Haunted house horrors


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Dressed in a tiki-themed costume, a scarer at the Dark Realms Dark Tiki Island Haunted Yard poses in a section of the maze on Friday.

An evil clown hangs from the ceiling of a dark, narrow hallway. Those passing the creature expect it to be fake; that is, until it springs to life and begins to taunt them.

Ryan Willis, a sophomore from Owosso, worked in a haunted house for two years, once playing an evil hanging clown, dead fisherman, creepy janitor, bishop ghost and a hillbilly.

"Scaring people is one of the best feelings in the world," Willis said. "If I could do it professionally, I certainly would."

But the job had it's ups and downs. While customers pay an average of $15 or more to enter a haunted house, they don't always react well to the scare they paid money to receive.

"I got punched a couple times," Willis said. "I think the people who don't want to be scared the most are the rudest ones."

An actor being harmed while working isn't entirely uncommon, according to Todd Kinsley, the co-creater of Dark Realms Haunted Yard. 

"It's somewhat common for people to get punched while working in haunted houses," Kinsley said. "It's definitely an occupational hazard."

Customers only sometimes react violently to the actors, but enter the haunted house with the main goal of switching roles with the actors by taunting them instead.

"People will walk through and say things like, 'oh, I see you, you're not hiding very well' and that's not fun. You're there to have fun, not be a jerk," said Marysville freshman Brandon DeChane.

Willis, who once obtained a bruise on his chest from a customer shoving him, is more than aware of how complicated the job can sometimes be.

"A lot of people that come through are inebriated in some way or another so that doesn't make things easier," Willis said. "So [working at a haunted house] is a bit risky."

 DeChane, who once acted as a madman with a chainsaw, saw a handful of people escorted out of the house for misconduct.

"They reacted badly a lot of the time," Dechane said. "The year I ran the chainsaw, people would push me. It wasn't always in a malicious way, but because they were scared and trying to run away."

Despite the bumps and bruises the actors withstand during their weeks portraying psychotic characters, there is one thing that always makes the job worthwhile.

"When you scare someone and they jump, they immediately laugh afterwards," Kinsley said. "That's the most common reaction. They're scared for a split second. It's always entertaining."

The workers have one request for those planning on going to haunted houses this season.

"Seriously, if you're not scared, just keep walking, don't be a jerk," Willis said.

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