the saw wouldn't start and I'd just be standing there repeatedly pulling the cord and getting extremely frustrated. Very embarrassing.
I would be behind a door in a little closet-like room and when the group would pass by I would kick it open very loudly and start the saw.
1 or 2 times, after I kicked the door open, the saw wouldn't start and I'd just be standing there repeatedly pulling the cord and getting extremely frustrated. Very embarrassing.
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7points
#17
I was the patient in an electroshock therapy scene. The door leading in had a frosted window with "Psych Ward" painted onto the glass. During a tame, lights-on session for young kids and the faint of heart, a young mother and her son came through. Before entering, the mom pointed to the door and exclaimed "Look honey, it's the psycho ward. I wonder what's in here..." Her son, probably 3 or 4, yells out, rather excitedly, "Wizards!"
We do our bit ("Help me, help me!" followed by some light strobe lights). As they are leaving, the boy says "I don't think these people know what wizards are...".
We do our bit ("Help me, help me!" followed by some light strobe lights). As they are leaving, the boy says "I don't think these people know what wizards are...".
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7points
#18
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.
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.
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7points
For haunted house actors, the job isn't just about looking scary. They have to stay in character while dealing with visitors who might scream, laugh, talk back, or react in ways no script could anticipate.
And when a visitor does something completely unexpected, the actor has to resist the urge to laugh and ruin the scare.
#19
Standard jump scare scene, a guy with a demon or whatever mask pops out, spooks the tour, then disappears back behind the wall...but I guess the guy got a little overzealous?
Demon pops out: "I'm gunna eat your a*s!"
Tour member: "You're gunna eat my what?"
Demon: *Recedes into shadow and myth, leaving more questions than answers*
Tour member: "That's fine, this is fine."
Demon pops out: "I'm gunna eat your a*s!"
Tour member: "You're gunna eat my what?"
Demon: *Recedes into shadow and myth, leaving more questions than answers*
Tour member: "That's fine, this is fine."
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6points
#20
My brother worked at a haunted jail in my town. He said it was all going well until like an hour before it ended. Nobody was showing up and he had to take a leak. So he decides to p**s in the corner. As he unzips and starts, he hears talking and commotion. Of course, he couldn't stop. So by the time that large group of people reached he cell and looked in expecting a scare, they saw a wolf man p***ing in the corner. And he says, the only thing he did was turn his head and growl at them.
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6points
