The Dark Side of Scare Acting at Halloween Horror Nights

[Legacy]

Zone performers have flexibility as long as they prioritize scaring, meet character expectations, and don’t “unfairly” prioritize certain guests over others. The talk about the cats/cat toys bit in Crooked Lane last year was an issue because they distracted from scaring and prioritized certain guests over others.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

The talk about the cats/cat toys bit in Crooked Lane last year was an issue because they distracted from scaring and prioritized certain guests over others.

Stuff like this is so difficult because it's so much fun - but once it goes viral online it becomes an issue when everyone wants to do it. These types of interactions can be great, but can get out of hand quickly.

For example - a friend of mine went to another large haunt in the past, and there was a group of vampire characters surrounding us. My friend told them to stay back because he had garlic in his pocket, and they all screamed and ran back to their hiding spots.

Interactions like that are great for the guest and likely fun for the actor as well, but it just has so much potential to get out of hand in the age of social media.

 

[jseal777]

Stuff like this is so difficult because it's so much fun - but once it goes viral online it becomes an issue when everyone wants to do it. These types of interactions can be great, but can get out of hand quickly.

For example - a friend of mine went to another large haunt in the past, and there was a group of vampire characters surrounding us. My friend told them to stay back because he had garlic in his pocket, and they all screamed and ran back to their hiding spots.

Interactions like that are great for the guest and likely fun for the actor as well, but it just has so much potential to get out of hand in the age of social media.

Everybody has to have their moment in the sun instead of having the discipline to observe it from a distance. Same issue with Art last year. It is a sign of societal failure, but that's a little deep for a forum about a yearly haunt attraction.

(speaking of moment in the sun, David S. Pumpkins should be at the event every year)

 

[pumpkinbot343]

… so once again it’s all the internets fault.

 

[Jerroddragon]

… so once again it’s all the internets fault.

Well without the internet we would not be talking about this right now

A few people do some dumb crap and its more on society for not punishing them people then the internet

 

[kingcooger]

I don't want to derail this too much

But didn't Knotts push for Scare actors in zones to stop more personal interactions last year or just a fake rumor?

HHN is pretty free from what I saw last year and Six Flags MM is like at a local level of how personal characters can get (in the best way possible)

Yes, this did happen at Knott’s near the beginning of the season

A year (or two?) before some of the characters went viral to the point where they got swamped with people wanting a video with them, trying to get them to perform, or just hanging around to stalk them during their sets

A few of these actors took time off, switched zones, or went to work other events

Last year Knott’s solution was telling zone actors to always be moving and scaring with no stops for interactions. This was not well received by regulars and I was told the regulations relaxed a bit as the event wore on last year. Not sure if this was Knott’s walking it back or what, but I do know I SAW some scattered personal interactions happening during the last few weeks