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Through the years, Theme Park Adventure has hosted Whispers in the Fog - a Haunt blog before blogs even existed. And each time we feature Whispers as an aspect of our Scary Farm coverage, more than 30,000 visitors from all walks of life and every corner of the globe read the words that our anonymous Haunt Family members bestow on us night after night. With that said, turn the lights down kids. A little bit more. More. That's it... |
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IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE NIGHT... WHEN ONLY YOUR THOUGHTS KEEP YOU COMPANY... |
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VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| As I
start writing, I realize that there are only three days, 12
hours, 34 mininutes and six seconds until the Veil is lifted.
Yes, I do keep a countdown handy whenever my favorite month of
year has arrived. And I'm sure all of you that are reading
this knows exactly what I'm talking about... Knott's Scary Farm's 35th Halloween Haunt! This will be my seventh year as a monster at Haunt. I'm very excited to be writing from the depths of Ghost Town Streets. When Rick asked me to be a Whispers voice, I was in shock. "What? Me? Uhhhh... yeah, sure!" I honestly have always wanted to write a nightly diary of what goes on during Haunt, but have always been WAY too tired to stay up after the long hours. 35th Haunt; I guess now is a good time to start, isn't it? After all, I really have no choice because I'm a Whispers voice... *wink wink* (love you Rick) ;) Emotions are running high right now; excitement and nervousness is brewing inside of me like... well... the way I can describe it is someone who is about to lose their virginity! Ha! Sweaty palms, random acts of panic attacks; it's an emotional roller coaster. But let me tell you, it is all worth it! The month of October does get a little rough sometimes though. I don't see my family hardly ever because of the late nights and opposite schedules. I don't work at my other job as much because of my availability. I don't have a normal 9-to-5 job, so it's a little easier to have certain days off and just give away my shifts when I don't feel like working. Ah, the life of a server. But it definitely is a pay cut. Guess what? I don't care, because Haunt is all I care about during October. It's my priority. Dress rehearsal walk-throughs start on Tuesday, and that's when it really hits me. I get to spend the evening walking through all the mazes and hopefully, get the crap scared out of me. I can't wait to see all the new mazes this year! I have a few close friends that work Build, and from what I've seen, it's going to be AWESOME! Years like this, especially with The Doll Factory maze, make me miss being a maze monster. But that's neither here nor there; all that matters is this is going to be a kick-ass year, and I'm very excited to be bringing out some new characterization on the streets. So anyway, I actually need to start getting some things ready because my Haunt box isn't even packed. Here's something gross and definitely shows you how lazy I am when October is over: I haven't even opened my Haunt box since the last day of Haunt last year! Wonder what smells have been sitting in there for a whole year? That's what Febreze is for! I swear, I spend more money for the month of October than I do for Christmas. I guess Haunt is MY Christmas. Yippee! Example: Contact lenses - $180.00 Costume accessories - $50.00 - $80.00 Miscellaneous items - (Febreze, baby powder, cleansing wipes, etc.) - $150.00 The list goes on. So gals and ghouls... it's off to Target I go to start getting my much-needed supplies for this month. Until the next Whispers entry... |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
| Haunt seems
to have really snuck up on me this year. It seems like
only weeks ago that I threw my Haunt bag into the darkest depths
of my closet, where it would collect cobwebs and rest quietly
for the next 11 months. Every year, I tell myself that I
am going to prepare weeks in advance — work out, practice
sliding, prep my Haunt gear, buy some new stuff, and maybe even
make my own costume. And every year, I find myself
scrambling to pull everything together at the last minute.
I guess it’s a good thing though — I work best under pressure. I usually don’t start getting really excited about Haunt starting until I start hearing the commercials on the radio. As cheesy as some of them are, they always give me chills and make me proud to be a part the event that is Knott’s Scary Farm. I have been lucky enough to be a part of that event for 12 years now. This will also mark my 10th year in The Gauntlet. Time sure flies by. I finally looked in my Haunt bag this evening. Miraculously, everything seemed to be in order and there wasn’t much left to purchase; however, the metal on my gloves were almost completely worn through. I decided it would be a really good idea to pull the worn-through pieces off and put some new ones on. That resulted in a perfectly good pair of gloves getting torn apart. *sigh* Needless to say, I will have to Frankenstein these gloves back together and get some new ones this week. I managed to find very similar gloves online, so hopefully those will get shipped in a reasonable amount of time. Otherwise, I’m going to have pieces flying off my gloves every time I slide, I’m sure. Tomorrow night I am going to see the maze dress rehearsals, which I am really excited about. I am interested to see what they have done with The Doll Factory. I am a little disappointed that I will have to miss the Beowulf dress rehearsal on Wednesday though, since I am all about Neil Gaiman. I guess I will just have to check out the reviews later. I have a new make-up artist this year. I keep telling myself, “Change is good!” I’m sure she’ll be great, but that’s not going to stop me from having nightmares of being sent out on the street in a piece that’s painted one solid color. I am also getting a new costume this year, which I don’t get to try on until the first night of Haunt. Again, I’m sure it will be fine, but I am going to bring lots a safety pins just in case! Three more days, and then it begins… |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
| "Here's your
employee I.D., and here is your shift list. Now, go have
fun." It's finally happened. I have crossed over from being a fan to being a monster. My lifelong dream is finally coming true. I really don't know how I should feel. I know I will do fine, but I still feel like I really don't know what I have gotten myself into. In three days, the Veil will lift and I will be thrown into the world of Haunt. I can't wait to hear that first scream, or to hear a girl laugh when I just made her 6'3" boyfriend fall and get into the fetal position. And I can't wait to be able to say that I did it at Haunt. Ever since the first time I stepped through the gates and into Haunt, I was instantly hooked and I knew it was something I wanted to do. Now, it has overtaken my life. For the next month I will live, breathe, bleed (hopefully not), and sweat Haunt. And I look forward to every minute of it. The talent I am working with are amazing. They all are just as excited as I am to be part of the maze. I can picture how it will be in my head, but I know that what I see is only a tiny portion of what I have ahead of me. So let's do this already! Haunt Box... check. Tank full of gas... check. Ready to terrify a complete stranger... check plus! The transformation has begun. See you soon... |
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
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September 25, 2007. First rehearsal at venue tonight. Holy crap, opening is only two nights away! It is always astounding how fast Haunt rolls up on us, but this year was different for me. Not only is it the first year that I will be working at this great thing we call "Haunt," but the best part is that I will be dancing! I am an entertainer for one of the park's shows. It seems like ages since I auditioned back in August (on a whim), but I am now feeling that slight twinge of anticipation and panic. I've had nightmares consistently about things going wrong in the show; I slip and fall, the other girl slips and falls, I screw up choreography and just about every night, I have the one where I am stuck in traffic and can't get to Knott's on time. In reality, I am leaving straight from my studio and I am barely sliding in right before my make-up call which really puts a lot of stress on me. Yet, besides the stress and other fun stuff that I am feeling, I just can't wait to get started. I have been a huge fan of Haunt for years. I have the advantage of already having a Haunt family, which puts me at ease. I had always wanted to be a monster, but this year when the opportunity arose, I couldn't possibly turn it down. I thought that I had retired from performing, but there was no way that I could ever turn this gig down. Rehearsals have been great. The people I work with rock. I am sure that there will be bumps in the road, but that is nothing new during a show. Tonight is our first night at the venue. It's going to be a long, cold night and I can't wait! I am eagerly awaiting tomorrow night's first time in costume and make-up. But for now, I am about to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. I have several things to get before I run out of time. Just two more nights before it all starts. Normally, I would be at Rope Drop, but this year you can find me at the Wagon Camp! It's going to be a great run! |
| THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN THE WORLD STOPS SPINNING. THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN WE COME HOME. THIS IS HAUNT... |
| SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 - OPENING NIGHT |
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VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| 2:00
A.M. Just got home from an amazing first night of Haunt. I have never been so tired and sore in my entire Haunt career until this day. WOW and OW! Let's hit the rewind button for a bit so I can tell you fine folks how my day began. I'll give y'all a tiny timeline so I don't keep babbling on and on and on and... well, you get the picture. 7:15 A.M. Wake up for my day job without the assistance of my alarm, only to realize I still have an hour until I actually have to wake up. 7:20 A.M. Still lying in bed staring at the ceiling... thinking about Haunt. Ok, now I'm starting to get excited. Here's my motivation to wake up and shower... Between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. On my way to work listening to Combichrist (awesome music to get you amped for Haunt) and starting to get that crazed energy that only so few know about. Stop at the liquor store to get some smokes, and show up to work 45 minutes early. Between 9:00 A.M. and 3:30 P.M. Fellow co-workers are wondering how many energy drinks I've ingested. NONE. I tell them, "Haunt opens today!" All I wanted to do was just move time forward so I could start scaring already! I had so much excitement today, I didn't know what to do with myself. Work has never gone by slower... 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. Show up to Haunt, start getting ready... Make-up running late... oh shit, Rick is here... getting very antsy... almost two hours go by... FINALLY, in the chair! 7:00 P.M. to 12:30 A.M. HERE WE GO! I got some great scares tonight. Even though it was WAAAAY slow! I had way too much fun though. I think I spent all my energy already in this one night. That's always the case on opening night. All the monsters are so amped up from being dormant for a year, they all just want to go buck wild. I did exactly that. I was drenched with sweat by the end of the night. The first night is always when you figure out what works with your costume and what doesn't. I'll tell you this: for sure, I'll be peeling off some layers to keep myself more comfortable. 12:30 to 2:00 A.M. Take off my make-up... change into dry clothes. Anyone know a massage therapist that works this late? Ah, forget it. I clock out, walk to my car and can't stop complaining about how sore I am! Show up at my house... start laundry for my drenched clothes... and here I am... writing... at 2:21 A.M. I haven't even showered yet! I FEEL SO NASTY! Blisters on the back of my heels, stuffy nose from being hot and sweaty to freezing cold during breaks... and tired as all hell. Haunt has definitely arrived... and I couldn't be happier. :) |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
| I woke up
around 6:00 A.M. today, after sleeping for only about five
hours. I had stayed up preparing my Haunt “stuff” late
last night, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to drag myself out
of bed early enough to do it in the morning. I arrived at
my day job around 7:30 A.M., worked straight through until 4:30
P.M. with no breaks or lunches, then off I went to Haunt! Even driving to the park, it still didn’t feel like Haunt was starting. I always have this fear that I will show up on the wrong day, and Haunt would really be starting the following week or something. I imagined myself pulling into an empty parking lot and feeling like a complete idiot for not marking my calendar correctly. However, this was not the case tonight. After making my usual stop at the liquor store to stock up on water and Gatorade, I pulled into an extremely overcrowded parking lot. So crowded that I had to park WAY in the back, in the dirt, where no man ever wants to park. I thought this was strange, since it was a weekday and only 5:30 P.M., but at least I found a parking spot at all. It’s the little things, you know? After clocking in and going through all the formalities, I finally got to see my new dress… which didn’t look that different from my old one! Same color, a little different style and fabric, but I still wore it the same way to enable myself to slide. My make-up artist was also very good. However, she used grease paint on me. :/ I mean, it looked GREAT; it’s just a pain in the you-know-what to get off at the end of the night. The funny thing about it was my old make-up artist told me the new one was great with airbrush, and that’s why she put me in her hands. I guess I will just have to nicely ask to get airbrushed tomorrow night and see what happens. I didn’t get out on the street until about 7:30 P.M. KB, Kane, the Queen and I all strolled through the almost-empty park, over to The Gauntlet… and as soon as we got there, I felt like it was Haunt time again. It was like coming home. I ran upstairs to our break room, waxed up my knee pads, stretched a little, then hit the street. The crowd tonight was pretty mellow; a few good reactions here and there. I managed to pull off my first slide of the night without killing myself or anyone else, so I still have it. ;) About halfway through the night, my lack of sleep (and lack of being in shape) caught up with me, so I slowed down significantly for the latter portion of the evening. Sometimes it’s all about the intimidating stare! Some of our surprise guests of the night were Kritter and his Haunted Cellar crew, Toykeeper’s Son (and wife!), and Mr. Rick West himself. It was great to get back into the swing of things again. However, it is now 2:00 A.M. and I need to be up for the day job in three and a half hours so I better get some sleep. Until tomorrow… |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
| Man, am I
going to be sore tomorrow.
Haunt is everything I knew it would be... and more. Slow night, but one can't really expect much from an Opening Night on a Thursday, still in September. The crowd was neither happy nor pissed, so it was kind of just... blah. I had a nice self-esteem builder as soon as the night kicked off. My second scare of the evening, I jumped out and made this girl immediately drop straight to the ground. Guess that shows that I'm doing something right! Tomorrow will be better, and harder; more people and a later close. But I'm still looking forward to going back and becoming peoples' worst nightmare! My muscles hurt. I'm tired. And I know that it is only going to get worse from here. But, no pain, no gain. Until the sun rises tomorrow and I wake up and realize I can't move... |
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
| After a
couple long nights of rehearsal, you would think I would’ve been
ready. But I wasn’t. In fact, I started watching the
clock when I started my “real” job at 2:30 P.M. I kept
looking at the clock every five minutes, not knowing whether I
wanted the hands to turn faster or slower. By the time my
substitute got there, I had worked myself into a full-fledged
panic attack. I cried like a baby, and I’m not ashamed to
admit it. I cried again in traffic, fearing that my nightmares had come true. I was just sure I would never make it there on time. And then, as I careened over the interchange from the 5 to the 91 Freeways, I saw it. And I cried again, but this time they were tears of joy. I believe I even did the happy dance in my seat. What, you ask, did I see that moved me to tears for the third time in an hour? It was the backlit roller coasters already shrouded by fog. Still a few miles away, it gave me the chills; there it was, eerily looming in the distance and I understood that this was my first real night of Haunt. After another minor breakdown over parking, I hauled my bags and cases containing everything a dancer needs (and some things they don’t) into Warehouse P. - where I sat and waited, and sat and talked to a few people and waited some more, and sat… and had another breakdown over whether or not I would make it to my venue in time to get dressed and stretch. Finally, I got into the make-up chair, wondering how I got to be here at Haunt. It was very surreal, and at the same time, exciting. I made it to my venue in just enough time to throw my eyelashes on. “Oh, damn it… one of them is crooked! Never mind; I’ll fix it later!” Pin my wig to my head. “I swear, I feel like this thing is going to fly off into the audience with the first head roll I do!” Cinch up my corset. “No, tighter... Tighter… and, THAT’S ENOUGH! NO MORE! Can’t... breath. Fading... fast!” But I looked fabulous! And I make a feeble attempt at stretching. “My quads feel like they are on fire. Someone please put them out!” I was so rushed to get ready that I had no time to be nervous. Up the ladder without hesitation, and I waited for my cue to enter. First show went fine. The audience was really thin, which is exactly what I expected. And thank God, because what we really needed was just one more dress rehearsal. All in all, it was an okay night; nothing spectacular. I am tired. I am hungry. And now that I have had a good night's rest, I am ready to do it all over again! Minus the emotional meltdowns! |
| SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 |
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VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| Alrighty!
First Friday night! The crowd was amazing tonight. I
didn't have any problems whatsoever with unruly guests. I
squeezed out some of my creative juices and got some pretty
amazing reactions. I wish I could get into what I do, but
that would TOTALLY give away who I really am... and... well...
it's a secret. So, shhhh! All I can really say is
that I floored a girl and just laughed my ass off in the way she
got scared. She literally turned away to get away from my
partner then saw me and jumped backward and ate caca. I
love when that happens! I helped her up then laughed and
ran away.
Anyway, I'm having trouble seeing the computer screen because: 1. I'm exhausted, and 2. My contacts were giving me problems tonight. So everything is a little blurry. But I digress... .back to the evening's activities! I ended up getting a little sick tonight because of something I ate at our horrible little cafe. So I was kind of off my game toward the end of the evening. No worries though; I puked and I felt better. Sorry, was that T.M.I? Too bad; you guys are the ones that want to read about how a monster's night goes... and, well... sometimes we throw up! *insert puke noise here* I'm not as sore as I was last night because I actually stretched before getting ready. So I'm just more achy. It's going to feel good to sleep in tomorrow, or today because it's technically Saturday. I'm going to take a nice, hot shower and just pass out and then do it all over again tomorrow. It's the last day of my prosthetic piece, so I get to do some nasty stuff to it. My goal is to make a guest vomit tomorrow night. I've done it before, and I hopefully can do it again. I'll be sure to inform y'all if it happens. *crossing fingers* Good night or good morning... until tomorrow... |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
| You know, I
don’t think I have been this tired in my whole life. I
didn’t actually get to bed until around 3:00 A.M. last night,
then I woke up at 6:30 A.M. (I hit the sleep button too many
times — I needed to be up by 6:00 A.M.) to go to my day job.
Needless to say, I wasn’t any more awake or energetic at Haunt
tonight than I was last night. I talked to my make-up artist when I arrived in the park, and she was happy to oblige my airbrush request. Apparently, she fully intended on airbrushing me last night, but her airbrush wasn’t working, so she just made due with what she had. Hooray for makeup that comes off MUCH easier! Tonight was rookie night, and each rookie was assigned some kind of embarrassing act (act like a fairy princess, act like Tweety Bird, etc.) to do every time anyone said a specific word. That was amusing for a while. Our band also did a short march to the stage in the back of CS, and had a short “Welcome to Camp” thing for the rookies. The crowd tonight was good at the beginning of the night, better during the middle, and angry and tired by the end. Sometimes, it almost seems pointless for us to be out there the last hour of the night (on the later nights) because the guests just act like they are over it, over us, and want to be anywhere else in the world besides Knott’s Scary Farm. We try to scare them, or even just interact with them, and they get mad at us. I will never understand why people would pay to go somewhere to get scared, then get angry, upset or violent when someone tries to scare them. On an optimistic note, the good portion of the night was really good. People were getting scared and having fun with it. Lots of photos were taken by people who actually asked to take them, and used words like “please” and “thank you.” Thank you polite people, for restoring my faith in humanity! :D And all of the monsters seemed to be having fun as well, running around like maniacs and making sure all of the guests were thoroughly frightened. We did have one small incident tonight, which I think is very important for me to address. One of our monsters got very ill tonight from overworking themselves. If any other monsters or potential monsters are reading this, please know your limits. Make sure you eat something healthy and drink lots of water. If you get tired, take a break. No one is going to think any less of you if you have to sit down for a little while to catch your breath. That being said, I’m off to shower, then to bed. I think my complex is having a luau at the pool right outside my window tomorrow early afternoon. I really hope that doesn’t wake me up if I’m still sleeping... which I probably will be… |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
| Woke up this
morning feeling pretty good. Not too much hurts so far;
just my hands and my thighs.
Tonight was amazing. Way better than yesterday. The crowd was alive and into it, so the scares literally came walking through the door. I've learned the best scare spots in my area, and also where all of the props are so that I don't accidentally trip and fall when darting at my victim. I got word that as of last night our maze was in fourth place. Fourth? C'mon, what's up with this? I know we were full-bore yesterday. Oh well, hopefully I will go in tomorrow and find out that we are in the lead. Hopefully, the muscles on my hands will start to become stronger, because it hurts REALLY badly when I smack my gloves on a wall. I had a jolly good time holding my steering wheel on the ride home. Yay... Now it's off to bed until I have to be back at Haunt. I now understand the harsh sleep patterns Haunt brings you. |
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
| Why I love
being a dancer: 1.
Because I'm good at it.
After being thoroughly painted and glittered, I had plenty of time to walk back to my venue under the cover of my rag robe. It made me giggle when some pre-teen girl turned around and ran smack into me. She screamed, "OH MY GOD! IT'S A SCARY GIRL!" then proceeded to run the other way. I just kept my head down and hoped that a monster was waiting around the corner but no... it never works out like that. I'm not a monster; I leave the scaring to the professionals in that field. All I wanted was to get to my dressing room. I finally did, but it was difficult to maneuver through guests. The first show was amazing; we had a lot of fun and the crowd was really into it. The second show was just a little more quiet and the third took a little while to warm up to us. Then there was the fourth. Yikes! After three shows, you get a little slap-happy. Your body starts to give out, the conversations in the green room turn silly and in that same green room, you may bare witness to six or seven people bust out in song. Tonight's choice was Team America. I'm sure that the SBMT monsters on their break were wondering what in tar nation was going on in there! But, it kept me laughing until I had to clock out (I'm even singing it now as I write this). We have a lot of down time, and are lucky to have a TV and DVD player. I'm going to start one movie a week. Maybe some "B" flicks, old horror movies and of course, comedy. I have the best crew. We
have all seemed to click almost immediately. Now, if we
could just fill our venue... I'd be a happy girl! |
| SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 |
|
VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
|
Well, I didn't make anyone
puke tonight, but I did make them sick to their stomach for
the most part. The look on their faces was priceless.
Anywho, there's not much for me to write tonight because I was pretty much bored off my ass. I started off my night by rolling my ankle at rope drop. So I was hobbling around all evening. I wasn't able to act like my normal, crazy self. It really bummed me out because I wanted to go nuts tonight. Oh well, there's still a month left.
The crowd was hit or miss
tonight. People either got REALLY freaked out or they
just looked at you like, "Why the hell are you trying to
scare me?" There seemed to be a lot of really young,
dumb, teenagers tonight. One guy, who was about 14,
jumped out in front of me while I was in the middle of a
scare and screamed in my ear. That pissed me off...
so... like the good li'l monster I am... stalked him as he
walked away laughing with his friends, and got his whole
group. The kid who screamed in my ear fell over a
trash can (he was fine). As I walked away laughing, I
could hear one of his friends saying, "Oh, dude! That
monster got you back!" I'm sure he felt pretty stupid.
So for the most part, my
evening was uneventful. I tried my hardest to get buck
wild, but my ankle was hurting so badly. At the end of
the night, I took off my socks and saw the damage.
It's very swollen. So, it's on ice right now and I'm
popping an 800mg Ibuprofen as I speak.
With that, I'm going to go
shower, then sleep. I ended up sleeping in today until
almost 2:00 P.M. I didn't get to bed until 5:00 A.M.
because of the upset stomach I had last night. I felt
like crap today because I slept so long. So, I'm going
to try and get a normal 8 hours. :)
Nighty night! |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
|
I got something last night that I haven’t had in weeks… SLEEP. This made me a very happy, much more energetic monster. Haunt is such a different experience when you are actually coherent! This was our first Saturday of Haunt this year. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as I expected it to be. I mean, I usually recommend everyone come the first or second weekend if they must come on a weekend, but this would have been the perfect night for everyone to go. The crowd was good, for the most part. There were a few of the annoying people screaming in my face (who are they trying to impress? It’s not like I’m going to get scared, and they just end up looking like an idiot in front of their friends) and people smacking my arm as I walked by (I guess they are just desperate to touch me, or unsure if I’m real or not), but nothing to put me in a bad mood or anything. I was chosen as one of the “board members” to choose Monster of the Week this year in Camp, which makes me feel special. This week, we chose someone who has been with us for a long time, and rarely gets the recognition they deserve. Of course, I can’t announce who until tomorrow. ;) The latter portion of the night was spent around the old pole spot (R.I.P. pole!), fighting with Puke, taking a million photos, etc... Even though I got a lot of sleep last night, I was still extremely exhausted by the end of the night. I think my body is still adjusting to Haunt. I’m still kicking myself for not working out more the past couple of months. I’ve noticed I have had a lot more comments from people thinking I’m “hot” this year. I don’t know what their idea of hot is, but I thought I looked rather Exorcist-ish with my piece painted the way it was the past few days. Maybe people are more into Linda Blair than I thought they were. Who knew? Tomorrow I will have a new piece… orange, I believe. Let’s see if people fancy me as much when I’m that color. :D |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
I am now beginning to feel
the aches and pains that come with doing Haunt.
Each night gets better and
better. Tonight was really fun. The crowd was
totally into it ( well, at least until about 12:30 A.M. when
everyone seemed like they didn't want to be there).
There was a good, constant flow through the maze, which I
really like. Gives me more to do than stand there and
wait for a group to come. I also can practice my
darting and weaving, so I'm having a lot of fun with that.
But my body is paying for it.
There was something that
stood out in my mind all night that I just could not stop
laughing about. So about early mid-night, a couple
came through, and when I rounded the corner, the guy pushed
his girlfriend right into me from getting scared! I
just can not believe any of this! I guess her "knight
in shining armor" is a real good one. If they were in
a horror movie, that would be screwed!
I'm starting to get used to
the flow and organization of Haunt. Check in, pick up
costume, get dressed, go scare, take it off, turn it in, go
home; pretty simple. Lately, I have been getting there
early, which is good because that gives me time to mingle
and I always know that I am there on time.
My hands are KILLING me.
Smacking those walls all night really hurts, especially on
the palms of my hands. If I hit the wall really hard,
I get a good seven-second shock go through my hand.
Loads of fun.
It's time to call it a night.
These bones need to rest until tomorrow. One more
night until two days of R&R! Yumm... R&R...
|
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
|
Tonight’s phrase that pays:
“Look out for those stairs!”
So far, I have managed stumble on those stairs at least once a night. Last night I had a big spill and tonight I had another as well. Don’t they know that dancers are horribly uncoordinated?
We can’t maneuver stairs… and they want us to run up and down them? Yeah right.
Jack Falfas was in the park tonight. He watched our first show, which made me really nervous. We still have a few kinks in our show that need to be worked out. Hopefully, by Wednesday, we will be in better shape and we won’t have to make anymore changes.
It was a long night. I’m beginning to get exhausted. I have had very little sleep the past few days (like most everyone else working Haunt) and I have also had next to nothing to eat. One more night, and then I get a little break from Haunt (but not my other job). The only thing is that no matter how tired I am, when I get close to the park, my adrenaline starts pumping. I get all nervous and excited; I grin and do the happy dance. I love being a part of Haunt. And I think it’s obvious to everyone around me. |
| SEPTEMBER 30, 2007 |
|
VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| Today
was super slow. I think I scared the same people at least
a dozen times. I kept hearing, "You already got me
earlier..." I was so bored, I kept following Dusty Geezer around just so I could get some entertainment. It's nights like these when I do just dumb scares to make people laugh. My ankle is still swollen and it hurts like a mo-fo! Thank goodness I have a couple days off to let it rest. Well, at least until Tuesday evening, because I have to work at my other job. I'm finding out the true perks of having a prosthetic now. You get to wake up and find random zits all over your face. I'm not prone to breaking out, so I'm kind of freaking out about the huge volcano that's taking over my nose. Also, when you think that you've washed all the glue and crap off, you'll definitely realize that you didn't get it all when you wake up in the morning and the pillow is stuck to your face. ANYWAY, I'm off to bed. I have to wake up early for a meeting at my other job. Yippee! I promise folks, these entries will get more exciting once Haunt picks up. This is the slow week. |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
|
Tonight might have been the slowest Sunday in Haunt history. Even Thursday was more crowded than it was tonight. Most of the evening, the monsters outnumbered the guests. Luckily, we are all pretty self-sufficient, mixed with a little bit of crazy, so we were able to entertain ourselves. All I have to say is thank God for KB. He almost single-handedly kept me entertained for most of the night. My favorite was when he hid in the flower bush outside of Lucy’s Lunchbox, and camouflaged himself by sticking several flowers in his prosthetic. Then Kane would get people to come over near him, and KB would jump up and yell “Raaaaaaaarrr!” See what happens when monsters get bored? We had Monster of the Week tonight at the stage in the back of CS. The winner this week was the King, and I think it was well deserved. He has been working really hard this year, and honestly, nothing beats the rock and roll scare! Hopefully you all will be lucky enough to experience it this season. :D After the award was given out, we had the usual limbo/sliding show. I opted out of participating this week since my body just wasn’t feeling it. I will do the limbo next week though. Two days off until we return to the Haunt. I guess I will have to live in the real world until then… |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
Ugh, first Sunday night.
Very, very slow.
The crowd was really dead
tonight. They just weren't into it like the past
nights. I would jump out and go for my scare, and the
most I got out of people was, "Okay, whatever." I
swear some people do not want to be there and just go for
the sole purpose of proving that point; dumb ones.
I was in my room for about an
hour tonight. One of our other rooms usually has three
people in it, and it just so happened that all three of
those people called out today. So guess who had to go
fill that space? I really didn't like it in there; a
really narrow hallway with not much to work with. But
oh well; sometimes you've gotta take one for the team.
We had a little crazy
situation happen with one of our Blackouts tonight. I
guess one of the guests made an attempt at hitting one of
the talent, and the Blackout stepped in, physically.
Let's just say that this particular Blackout is no longer
shining their flashlight.
Well, two days of rest before
I have to make that five-mile trip down the freeway to
Knott's. Hopefully, my body is feeling better than it
is tonight. I was trying my best to keep the energy
level at a max, but since it was slow, in the downtime, I
found my adrenaline rush starting to decrease. Don't
want that to happen again. I'm gonna go get some new
stuff that I realize I need/should have to make Haunt easy
for me.
First weekend down, 23 more
nights to go! That always seems like a long time when
I say it, but I know that each date will be worth it, just
to be able hear a scream or watch a 300-pound man drop and
almost break the floor!
|
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
|
I’m just now coming down off my sugary Berry Punch high. I swear they put something in that stuff to make you become addicted to it. I’ve been very good at avoiding it all week long but the craving proved to be too much today. After sitting in the make-up chair, I had to give in and filled my sippee cup to the brim with my own special concoction that I have been drinking for years - ¾ berry punch and ¼ sprite.
Always goes down smooth.
Oh, Berry Punch, I love you and vow that I will indulge in your fattening goodness only one night a week.
But I digest…
I made it through my first week of Haunt! WOO HOO!
And this just in, breaking news from wagon camp:
I DID NOT TRIP DOWN ANY STAIRS TONIGHT!
Hell must have frozen over.
To start off the evening, my partner and I had to re-choreograph (with loving support and cheers from our choreographer) a whole dance. Oh yes, we did it in the time it took to smoke a cigarette, plus 10 minutes. Ran it twice with the band during sound check and off we ran to throw on our costumes. Talk about professionals; we didn’t even miss a damn beat during any shows! It’s actually cute, and we get to dance a little more. I’m proud of us; we have been busting our butts every night for a crowd that has been a little lackluster.
I’m just hoping that we can get some more people into our venue. Each time I look out my peep hole before the show, I pray to the Goddess of the Amphitheatre that there will be more than 30 people. One day it will happen; I just know it.
But no matter if it’s 300 or three… as dancers, we do it the same. Always energetic, always full-out and always having a good time; that’s our job and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sure, there are antics. Techs in the booth will try to break up the monotony and will constantly try to get a giggle out of us. I’m usually the one to notice, since I have a habit of looking at the booth, and I’ll admit that I have let a chuckle slip every once in a while. I just can’t help it. It’s part of what makes performing fun for me.
And the antics between shows have proven to be just as much fun. In between shows, we watched Office Space tonight. Like someone said this evening, “It’s like sitting in a living room with your friends and watching a movie, laughing together and then playing a little music once in awhile.” And he’s right. The beauty of it is that I get the pleasure of walking out the door and seeing some of my Haunt family. I get to catch up, share stories, get the scoop on the crowd and even vent a little if I am having a rough night.
Tonight, however, was not a rough night. Ok, maybe a little, but I am not complaining about it.
Now, what the hell am I going to do for the next two nights? Oh yeah… work my other job. I’m looking forward to Wednesday. I’ll be rested and ready to go another round. |
| OCTOBER 3, 2007 |
| VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| So you
know the saying, "time flies when you're having fun?" I
think time flies when you're bored off your ass as well. Tonight went by so fast for me. It was much slower than Sunday night, but the crowd was really into the scares. I wish we could get crowds like these more often. They were all about having good time, taking fun pictures and wanting to follow us around to watch us scare more people. All in all, it was a good night. I floored two guests tonight; it gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. It's funny when that happens, because it turns into a domino effect. You get someone so good, that they take down whoever they're grasping onto, then that person grabs on to whoever is next to them to try and keep their balance, and so on. But instead of getting pissed that they fell over, they all just laughed and gave me and my partner a high five and said, "You guys are awesome!" HOORAY FOR AWESOME MONSTERS! The past couple days were a much-needed siesta. My body needed to recuperate in the worst way. My ankle isn't swollen anymore, my body has gotten used to the aches and pain, and I've already lost six pounds! God, I love Haunt! It's my month-long exercise program. :) I'm ready to do it all over again tonight! High five for Jesus! <--- monster inside joke that I'm sure the SBMT monsters will appreciate. :) |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
|
Tonight was BLAH. Actually, this whole entire day was BLAH. I was stuck in an all-day seminar. Said seminar was supposed to end at 4:00 P.M., immediately followed by a test at 4:30 P.M. (which they would give us 50 minutes to take it, but would in all likelihood take a lot less time to complete). Well, the seminar ran until about 4:30 P.M., and they didn’t even start the stupid test until 5:30 P.M. This was over by Disneyland, and my clock-in for Haunt is 6:00 P.M. I sped through the test in about 10 minutes (hopefully, I passed, since my day job paid for me to go to that thing), ran to my car, and dashed over to Knott’s. I was about 15 minutes late. :/ The clock-in lady and my make-up artist didn’t seem too concerned, but it bothered me since I am never late. Haunt itself was really blah, too. I thought maybe it was just me, but everyone else seemed to be feeling the same way. I had also eaten something at that seminar that didn’t agree with me, which made for some more discomfort. Try having a stomach ache in a corset! The crowd wasn’t into it at all tonight. I did get one really good slide in where the girl leapt in the air — I love it when that happens! But besides that and a few others, the crowd seemed like they couldn't have cared less that we were even there. I did enjoy watching some of my fellow monsters run around. There are a couple of rookies that I have been finding quite entertaining. I’m really hoping tomorrow will be better. I just need to take a shower and get some SLEEP. BLAH!!!! |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
Wednesday night. How
boring...
Well, actually, it wasn't.
The crowd was a little "ehh " at first, but by 8:00 P.M.,
they were really into it and the scares and laughs I was
getting were awesome. I though it was gonna be a dull
night. Turns out it was one of the best I have had so
far.
Tonight, since it was so
slow, I decided to be a little funny and creative. I
was carrying around a doll with me, so I was scaring with
that and it was fun. I would stick it in someone's
face and just yell random stuff with it. I would hoist
it up and say, "Brownie!" and people were actually getting
scared! So that kept me entertained for a while!
I was doing all sorts of
stuff. I found some 3-D glasses so I was wearing those
for awhile. I was getting groups of girls to come in
and then lead them directly back out. Just random, fun
stuff.
As for scaring, the scares
were actually really good. Although I do think a girl
now has a very large bruise on her butt. I'm not
really sure why she chose to drop down on that, but
whatever, it was her choice.
The only "bad" thing that
happened tonight was that another talent and myself ended up
head butting each other in the face as we whipped around the
corner. Nothing serious, but enough to make my eyes
water.
Tomorrow will be a little
busier. Now I know that when it's slow, I can
entertain myself!
Another Haunt night gone,
another about to begin...
|
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
| Oh, it's good
to be back. It's amazing what a couple nights off of Haunt can do. I found myself watching the clock on Monday and Tuesday as if I was preparing to rush out of the studio. I shared pictures with friends, family and coworkers and recalled the past week's events. And when I woke up this morning, I did feel a little renewed and was definitely ready to get back to the stage. Although when I did leave work, I was struck, once again, with that all-too-familiar pang of stage fright. Stressing out over traffic and whether or not I would make it in time puts me in a frenzy. But I made it with a few minutes to spare. Things are becoming routine. "Walk sign is on" = a brisk walk across Western Avenue. Say hello to the guard while he inspects my belongings. "Holy crap, HI!" = a brisk walk to my dressing room dodging friends who could possibly trap me in conversation when I am in a huge hurry. Say hello to the techs and random monsters backstage. "This @%&*ing thing is big enough for Andre the Giant" = me cursing the oversized rag robe that I will inevitably trip over on the way to Make-up. Say hello to Gypsies and some of Ghost Town's finest. "Just checking in, do I have time for a smoke?" = me letting my artist know that I am here but in no way trying to rush her... I have had good advice to not piss off my make-up artist. And then after relaxing in the
make-up chair, it's back to my dressing room to get dressed and
stretched. Our audience tonight wasn't half bad, considering that it was a slow evening at Haunt. I am still eagerly anticipating a full house one of these nights. The energy is different when there are more people out there. All in all, it was an ok night. It's starting to get a little cooler, which will make it feel more like Haunt. And I'm starting to become somewhat of a vampire. I would rather stay up all night and wake up just in time for work. My body is becoming used to this schedule. With that, I am off to bed. But on a side note, a funny thing happened on the way back to my dressing room this evening. This guy asked me for directions to "13 Axe Murder Manor." I giggled and told him to, "Go up there and keep turning left... eventually you'll run into it." (a little inside joke) He asked what my costume was and my reply, "Huh? What costume?" Evil I tell ya... just evil! |
| OCTOBER 4, 2007 |
| VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| Not much to
talk about today. I ended up not working tonight because I
was very very ill. I'm very bummed out that I didn't get
to work tonight, because during tough times, all I want to do is
be with my Haunt family and I wasn't able to. But anyway, I'll be back tomorrow night, ready to rock and roll. Time for me to get some rest. Love you all. Good night! |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
|
Another slow night at the Haunt, but the crowd was MUCH better tonight. When the Queen and I got out of Make-up and arrived in The Gauntlet, we decided to go up to the front gate and take some photos. We were greeted by Dusty Geezer, who was busy tormenting the guests (and the photographers). After a few photos and a few scares, we tired of Sharp Shooters and headed back into Camp. Whenever there are very few people in the park and my energy is down, I always feel like I’m walking in slow motion - like the streets of CS are filled with a river of molasses. Every once in a while, I will get a spurt of energy out of nowhere and run around for a bit, but then I go back into slow motion again. However, I still had lots of fun. I feel a lot more in tune with my character this year. I think I was losing touch with that the past couple of years, but now I feel like I’m back. I know who I am and what to do. I feel so at peace with myself. :D Heckler came and visited us tonight and took some photos and whatnot. It’s weird not having him working with us anymore, especially since he started in CS the same year as I did. Hopefully, he’ll be happy in his new home, at Universal. I am still dying to see how their event is in comparison with ours. Maybe I can take a day off next year and go. My make-up artist walked through the park tonight with her mom, but I only saw her briefly a couple times in passing. Maybe I’ll be able to scare her next time! Tomorrow is Friday… Friday = More People = More Energy = More Fun! Yay! |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
Yet another fun night!
Two in a row! And with the next days being a Friday
and Saturday, one can expect great scares and events
happening!
I've learned that when it is
a slow night, you have to keep yourself entertained somehow.
Tonight, I decided to try working our line. I had only
planned on doing it for 15 - 20 minutes. Turns out, I
was out there for the whole night! I was having a
blast! Got some great scares, and it was a good
opportunity to practice agility.
Still don't have the Golden
Cup back. But after a night like tonight, where
everyone in the maze was on their game, I think that
tomorrow we will see a shiny metal object in our break room.
Not that the cup is all I'm aiming for, but it does make you
feel good!
Tomorrow and Saturday, we are
expecting BIG numbers. Should be awesome!
I can hear the screams now...
|
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
| Damn, I had
a lot of energy when I walked into the park, and just as much
when I walked out of the park. But what happened to that
energy in between is a mystery. We are beginning to get a little frustrated and pessimistic about the attendance of our show. I am still having fun on stage, and that is what counts. I have been told that people have fun watching me because it's obvious that I am loving being on stage. So, I guess that means that I am doing my job. It was just a little slow tonight. Things seemed a little off and a little subdued in the green room. Although, we did rally together to watch Will Ferrell and the infamous cowbell. Gotta have more cowbell! So, I'm crossing my fingers that when Jack [Falfas] comes again to see the show... he likes it at least a little better. *flutters long lashes and flashes a grin* |
| OCTOBER 5, 2007 |
| VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| Tonight
was rockin! At first, the crowd was a little on-edge;
getting too close for comfort on some things. I almost got my prosthetic ripped off my face by some punk-ass teenager, I got kicked in the shin... yeah, it was time for a people break. Then afterward, I went out there and just started wreaking havoc. People were screaming and jumping; the scares were awesome tonight! Even up until it was time for us to get off the streets, they were still reacting quite well. Normally around midnight, the crowd gets tired, or are too drunk to care. It was good to be back tonight. I was a little off my game in the beginning, but I got back in the swing of things. Now, lets do it again! |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
|
I have officially made it through the first busy night of Haunt this season, on two hours of sleep. I am REALLY having a hard time getting out of bed to go to my day job during this week this year. I think my brain has trained my hand to automatically smack the sleep button on my alarm clock every time it goes off. Either that, or I will sit up and look at the clock, then reason with myself as to why I should be able to sleep for 10 - 15 more minutes (I’m mostly asleep when this happens). Of course, it’s never really a good idea and I always end up waking up WAY too late. Today, I woke up 20 minutes after I should have already left for work. Surprisingly though, I was only 10 minutes late. Go figure. I wasn’t able to take a nap during my lunch hour today (nor was I able to even take a lunch hour), so I was practically falling asleep at my desk all day. I figured I would probably wake up once I got to Haunt. I arrived at Haunt around 5:45 P.M., changed into my costume, and went into Make-up. For some reason, my prosthetic appeared to have shrunk somehow (it was the first night for this piece, but my artist had painted it already). :/ It felt weird on my face, and the mouth had to be cut up the sides more than usual so it wouldn’t rip. I looked absolutely ridiculous when I smiled. Unfortunately, this is something I will have to endure for the rest of the weekend, until I get a new piece next week. Fortunately, the colors my make-up artist used are amazing! The crowd was pretty big tonight, especially for it being so early in the month. It’s interesting to see the different types of people who come on the weekends (as opposed to during the week). Tonight it was mostly teenagers and kids… which requires more patience than I usually have. At the beginning of the night, I was ready to drown myself in the waterfall. However, the crowd became much more tolerable as the night progressed. Lots of good scares and people having fun. I enjoyed myself for quite some time… until 12:00 A.M… when the guests turned into angry zombies. It was about that time too, when my tiredness caught up with me. I found myself wandering through the crowd in front of the old pole spot, scaring a few people, spacing out completely, forgetting where I was and wondering why people were staring at me, then realizing that I was a monster and proceeding to scare again. I can’t wait to get a full night’s sleep. Oh sweet, glorious sleep, how I miss you! |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
What an awesome night for
great scares!
The first hour or so was
slow, but then we had steady groups of people pouring in
through the door. The two other people in my area and
I were really working well tonight. We were feeding
off of each other's scares, and that just made it more fun.
I was going totally nuts tonight. I was trying to
cover every single inch of space that came between people.
I was getting great scares.
Man, it was windy tonight.
The air was blowing in all the fog from our entrance and
Ghost Town, so our whole maze had a thin layer of fog; it
was kinda nice. And the wind kept our maze warm, so it
wasn't cold or hot. It was just right.
I'm feeling really good now.
My scares have gotten a lot better because I am into my
groove and have found my own way of working groups. My
body doesn't hurt too badly, so I'm happy about that (knock
on wood).
Tomorrow is going to be even
better than tonight. More people, and another chance
to make some people cry. I really like having a big
crowd, because it seems like the scares never stop.
Now, to rest till have I to
go make more dolls...
|
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
|
ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Apparently, a whole bunch of people were ready and willing last night. What a difference a few more faces in the crowd makes! The energy was fantastic and I have hopes of it getting even better.
This show is just something entirely different for Haunt and I have to think that people walk in not really knowing what they are going to get.
A rockabilly band, a huge inflatable rocket (that looks somewhat phallic… hee hee hee)...
And hot alien go-go dancers that chase each other around with various weapons at one point in the show. Three-inch heels and a chainsaw; damn, I love my job!
Kinda random, but I think the entertainment value is there. If you aren’t really a fan of the music, then at least our antics onstage should be somewhat entertaining.
That, and the fact that I am sure people are hoping for some kind of “wardrobe malfunction” when we do our whole go-go routine. If it’s not the leotard riding up our nether regions, then it’s the fact that I am always afraid that I will bounce right out of my top! Never fear… I am cinched in there real good!
As you can tell, the night went well. There are always the little flubs that are made.
When the singer mixes up lyrics and totally throws us off… that’s always fun. Or me totally tripping on the warped wood covering the well (used for the stunt show) and almost falling off into a cactus; that would leave a mark.
A lot of people like watching live theater for the same reason a lot of people like watching NASCAR; it’s the anticipation of the wrecks.
And believe me, we have our share of them. But my guess is, that the audience would never know it.
I’m just so lucky to have a great partner, a fantastic crew and lots of support from my Haunt family. I see those monsters peek their heads in to watch us and I see them sneak in during the last show to snap a few pics. Speaking of monsters:
Last night, a few of SBMT monsters came out to dance for the last song, “Rise of the Undead.”
I didn’t get to watch, because the first thing I do when I get off stage is rip off my wig and bundle up. Tonight, I’ll just have to have more patience and peak my head out to see them.
I think it’s a great idea… unless they start upstaging me! Then I’ll have to pull a “diva” and kick them the hell off my stage! LOL! Yeah right; like that would ever happen! |
| OCTOBER 6, 2007 |
| VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| So, I
was sick again today. I heard it was a sold-out night.
It sucked, because I was sitting at home, in bed by 10:30 P.M.
I would look at the clock and say to myself, "Hmm... right now,
I'd be taking a water break..."
I promise folks, I don't think I'm going to be ill anymore. I'm well-rested, I'm hydrated, and I've figured out some life changes that are going to make me a better person (it's been a tough month). So, be prepared to hear some awesome stories tonight! I've got a lot of energy to expend! |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
|
What an amazing night! The crowd was great (mostly) and I had tons of energy. It’s great working with a partner again, too. It has been at least a few years since I used to run around with my little jester partner. And since my new partner is my best friend and my roommate, we know each other very well and we work very well together. The only really crappy thing that happened tonight was a guest yanked on one of my braids. :/ OKAY, it’s obviously fake hair, but it is clipped to my very REAL hair! So, when you pull on the fake hair, my real hair gets pulled as well. I had a little chat with her about how she shouldn’t be touching the monsters, much less trying to pull their hair out of their head. She seemed pretty unaffected by the whole conversation, and I’m sure she went on to poke and prod other monsters throughout the night. Other highlights of the evening included a guest buying us Dippin’ Dots in exchange for showing him where the restroom was; my partner’s 10 year-old bodyguard, and the English soccer player outside of Lucy’s Lunchbox who was apparently made of stone because nothing I did scared him. I also met with the Monster of the Week committee and voted for this week’s… well… Monster of the Week. My suggestion was shot down right quick, but the person we did agree on definitely deserves it. They have been working hard every night since the first night of Haunt this year, and are doing really well especially since they are a rookie. I know some people have been giving this person a hard time, so hopefully this recognition will make them feel a little more welcome in The Gauntlet. Now, it’s time to sleep. I hope tomorrow night is as good as this one was! |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
Woo Hoo! I'm still
pumped from tonight! If you can't tell already, it was
amazing!
The night started off slow,
but this only lasted for about a half an hour, so by 7:00
P.M. the crowd came right on in. And they were
definitely getting their money's worth from my room, let
alone the whole maze. My buddies and I were working
together really well tonight. It is to the point where
you just sense what is gonna happen or what one of us is
going to do, and then we can feed off of that and create a
really good scare. Hence, the Triangle of Terror was
born! We positioned ourselves at three corners of our
room, so that no matter what, there was a monster on each
side of the guests. We were getting everyone really
good. It was an awesome night to scare.
One of the best scares I have
ever gotten in my life happened tonight. My buddy and
I were tag-teaming groups, and a group of three girls walk
in. So we come out quick and we were loud, you know -
the usual. Well, they freak out, which sends one girl
running through the rest of the maze. So I chase after
her and leave my partner to deal with the other two. I
chased her about two rooms down from me, and decided to turn
back, and when I got back into my room, the other two girls
were shaking in the corner. They couldn't even finish
the maze. Man, was that awesome!
Haunt is starting to get
busier and busier, which is good and bad. The backup
in our maze sometimes comes to a dead stop, so we are stuck
with the same 8 people in a small space until the line
starts moving. I know that at one point the line
wrapped around all the way to Lost Vegas, which is a pretty
good wait. But I feel like our maze does an amazing
job and makes people feel like it was worth it to wait in
the God-forsaken line.
Tomorrow is Sunday, but it's
the Sunday before Columbus Day. The crowd shouldn't be
light, but it shouldn't be crazy. I'm thinking
somewhere in the middle. Hopefully, we have a good
crowd. That way, I can have fun and not roll my eyes
when I hear a 9 year-old droppin' F-bombs.
Till the fog rises again...
Wait; that's in a few hours! |
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
|
I LOVE THE SMELL OF HAUNT FUNK IN THE EVENING!
I got into my dressing room, opened up my Haunt box and nearly fainted. It was really quite frightening, and something totally unexpected. I’m not a monster, so why was that pungent smell emanating from my belongings? After a thorough inspection (making sure nothing crawled into my Haunt box and died) I found the culprit.
The button-down shirt I cover up with in between shows had become the breeding ground for that ever-so-distinct smell that we like to call “the Haunt funk.” Yuck; time to do some laundry.
After recovering from my near-fatal brush with the funk, I bee-bopped on over to Make-up to find that my artist wasn’t there. Uh oh, I don’t deal well with change. But Denise did my make-up, and that made me feel so much better. Still, I get into a routine and even small changes can throw me off.
The whole night was a little... ummm… shall we say... “off.”
We actually had a larger audience for all the shows than we have ever had. That was something that made me feel better. But, we did hit a few bumps in the road.
I forgot a tiny, itty, bitty piece of choreography which drove me nuts for the whole night. Oh, I recovered on stage just fine and I am sure that no one noticed, but the fact that I flubbed drove me nuts. My energy for the last show was so low that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it back up the stairs during one of the songs. My legs just wouldn’t move like I wanted them too.
And backstage in between shows didn’t have the camaraderie that I have grown accustomed to. We just had an off evening and that is bound to happen once in awhile.
The one good thing is I feel the show has improved since we started, and I know that it will keep getting better.
My spirits are also renewed with the growing numbers of people who park their butts in the seats each show. Now, if we can just keep the drunkards under control and off the stage (oh yes, one guy thought it would be a good idea to jump onstage), we’d be in good shape. |
| OCTOBER 7, 2007 |
| VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN: |
| Ooooh,
Sunday night; normally pretty mellow. NOT TONIGHT!
This was a busy, busy Sunday! I guess since there's no
school tomorrow, all the kiddies came out to play.
The first part of the evening was super fun. Everyone I was scaring was reacting pretty well. My favorite part of the night was when I was hiding in Fog Alley behind one of the fog machines, and as the fog started to spew, I jumped out through it and scared a line of like seven people all chain-linked. Then, they all just let go of each other and started running rampant like a bunch of crazy ants! So, I took my first break around 8:00 P.M. and said, "Tonight is great! I'm having so much fun!" Yeah, I'm the Supreme Leader of jinxing things. So, low and behold, I got out after my break, and almost get my prosthetic ripped off by some teenager asking if my nose was real (no, jerk, I just have an animal-shaped nose all the time). I got kicked in the shin because a girl wanted to know if my legs were real. Come on; really?! THEN, I almost got punched in the face because I scared this guy's girlfriend and he started trying to protect her by saying, with his fist right at my face, "Back off, mo-fo; what you think you doin?" Uhhh... my job. Hhe ended up getting escorted out of the park due to another situation later on. So, all in all, it was fun. The guests got punchy towards the end and I didn't end up with any punches in the face. Time to sleep! |
| VOICE 2 - THE ONE THAT ROAMS THE GAUNTLET: |
| Tonight
was just completely unnecessary. Actually, this whole day
was completely unnecessary. I should have known that right
when I woke up and logged into my computer and some random guy
started harassing me on IM, this was going to be a bad day. Since this feature isn't really about my personal life outside of Haunt, I'll just keep it short, and say that my hard drive crashed and my computer is now dead. This is horrible for me, since I am very dependent on my computer, and I'm taking an online class that I have to do homework for by tomorrow. Grrrr. Anyway, Haunt stuff. I really was NOT in the mood for being at Haunt tonight, mostly because of my computer issues. All I could think about were all of the photos, school work, etc. I had lost and how I could recover everything. My make-up artist called out sick today, which wasn't too much of a shock, since she had mentioned she felt like she was running a fever and might be out. Hopefully, she will feel better soon. Luckily, my make-up artist from last year was available to do my make-up tonight and, even though it was a little rushed, it was still good to be in her chair again. When I finally got out on the street, I was greeted by guests screaming in my face, tapping me on my shoulder, grabbing my arm, etc. Usually, I can tolerate this stuff, but tonight I was not having any of it. I ended up sliding a lot in the back of CS because it requires less real interaction with the guests. We had Monster of the Week tonight, and the winner was our rookie, Slinky. He's been doing a great job out there, especially for a rookie. After that, the rest of the rookies joined him and put on a little performance. It was pretty amusing, and kept me from having to actually face the crowd for a while. The sliding show ended up being only jumping, so I stood on the sidelines for that portion of the evening again. The very end of the night was a little better, plus one of my very favorite fans (Sam) and her parents came to see us, but I was happy when it was time to go home. I'm sure Wednesday will be a (much) better day. Hopefully, I can get this computer stuff resolved in my two days off. |
| VOICE 3 - THE ONE THAT CRIES OUT FROM THE DOLL FACTORY: |
|
Being that it was the Sunday
before Columbus Day, I figured it would be busy. Which
it was.
I was giving it my all
tonight, and trying to use as much energy as I could crank
out. After working the last four nights of Haunt
really hard, especially Friday and Saturday, I really had to
dig deep to find the energy to last the night.
The crowd was pretty good
tonight. It wasn't the greatest crowd, but it was
still fun. I love working in my maze, my area, and
with my partners, 'cause when we get good scares it just
reminds me even more why I love doing this.
Every single day, I am
starting to feel more at home and more accepted by Haunt.
The people that work it are amazing, and just the whole
routine of it has been way more and way better than I
expected.
Now I get to rest for two
days so my body can take a breather. By Wednesday, my
energy will be back up to par and I'll be ready to go again.
Now to slowly slip into the
nocturnal state....
|
| VOICE 4 - THE ONE THAT SHAKES IT IN THE WAGON CAMP: |
|
Was this a Saturday or Sunday? No, it’s not that my nights are running together - okay, maybe they are a little bit, but I couldn’t believe the attendance on the Farm tonight! I’m going to start with the end of the night and work in reverse.
Getting out of the parking lot was just as bad tonight as it was on Friday or Saturday. Walking out of the park, I noticed that the line for the Lost Vegas maze was incredible at 12:55 A.M; I feel for the talent in there.
But even when I left wagon camp, I had to do a quick check to make sure that it was really 1:00 A.M. I almost turned around to ask one of the techs if I left too early!
The energy in the park and amongst those who dwell in Wagon Camp was much better this evening. Things seemed to flow better and even the mistakes seemed to bring everyone together.
It was, all in all, a fantastic evening.
Our crowd is still steadily growing and even staying in their seats for the whole show! People are responding with cheering, clapping and whistles (ugh, I can do without the latter); they look like they are here to have a good time. It makes it so much easier to perform for people who want to see you up there having fun.
The show itself has made one last change; hopefully, it’s the last one. The band cut out one song which didn’t affect the dancers (me) because we aren’t onstage for that bit. It was a good decision; the show seemed to keep the energy up for the whole time.
Speaking of “keeping it up...”
We have a gigantic inflatable rocket onstage. This thing isn’t just gigantic, it’s monstrous.
So, there I am, dancing away and I glance up into the booth. I see three of the techs laughing their asses off and immediately begin to wonder if I had a booger hanging out my nose or even more probable, an ass cheek hanging out.
Glance down to check… nope; all body parts are covered and I don’t see anything dangling from my nostrils. I look back up to the booth and one of the techs points her finger in the direction of the rocket.
At that time in the choreography we turn around. I looked and noticed that our inflatable had lost it’s will to survive. It was deflating rapidly.
I totally lost it! It was indescribably funny to see our flaccid rocket. I made eye contact with our drummer who had a look on his face somewhere between confused, concerned and about to crack up. In trying to contain my laughter onstage, tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn’t help but let a little chuckle escape a few times.
Thank God that one of the other techs ran down to fix our little “situation.”
In between muffled giggles, I was trying to think of just how we were going to get around that limp rocket and up the stairs to make our exit. But, thank God that it had been revived in time for us to, once again, drag ourselves up the stairs. Apparently, the cord to the fan was unplugged. Who did it and why… I don’t know.
I am beginning to think that maybe we have an entity in our Wagon Camp. At least it has a sense of humor.
I also had the thrill of scaring someone tonight! It was while I was walking to get some food with one of the techs. I had my rag robe on with the hood up so that guests can’t see me in my wig cap and costume (with sweats on to keep my legs somewhat warm). I always walk with a determined look on my face and I try not to make eye contact with any guest. I’m not a monster and I don’t want to take the attention away from their scares whenever I am out and about. So, there I was… walking, when all of a sudden, a boy around 13 years-old turned his head right in time to see me right as I passed him. He put his hands to his mouth and let out this horrible whimper. Oh God, it was funny! It took everything I had not to go after him; what a rush!
But not as good as being onstage. I’ll leave the whimpering boys to the monsters. Oh, wait a minute… that didn’t sound good, did it?
Really though, I love my monsters.
So, now I am off to bed. My legs are so tired, and I don’t get any chance to rest until November. I have to take advantage of every moment of downtime I have.
It’s gonna be a lonely couple of days without my cast and crew. |
|
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE. |
|
As we get wrapped up in Halloween Haunt, sometimes it can be jarring when "real life" interrupts us. And sadly, that is what has happened with VOICE 1 - THE ONE THAT DWELLS IN GHOST TOWN. Due to personal circumstance beyond this individual's control, he/she has had life happen in a negative way - and has had to make the heart breaking decision to leave Knott's Scary Farm and tend to real world issues and challenges. Our VOICE 1 will not be replaced by another. This was something we debated and slept on for several nights. The journey our readers are on with these individuals begins before Haunt - and hopefully, ends after Haunt. If we lose someone mid-course, there are always plenty of stand-ins - and we appreciate the outpouring of offers over this past week from various Haunt monsters. But, it wouldn't be the same. And so, it is with great sadness that we let VOICE 1 fade into the night, back into the fog that swirls within Ghost Town. We love this individual and they know that they have our full, unquestionable support. Much, much love. |
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