Over the years, hundreds of thousands of guests have poured through the Main Gate at Knott's Scary Farm to witness the spectacle that is Halloween Haunt.  Those people come home with stories of ghoulish fun and frightful moments.

There are other stories to be told, too - stories from "the other side" - beyond the veil of Haunt.  Each season, hundreds of men and women - many of them returning year after year - dedicated souls that live, breathe and are Halloween Haunt.

Years ago, Theme Park Adventure began sharing their nightly tales with our readers - way back before blogging, blog-based websites and the rambling capabilities of MySpace.  It is a trend that we started and a feature of our annual coverage that our readers have fallen in love with and waited for each year as Haunt rolls around and the dead rise from Calico graveyard once again to terrorize Buena Park.

This season, we bring you three very distinct voices... one of a street monster that clowns around each night in CarnEvil; one that is a sensually deadly predator from Club Blood; and one that helps bring mass chaos several times each night as part of The Hanging crew.  We are very excited, as this is the first time that we've "tapped in" to a whisper from the Entertainment side of Halloween Haunt, and we're sure our readers will be equally thrilled and interested.

It's hard not to sound like a reality show spiel, so we'll just go for it...

THREE UNIQUE VOICES

28 NIGHTS

ONE COMMON GOAL:

OUT LAST, OUT SCARE, DOMINATE AND REPRESENT THE SCARY FARM

THIS IS WHISPERS IN THE FOG!

FIRST NIGHT - SEPTEMBER 25TH

The Clown:

The Vampire:

Great energy, good lighting, positive people.

This year is starting out wonderful!

My viewpoint comes from a different side.  I can tell you this much: I am not a monster, but I have been in the past.  And let me tell you, every year Haunt comes around I feel the twinge to be out there on the Streets frolicking, playing and scaring the begeezus out of people.  But I have been able to make a dream of mine come true and that was to be a part of "The Hanging".  As a Street Monster I was privileged to be a part of the show.  Back then, I thought it would be so cool to run the show.  Well for seven years now I have been able to live that dream.  So now I share with you my adventures in Entertainment, the Show side of things and/or should I say the Behind-The-Scenes side of things.

Opening Night...  Wow, what a rush!

Getting to this point has been quite challenging.  Late, cold, damp, night rehearsals.  But when it comes down to it, we have a show.  Like I said, things have been challenging through the rehearsal process, but the cast and crew have been troopers through out the entire process, true professionals.

Opening Night is always a whirlwind of activity.  Crew members taking care of last-minute fix-its and additions.  Cast members discovering they have some new props - "Surprise!"  Figuring out where were are going to fit everyone; there is not much real estate backstage - 16 Cast members, 10 Tech Crew members, four Wardrobe Crew members, three Pyro Crew members.  Yeah, that's quite a few people.  But thankfully, we all get along and are one big happy family.

For me, this night is a total adrenaline rush, time for me to get things going, take the reigns and get this show on.  30-minute call... all is well.  15-minute call... the pre-show music is playing, it is sooooo good this year, really fits the theme of the show and just gets me all energized and ready to go.  Five-minute call... cast and crew continue to scurry around and double-check to make sure everything is set, I check to see that the cast members with mics are "Good To Go".  Time to call places.

"This is your call to places, we are currently at place to the top of the show; places, please."  My own little show ritual... must state the "call" three times.  No more, no less.  Three times, gotta be three times.  Three times only.

Time to go out front and start the show.  Head set on, check in crew, give the stage and Square one last look over, give the "Stand-By"... wait for it... wait for it... "GO WITH SHOW."

The lights dim, the pre-show music fades and the show begins.  Here we go!  Hold on for the ride...

Opening night was a success!  The cast was great, the crew was awesome and the audience was very responsive.  We have a show people, we have a show!

As the second night of Haunt grows near, I realize my brand new, $200.00 dollar a pair contact lenses are damaged, I begin to have a sore throat and while sitting in the make-up chair, I break into a fever.  Goes to show you that monsters are people too :)

Despite my fever and throat problems, I am off into the maze, working the entire night with the great support of my fellow monster friends and the love of the fans I get through the night despite my sickness.

Off to the doctor I go tomorrow...

Happy Hauntings

Here we are, it's night two of the 28-day run.  Cast and crew are doing well.  All shows went well... except... we lost track during the second show.

I have to admit, it is a weird feeling when all of a sudden there is silence... in the middle of a clown fight... silence. Cast members stop, then slowly leave the stage.

Silence.

Waiting.

Waiting.

What was in reality only 10 to 15 seconds?  It felt like minutes... minutes of dead air.

As I sit down front, over the clear com I hear Audio report that they have lost track and are attempting to restore.  I ask for an announcement (to alert the audience we are experiencing technical difficulties) and there it is; the announcement was received with some sighs and boos from the audience.  Over com, Audio reports that they can pick it up at the top of the clowns.  Audio announces to the stage that we will pick up at the top of clowns.

The track plays, the audience cheers and when the time is right, the clowns return to the stage and continue where they left off.  AWESOME!  Everybody gets right back into it and away we go.  So, with that bit of excitement it was another successful night.  Whooo hoooo!

It is only the third night of Haunt and my visit with the doctor was not good.  I have a bad respiratory lymph infection.  They gave me a shot of antibiotics and sent me home with many more to take, plus bed rest.  The doctor said I can not work Haunt until Friday, October 3rd.  No fog for me.

Then he begin to ask me what I do for a living.  LOL!  It is always so fun explaining this to people whom have never gone to Haunt, what we do.  Well, doctor, I dress up like a monster and entertain people!  He then says to me, "OH!  You are one of the characters at that scary place my kids go to..."

:-)

Well, here we are, our first Saturday night.  Energy level of the cast and crew is still high for the most part - most of the crew has been pulling 12-hour shifts for most of the Build and this week, today makes their seventh day and some of those days were 10 - 12 hours.  And let's not forget that many of the cast members (and some of the crew) have day jobs and then come pull the late night of shows.  So the cast and crew are dragging a bit at times through the night, but they are still plugging away none the less; real troopers.

Not much to report tonight.  The mic pack on the "Medicine Man" went bad toward the end of the show; it happens.  One of the show "Minions" was totally on top of getting the back-up hand-held mic to him.  By the time my tech got back there, he had the mic and pushed my tech out of the way to get it to the Medicine Man.  Go Minion!  Way to save the day!  Because of his quick action, we lost minimal lines and the show kept on going.

It's moments like that, that make me proud.

Today was spent feeling bad about leaving my fellow maze monsters without someone to break them.  Even though they are all understanding that I am very sick, I still feel that undying devotion to them and compassion of being out one monster, to balance the delicate cycle of our room.

They said they will email me nightly to see how I am doing and give me stories of nightly courses.

Happy Hauntings

Last night of the first week.  Thought it would never get here!  It has been a loooooonnnnnnggggggggg week.  You can definitely tell the lack of sleep is getting to the crew.  Sadly I had a few "Cranky Pants" folks tonight.  Short tempers, misunderstandings, things perceived in the wrong light.  No worries though, it happens.  Everybody finally calmed down, went to their own quiet spot if need be and we managed to make it though the night with minimal issues.  I totally understand the crankiness; I feel it too, but I managed to keep mine in check and I also apologized in advance for my crankiness, which seems to help.  I'm trying to instill that in my crew.  I let them know it's okay to let me and their fellow crew members know if they are having a bad night, then we can all work through it or just let them be.  Sometimes people just need a time out.  Thankfully, we have two days off, so I'm sure they will all be well-rested and rejuvenated and ready to come back for another fun week.  I really have an awesome crew!

My Audio boys had a blown sub to deal with; they had it fixed just in time for the first show.  My Audio boys rock!

During the first show, the Medicine Man had mic issues again; that pesky mic!  It went out just at the end of the "McCain" bit.  Audio got me on com and asked me to go check the connection on the pack.  I stood ready and waiting by the barricade for him to come off the fall pad to follow him to his next change and see if I could fix the mic.  We run to his quick change spot and I soon discover his mic pack is in the back... in the back of his pants to be exact!  Well, we are all professionals here, so I reach and hope for the mic pouch, but I get the band on his bike shorts and pull - wedgie!  Whoops... sorry!  We both laughed and I got on with business, found the mic pack in its pouch undid the connection, put it back, and over com said that they had him again.  Success!  Now keep in mind, this all happened in a matter of 60 seconds; crazy, but we did it.

Oh I have to tell you, the Minion that saved the day the other night we had mic issues was standing there with the back-up mic in hand ready to pass it off.  Too cool!  All the other shows for the night went well.  We had to make a change to one of the fights because a stunt just wasn't working.  Kudos to my Stunt Captain for seeing it and taking the initiative to change it.  You have to remember that these cast members are doing some pretty intense stunts three times a night every night, so sometimes things have to be modified for the safety of all involved.  You can't even tell the fight was modified; it is still very impressive.

So yes, the first weekend is done.  Now it's time to rest and get ready for the next week.  I'm looking forward to the fun that is ahead.

I am still sick, but feeling much better.  By Friday, I will be back to my old monster self again.

Hope to scare you all very soon...

Well, here we are, back for another five-day run.

Everybody appeared to be well-rested and ready to go.  The crowds were extremely light tonight.  Although they were small, they were mighty; very responsive to everything. 

Nothing to eventful to report tonight.  There is talk of rain on Saturday, so there have been murmurings among the cast and crew about what we are going to do if it rains.  Time to get the Stunt Captain to start planning a “Rain Show” and pull the crew together to discuss it.  Perhaps that will happen tonight or tomorrow night at the latest.

That is all for now!

Watched a few old Haunt YouTube videos tonight.

Took the last dose of the antibiotics.

Will be back on my feet, scaring everyone tomorrow night.  YAY!

Unpleasant dreams... :)

We had a challenging night… technically.  Issues with the show main playback unit.  The playback unit stopped during the first show just as the “Sex In The City” girls made their entrance.  Again we experienced that painful silence.  Kudos to the “Medicine Man” and “Santa Ana Smith” for their witty banter to fill the silence.  The “SITC” girls made their way off stage and then “MM” and “SAS” did the same.  The over com conversation consisted of, “Playback down.”

“Need to do a total power down and power up.”

“ETA to restore?”

“Make Technical Difficulties announcement to audience.”

Finally, over com I hear, “We're good, it’s back.  Picking up at the top of Sex In The City.”

What seemed like forever was only about a minute or two, but none the less, we were back up and running.

During the second show, it did it again, except this time in the middle of the “Any Dick” bit.  Fortunately, the “MM” and SAS” were able to fill the space the cast kept on going and the track picked up.  Audience none the wiser.  But guess what?  It did it again during the “Jack Swallows” bit!  Once again the Audio dudes were able to power down and power back up, the cast kept it going on stage and the audience didn’t catch on that we were having technical issues.

Well… we think all is well and there are no more technical issues.  Wrong.  “McCain’s” mic went out again.  So in the same style as the last time, I was ready and waiting to see if I could reset the connection.  Success!  Mic back up in record time, with no wedgie this time!

We have the routine figured out and I do believe the actor and I that has to wear the mic have developed a special bond over all of this.  So yeah, it was a challenging night... technically.

I would like to give a huge “Thank You” to everybody for keeping a cool head and acting as true professionals. 

Tonight, I had a blast from the past.  A long-time vet of Knott's Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt came through our maze.

It was so good to see her again after all these years.  I did not know her well, but worked with her many years ago.  It was nice to have that connection again and watch her reminisce and reflect upon old times.  Moments like these remind us all of how short life can be and to savor and appreciate every moment.

 

Challenges, challenges, challenges.

Challenges on many levels.

Holy smoke, what a night!

Well, the pesky little MX 24x24 decided it was going to have some major issues tonight.  The first show, it stopped multiple times; I actually lost count.  Thank goodness we had the CD back-up in place, so there was minimal delay, for the most part.  Remember how I said that seconds could feel like minutes?  Yeah, that was totally true again.  I think it even felt longer for the Audio boys.

We survived the first show (barely – again my impeccable cast and crew made it through with flying colors) and a call was made to our Media Specialist/Sound Designer and management to inform them of the situation.  It was decided that since the Theatre wasn’t using their MX 24x24, we would take it and load our show on it.  The Audio boys were off making the switch.

Stuff like this takes time, and sadly, due to the technical situation, we had to cancel the second show.  I'd much rather cancel a show and know that the next show will have a more reliable piece of equipment.  The audience was not too pleased about the show being cancelled, but our crowd for the third show was the biggest so far: 1,400!  Whoooo Hooooo

We also had our first big mist.  Yup, it was a bit misty tonight.  Fortunately, it was a light mist and it let up before our shows.  We discussed the Rain Contingency Plan, so when it gets mistier and wetter out there, the cast and crew are ready for it.  The talk is that rain is expected tomorrow night.  So we will wait and see what the weather hold for us then.

WOW!  What a high-energy night!

It started off very slow, and most of us were a bit tired in my area of the maze, then... Bam!  The high-impact crowds came through and brightened up our night.

One of the monsters and dancers distracted a lady while walking and she fell over the stairs.  My natural instincts were to run over and help her up.  Strangely enough, her friends were shocked and then said thank you... LOL

Much fun was had!

Another night of challenges.  New challenges.

We had a cast member come to work sick, and he just got worse.  Poor guy couldn’t keep anything down; he was achy and weak.  At about 15 minutes to show, we asked him if he thought he could do the show and he said he could, but he looked like crap.  Our Stunt Captain set straight to work figuring out what could be done to modify his fights.  Well, at five minutes to show, we finally decided he was too sick and weak to do the show and that there was not enough time to safely re-block the show.  I called Entertainment 1 to inform her of the situation.  She called the OM to notify them that the show would be cancelled due to performer illness and that we were using the time until the next show to re-block the show.

It sucks to lose a show, but it also sucks to have a performer down.  Our Stunt Captain gathered the cast and discussed who could take over the spots of our sick cast member.  It took about 45 minutes, but he got it done and everyone was ready to go.

In the meantime, I called First Aid to send someone out to get our sick cast member and take him there so he could rest in quiet and they could keep an eye on him.

The 9:30 P.M. show was awesome.  If you hadn’t seen the show before, you would have not known the difference.  The cast and crew did an awesome job with all of the adjustments.

I have to say, there was a moment that made us all smile; you know that kind of warm fuzzy feeling.  To make things work for the show, one of our Minion was put in to a major roll, the roll of “Austin Powers”.  It was such an awesome moment; he did such a great job!

Another fun moment was seeing the Director of the show make a cameo appearance as one of the “Gas Company” mascots; it was too funny!

The 11:00 P.M. show was equally awesome, if not better.

By the end of the night, we had an update on our sick cast member.  He had a 102-degree fever and was still feeling crappy.  Hopefully, he will be feeling better tomorrow.  If not, we are still able to do the modified show.  But let’s hope he is feeling better!

Tonight, I am home sick.

In bed.

Dying.

Wishing I could be at Haunt.

Finally, a somewhat normal night.

Not normal in the fact that our sick cast member was very ill and not able to make it in to work tonight.  He ended up going to the ER today; he is one sick and exhausted guy.  As much as we are bummed about him not being able to come in to work tonight, we'd much rather see him get some much-needed rest.

We put our modified show from yesterday into effect and like the professionals that they are, the cast and crew got right back in there and made the magic happen.  I even made a cameo appearance as the “Texaco Sign”.  It was too much fun!  I kept it a secret from the cast and crew (well except for the “Chevron Sign” and my ASM).  It was such a surprise to the cast and crew to see me out there, and they loved it!  I did it the second show as well; I have that one on tape!  I haven't been in “The Hanging” since I was a Ghost Town Street Monster back in the day (I think 1994… holy crap that is a long time ago).

In between shows, one of my crew members jokingly asked if he could be the “Texaco Sign” and I immediately said sure.  He was surprised, and said he was just seeing what I would say and I told him I said yes he could do it.  He was amazed and excited!  Just before the show, I told him when to go back to get ready and get with the “Chevron Sign” and he would help him through it all.  I also told him to make me proud… and he did!  He looked like he was having so much fun!

So finally after a few challenging nights, we get the type of night every night should be… fun and fantastic!  Now mind you, not every night will be perfect; if they were, it would be so boring.  So no matter what the night brings, it keeps me on my toes and makes things interesting.

Well, I have two days to rest and recuperate from the week.  Time to rest and do some laundry.  Wheeeeeeeee!

I have to say my position this year in Club Blood is one of the best spots I have had in the course of my Haunt life.  I love being a Club Blood dancer because:

1.  I love to dance and I am pretty good at it.

2.  I get to dress up like a vampire 30 nights out of the year.

3.  I enjoy bringing people to their knees.

4.  It balances my life and keeps me in shape.

5.  I get to see old friends and spend time with my Haunt family.

6.  Dancing behind a cage is fun!

Tonight, a fellow Blood vampire brother hit his head on a speaker.  Since I know first aid and am studying to be a nurse, I quickly got him some ice and took him over to First Aid.  He is going to be fine; just a huge lump on his head and some sore neck muscles.  I must give many props to the First Aid team over at Knott's Berry Farm; they are very professional and personal.

Unpleasant Dreams

Here we are, starting Week 3.  Can you believe it?  Week 3?  Crazy!

We are back to a full cast!  Our sick cast member is much better.  He is still feeling the after effects of what he had, but he is much better by far.  Evidently, the doctors said he had that crazy stomach virus that was going around USC.  Hopefully, we have all avoided the nasty virus; I guess we would all be sick by now if we didn’t.

Anyway… everybody got right back into the swing of things, back to our standard show.  It’s nice to have a complete cast again.  We had the group of VIP Management from all (or most) of the Cedar Fair parks attend the first show of the night.  One of the Audio boys noted that they were laughing quite a bit throughout the show. 

It was a good night for everyone. 

Now we all just have to stay healthy.

Tonight was a long night.

Happy that the weather cooled down, but it seems that things began to heat up with the guests.

So many people drunk tonight and aggressive.  Even though it was a weeknight, the park was packed!  Great for Knott's, but a bit harsh on us monsters.

Many shoe malfunctions as well.  Both dancers - myself and another - had our shoes break during the course of the eve... Ah, yes; time to spend more money yet again and go shoe shopping!

It was another fun night at The Hanging.

Shows went well.  Not much to mention.

Oh… I do have to mention something that I think was kind of cool. 

Our Joker had a different make-up artist tonight and the artist did his make-up a bit different than his regular artist (which happens, you know - artistic difference).  For whatever reason, the artist tonight chose to make him more blue/gray instead of the usual dirty white.  Sadly, it didn’t look so good onstage.  Luckily, the Wardrobe Area Manger was at the first show and saw it and said that he would be letting the sub-artist know that the Joker needed to be more dirty white.  He said that if the Joker wanted his make-up fixed, he could go back to Make-up and they could re-do it or he could just stick it out for the night.  That was nice that he offered an option for him.  I know from experience that it can be a total downer if your make-up doesn’t feel right. 

Flash back to Haunt 1994 (I think)… They decided to put a different prosthetic on me for the night.  It was an ugly crone-type face (now mind you, I know we aren’t suppose to be pretty but this was uber-ugly).  Anyway, they put the face on me and instantly it felt wrong on so many levels.  Everybody said I looked great, but I felt so awful, it made me physically ill; if a mask could have bad vibes, this one did.  I couldn’t wait until the night was done and to get that evil face off of me.  It was crazy, but so true that your make-up can totally make your night not so fun.

Back to tonight.  I talked with our Joker about the options and he was content with his make-up for the night and was appreciative of the offer.  I even shared my make-up horror story with him and we both laughed.  He’s a trooper.  Well, here’s where the cool part comes in… after the second show, our Joker needed a make-up touch-up; a bit got wiped off his nose and you could see skin. 

Well, we could have called Make-up out from touch-up, but he was airbrushed and who knows if they had a cream that would match the shade of blue/gray.  Anyway, the Head Wardrobe Dresser and I started brainstorming; I went and got the Executioner's touch-up kit to see what was there and the Head Dresser suggested we ask if any of the girls had blue eye shadow.  Bingo!  One of the girls had a teal and a bright blue.  I went to work mixing on the back of my hand the white cream base with a bit of both of the eye shadow colors and a bit of black cream, and right before my eyes, there it was the perfect match to the blue/gray!  I applied it to the spot on his face and it blended perfectly.  I was so excited!  We were all excited!  It was too much fun! 

So that was our night at The Hanging.

Good Times!

What a wonderful night!  Sold-out and packed to the gills... just the way I like it!

I had a fill-in make-up artist who did a great job!  Made my face a bit more defined and pale.  The guests and other monsters seemed to love it.  Thanks, San Francisco make-up artist... you're wonderful!  Heheheh...

Many old vampire fans came through the maze and one brought me a light-up rose.  So sweet!  Thank you.

Made a girl cry and her boyfriend smile...

Feet hurt, but going back for  more!

Burrrrrr… it was chilly tonight.  And when the breeze picked up, it sent the cold right though ya!

Ah, but the cold is what makes it really feel like Haunt.  Getting all bundled up with my gloves and my jacket and my jacket (yes, two jackets – it gets cold sitting down there in the Pit).  But yeah… the weather makes it really feel like Haunt.  Love It!

Tonight was a good night at The Hanging.  Nothing too eventful happened.  Everybody was a bit low on energy.  Before the third show, it was so quiet and still backstage.  It was our “Wednesday”, so I guess it was a case of the middle of the week energy dip.  But by the 15-minute call, people started perking up getting ready to do a show, and the energy level was back on par.

Tonight the TPA gang was present at the third show.  It was good to see them there.  Can’t wait to see the pictures they took during the show!

Power 106 night...

Got a flat tire.

Was late for make-up.  Almost had to wear a mask.

Despite all the trouble, the night was sensually vampiric.

Unpleasant dreams...

Burrrrrr…  It was uber-cold tonight; colder than last night. 

It is definitely Haunt weather.

It was another busy night, SOLD-OUT they say, and by the size of our audiences, it was.  All audiences were very responsive.

Well, for the most part the night was pretty uneventful, except… the third show.

The MX 24x24 decided to act up again.  This time, it was during the Joker's last monologue.  I’m sitting there watching the show and I notice something feels and sounds odd.  There is no music backing up the Jokers monologue.

Aaugghh!  No Audio!

I hear over com Audio telling me the MX 24x24 crashed and that they were attempting to restore.  Waiting… waiting… waiting… you know the routine by now.  What was only seconds, felt like the longest minutes ever!  But thankfully, the Joker realized we were having audio problems and stretched his monologue and the audio was restored just in time for the Gas Company Mascots.  Whew!  That was close!

After the show, the Audio boys told me that it was not the same type of crash as before; they called it a "soft crash", much easier to restore than the other ones we were dealing with before. 

So yeah… overall, it was a good night.

This has to be the longest run in the history of Haunt.

My feet hurt.  I have blisters the size of pancakes, homework is going unfinished as well as laundry.  Ah, it's all part of being a Haunt monster.

We all have good nights and bad ones.  Tonight was a great night, despite the pain and body breakdown.

Sunday… our Friday.  Thank goodness. 

Energy among the cast and crew is low.  We have quite a few people who are sick, with the change in weather and crazy hours, it is to be expected.  I’m even feeling the effects of the weather change, but I am battling the sinus yuck with Zicam (this stuff totally rocks, by the way).

We also have a few cast and crew that have been working their regular day jobs and then work Haunt at night (this is common among most people that work Haunt).  Backstage is an interesting place, especially at a time like this.  One room is "movie time"; tonight was Iron Man.  The patio has random spontaneous gatherings of people getting food or just engaging in random chit-chat.  The other room has people covered in their Haunt robes trying to get a moment of sleep or others just sitting there staring at the wall zoning out (sometimes I partake in zoning out part).  You can definitely tell it’s the end of the week.

In spite of the low energy, the cast and crew managed to muster up the energy to put on a show just like any other.  It’s funny to watch the random power surges of energy that some of them get onstage and even backstage.  So, I can confidently say that tonight was another good night.  We are all ready for some much-needed rest.

Well, here we are at the start of Week 4.  Most people seem well-rested and those that were sick are feeling better than they were on Sunday.

Crowds were decent tonight; not large, but very responsive.

We had some new technical issues tonight.  The board that controls all of the FX (explosions, vomit, water break, etc.) was having issues on Sunday, so the FX Tech decided to get a different control board and change it out tonight.  Well, my FX Tech thought all was well for the first show, but not so much.  Just after the first show started, the Hulk Hit fired when he turned on the FX board.  Then the power decided to be intermittent.  Sadly, we were not able to fire anymore FX through the rest of that show.  Immediately following the show, my FX Tech called in support from the Lighting Production Tech and the FX Production Tech to see if they could troubleshoot the situation.  They worked all the way up to the second show, but sadly this situation was stumping them all.  So, no FX for the second show, all cast and crew were notified and they all adjusted accordingly.

Kudos to the Vomit Boys; they decided to fight to puke in the box, it was actually quite funny.  So, after the second show the techs went back to work on the FX situation.  Again, they worked all they way up until the Places Call, but this time they got it to work.  Yippee!  They did it; they figured out what was wrong and they fixed it.  We had FX for the last show.  Kudos to Production 20 (Show FX Tech), Production 17 (Production Lighting Tech), Production 19 (Production FX Tech) and the other random techs that provided support along the way for getting things back up and running.

Other than the FX issues, it was a smooth-running night for the show.

Woke up today with another sore body and throat.  Drank emergency C and downed the vitamins.  Checked the mail and my contacts came!!!  YAY!!!  They really are so important to complete our simple looks this year as vamps.

Studied for my math mid-term while washing my Haunt tights and undershirt.  With Last nights small amount of make-up still in my hair, I raced off to class and took my mid-term.  Did very well on it and raced home to eat and shower.

As I pulled up to the parking lot, I realized I had lost my Knott's ID card.  Parked the car and proceeded to pull my bag out of the back seat.  Everything fell out of it and dumped on the dirt ground.  What a day... LOL... I laughed inside and thought at least I am not late to my make-up time. :)

Tonight, a few other vampires wanted to dance on the box, so I went to scare in the front room of the maze.  I soon realized how much fun I could have in the long dark cityscape, and began to bring back my old Lore Vampire Bride spirit.  Freaking out innocent blond girls... one in particular, whom I chased through the entire maze.

Dancing is fun and I adore it... but tonight was a great change of pace.

Unpleasant dreams, my loves...

Thursday night… not much to report.

Crowds were nice-sized and responsive.

Cast and crew doing well.

Yeah… we had a good night.

Power 106 night... w00t!  w00t!

Overall, in the history of my Haunt years, I do not think I have had a guest be so forward with me.

Dancing on the box, I often kneel down to scare people or take photos.  Tonight, a girl asked to take a photo with me by pointing to her camera.  When I kneeled down to pose with her... her group of girls started to holla at me.  LOL!  Which is pretty normal, on a Power 106 night.  However, this time it was very invasive.  She proceeded to grab my boot and then did the unspeakable act of wrapping her mouth around the heel of my dirty boot and then licked it!!!  The monster standing next to me witnessed the entire thing and we were both completely shocked.  He then asked me if I was okay, and I honestly thought to myself, No.  That was the strangest, grossest thing ever.  Needless to say, I disinfected my boot shortly afterward.

Ahhhh, Friday… it’s our Wednesday.

When I got to the Square today, I got all my stuff set up and decided I needed a change of scenery.  So, I went out and sat on the corral fence and watched as people went by getting things ready to open the park for Pre-scare entrance.

While I was sitting there, Alpha 57 and Entertainment 10 came walking by; we chatted for a bit and then they decided to head up to the Hotel in Ghost Town for the “chain drop”.  I asked if I could join them and they said, “Sure!  Come on!”

So we walk up to the Hotel and the street monsters are milling around, and then it happens... the “chain drops” and the crowd comes rushing in.  The sound of the sliders, the chainsaw, the screams… Ahhhh, the memories.  Oh, to be a street monster again...

As I’m standing there watching all of the activities, I notice a strange little grin come across my face.  I was getting all nostalgic, remembering the times I would be there ready for the chain drop with my pack mates, and the fun and games we would partake in throughout the night.  Good Times.  Good Times.  So yeah… I would say I got my change of scenery.

All shows went well.  Minor mic issues with the Medicine Man’s mic during the last show.  On auto pilot I went, and followed him from the fall pad back to his quick-change area and went to work on checking the connection and confirming with the Audio boys that all was well.  At first, it wasn’t, but then it was fine.  Yippee!

I can say that it was another successful night.

The nights are now starting to run together.

Not sure if it was Friday or Saturday.

Guests were being overly rude, but we still all managed to have a good time.

I have never wanted it to rain so badly in my life as I do now.  The dry, hot weather is unbearable.

Tonight it was a bit cooler, but I really wish the season would change into real fall weather.

It’s Saturday!

Crowds were good sized; they were very responsive.

Not much to report. 

Cast is doing well.  The ones that are pulling long days between their day job and Haunt are holding up.

Crew is doing well also.  Like the cast, the two that are pulling the long days are holding up as well.  One of them did an 11-hour shift at their day job and then came straight to work here.  I don’t know how he does it, and he always has a great attitude about things; he doesn’t let the lack of sleep get to him.  He is such a trooper.

So yeah… that’s all for this Saturday.

Tonight we were down two talent in my area.  So, I spent most of the night inside filling in.  It was a slow evening, so the crowds were mellow and sparse.

The weather cooled down quite a bit and the techs fixed the massive fog problem in our room.  The fog machines were on full blast the past few nights, and the heat in the room was intense.  Thank you, techs.... :)

Tonight, many of us from our maze and neighboring maze saw a UFO flying in the sky.  Yes you read that correct; a UFO.

I would say over 35 monsters saw this, and a few caught it on video tape.  It was a bright orange light that moved across the sky in many different directions, then suddenly dropped this other orange light that burned out quickly.  Soon after, the main orange object disappeared.

Thank goodness it’s our Friday.  Everybody seems to be long overdue for a couple of days away from Haunt.

Well, we had ourselves a bit of excitement during the first show.  It all started during the “Prince Caspian” and “Chirgu” fight.

Here is the sequence of events… in a nutshell:

Guest collapses just on the other side of the barricade Stage Right.  One of my techs runs over to me and tells me what just happened.  I go to assess the situation and ask the group if they need medical assistance.  The group says yes.  I run backstage and call 33 (our version of 911).  Dispatch sends out EMTs.  My techs move the barricades so the guest can lie down.  EMTs arrive and assess the situation and decide they need to call the paramedics.  The EMTs do their thing.

**Keep in mind that the show is still moving along**

The paramedics arrive and do their thing.  They get the guest stabilized.  A couple of other techs and I help with crowd control.  At about 9:00 P.M. they take the guest to First Aid and pack up their medical gear.  We put the barricades back in place.

All is Code 4 (normal) in Calico Square.

In the 7 years I have been on the show, I have never had that happen.  I can only imagine what the cast was thinking as they were doing the show watching the flurry of Yellow Shirts and medical personnel activity down in “The Pit”.  I must say that I am proud of everyone; we stayed calm and the show kept going.

The other shows for the night went really well.  Good energy, in spite of everyone being a bit on the tired side.

Woke up at 11:00 A.M.

Typed a paper for class.

Went to class... Came home; showered, cleaned room, washed Haunt attire, and asked roommate to please drive me to get food then work.

Got to work and felt like I was in... Hell.  Hell... we were all in Hell.  The temperature must have reached over 90 degrees in our maze tonight.

A hot blanket of heat and fog mixed with unhappy guests equals not such a great night back to work after the two-day weekend.

It felt like the night would never end.  Not much to report, except almost everyone was in a weird mood due to the heat.  Not a bad mood... just weird.

Hoping the heat subsides for the rest of the week.

Time to take a cool shower and relax....

Holy smoke!  What a night!

I guess sometimes, the universe does stuff to keep you on your toes.

So it’s Wednesday… our Monday.

Everybody seems to be relatively well-rested after a much-needed two days off.

Welcome the lovely Santa Ana Winds.  It was hot and windy in the Square.

The night starts of as normal (well what is normal for us).  The 8:00 P.M. show is up and running all is going well, except when the track stops.  Arrrggghhhhh!  We thought we were done with this!  Not so much.  The track stopped during the Jonas Brothers kills.  Ah, the silence; the eternity of silence.  The cast kept going and then the Medicine Man did a bit of ad-libbing to fill the silence.  Over com, the conversation was the usual:  "Track stopped… stand by… getting it back… stand by… okay, we’re good… picking it up from Katy Perry."  So we picked it up from Katy Perry; there was some dead space on stage, but the Medicine Man continued to ad-lib, the Executioner stood there in wonder, waiting for his next victim, and then when we got to the point were we left off, everybody got back into the groove.  We did it.  We survived another episode of the MX 24x24 acting up.  Kudos to the Audio boys for getting things back on track and to the cast for keeping the show moving.

Here comes the good part…

9:30 P.M. show starts as normal.  Then, out of nowhere comes the Pyro guy running like a bat out of Hell through the Pit to the fire extinguisher next to the steps by the stage, and then runs around to backstage left.  My FX tech and I look at each other in shock, he takes off after the Pyro guy, and I immediately start to scan the stage for fire.  I start looking stage right and then as I pan to stage left, there it is, up on the gallows; fire.  The noose rope that wraps around the gallows had caught fire.  Not a big fire by any means, but a fire that wasn’t going out on its own.  My FX tech appeared on the gallows with the fire extinguisher and with in seconds put the fire out and then was gone.  Fortunately, all of the show action was going on over on the opposite side of the stage, so I’m hoping that not too many people were aware of what was going on.  But now that I think about it, I do recall hearing a bit of a cheer coming from the stage left side of the crowd.  I only imagine this will all end up on YouTube (side note: for safety reasons, we decided to not do the “hang” but to sell it like it was.  After the show, the rig was checked out and tested.  It was determined it was safe to proceed with the “hang” as normal.

So the fire is out, the show is still moving along, we are almost to the end and then I get a call over com from Audio telling me there is a fight in the crowd.  But before he could finish what he was telling me, one of my other techs came running up to me to tell me that a guest has passed out just behind the barricade.  Just like the other night, I go to the guest group to see if they need medical assistance and they indeed do.  I go backstage and call 33 and have an EMT sent.  The EMT shows up quicker than ever, the reason being is that he just happened to be in the Square, saw the fight, called it in and was trying to break it up when he got the call about the passed-out guest.  The EMT did his is thing, as the show continued on.

Before the show ended, the fight was broken up, and the passed-out guest was conscious and being wheeled off to First Aid.

Crrrraaaaaazzzzzzyyyyyy!  Crazy, but we managed to get through it with flying colors.

 11:00 P.M. show...

No problems to report. 

Thank goodness!

So yeah, it was just a bit of a crazy night, but without the craziness, Haunt would be boring.

Only 10 more nights to go…

Scion Night...

A lot of guests were drunk out of their minds and physical... especially the lady that decided it would be cute to grab my ass while I was talking with another monster about a break schedule.  After she felt my soul up, she decided to peruse yet another dancer who was dancing on the other side of me.  Thankfully our wonderful male "hot talent" came to the rescue and saved the day along with our loyal Blackouts.

Drunk lady, drink in hand, was the escorted out of the maze. 

Unpleasant dreams...

Scion Night.

Yup… Scion Night.  This year was amazingly the smoothest Scion Night ever; at least for us.  Their people set all their stuff up, our Audio boys assisted them with patching in to our system.  The DJ played from 7:00 P.M. till about 8:30 P.M.  Before everything started, an awesome Marketing rep came by to check on things and I asked her to remind the Scion guys doing the event that they needed to use the front stairs and not come backstage.  She did and they never came back; it was so nice.  The Scion people struck their stuff, my crew got the stage reset, the cast did their pre-sets and we were good to go for the 9:30 P.M. show.  So yeah, it was remarkably smooth sailing.

The 8:00 P.M. show was canceled because of the Scion event on our stage.

9:30 P.M. show went well… well, except for the MX 24x24.  Yup... it acted up again.  Just at the end of the Joker's first monologue, it stopped.  But in their usual style, the cast kept going and the track picked up.  It was one of the quickest restores ever.  Thank goodness.

11:00 P.M. show had no problems to report. 

Everyone commented on how weird it was to only have two shows.  Yeah… I would agree.  It was weird to only have two shows, but kinda nice, too.  Back to the three shows tomorrow.

Four hours of dancing... Ouch, blisters.

Fog, plus theatrical contacts... Ouch, red eyes.

I am tired, hungry, and grumpy.  But dancing will always be my heart and soul.

Had my sub make-up artist again tonight.  He was wonderful.  Thank you, sub!  You did great!

Not much else to report.  Last night was so hectic that tonight, we all just need some sleep.

Night, all...

Not much to report tonight.

It was a good night, overall.

Nice-sized crowds.

Tonight was Hell.  I was breaking five people.  Not fun, let me tell you.  I did it last night as well.

Tomorrow night will be much better; only breaking two people, like normal again.

On top of it all, people were aggressive again tonight.  Many thrown out of the maze for harassing us verbally and physically.

Please, people, if you're going to spend money on a ticket... or even if you get a free ticket to the park, please have the decency to respect those around you.  We are people under those masks and make-ups, JUST LIKE YOU!

No Skate Night for me... shower, then bed.

Saturday night.

Another night of nice-sized crowds.

Looks like we have the issues with the MX 24x24 ironed out.  Thank you to our Audio boys and Media Specialist, we are back on track… literally.  :-)

Sunday…

We are all ready for a much-needed day off.  Yup, just one day off this week; we run Tuesday through Saturday (okay… we have two days off this week, but they are not in a row).

Another night of great shows! 

The countdown begins… only five days to go!  I’m kind of happy and kind of sad. 

Tonight was my birthday!

I could not imagine not spending my birthday working at a haunted attraction.  So if the question is, did you take the night off because it was your birthday, it would be no.

It was a very mellow night at Knott's.  The crowds were light and the monsters were in good moods.

We have a new Blackout in our section of the maze and he is really on it.  Thank you, new Blackout man... :-)

We are back after just one day off.  One day doesn’t seem to be enough. 

Before I continue with my story, I have to put this out there… The people that work in Wardrobe don’t get that one day off this week.  You see, every week they only get one day off because they do laundry one day.  So this week, since there is only one day without Haunt, they are doing laundry that day.  That means that they will have worked a total of 11 days straight and working the crazy hours that they do, to boot.  Kudos to them for their hard work; just imagine doing laundry for all those monsters.

Anyway… tonight was a bit busier than expected.  We had good-sized crowds.

Only one technical mishap tonight.  One of the foggers that are concealed on stage went totally berserk just before the Andy Dick moment.  There was a massive fog bank stage right; so thick it was difficult for me to see the action on stage.  Well, one of my techs went to check it out and turned the fogger off for the rest of the show.  We got it replaced after the show.

Other than the fogger going out of control, it was a good night of shows.

Only four more nights to go…

A big thank you to Rick tonight for coming through and taking video... you're the best!

This will forever be the "summer" I worked at Haunt in my memory.  The temperatures have been out of control and it does not even feel like fall.

Tonight was the first night we actually had real fog lay over the park.  Sadly, we lost a longtime vet, whose last night was on Sunday.  He will be missed and always remembered. Along with loss comes gain, and we gained a new vamp dancer.  She was our fantastic devoted Blackout for this entire season until last night, when her fangs emerged.

This should be an interesting night.  One of our cast members that was injured just before Tech Week was cleared from his doctor to go back in to the show.  Both the Stunt Coordinator and I agreed that he should slowly work his way back into the fights he was originally in.  It was decided he would go back into the Hillary fight and Phelps.  All the cast members involved were brought together to work the fight.  The entire crew was informed of the changes.  The Stunt Coordinator and I both agreed that we needed to make sure that the other cast members were comfortable with all of this.

This is a very tricky situation; the cast has been working with each other for the majority of the run.  They have their groove, their flow is already established.  Also, we have to keep an eye on our cast member just coming back from being injured to make sure he doesn’t overdo it and re-injure himself.

So, to put a new energy into the mix might make things a bit weird.  There were no changes to the fight choreography; just a change in the person doing the fight.  Fortunately, everyone was flexible and worked together to make things work.

All the shows went really well.

Only three nights to go…

Exam at school.  Had to call out tonight from Haunt.  My Talent Captain was informed earlier this week.

Night all...

Well, another night with fogger issues.  But fortunately, my Lighting tech was able to get a replacement fogger and all was well for the rest of the night.

During the 9:30  P.M. show, I saw a shooting star.  It was so cool!  At about 10:00 P.M. just over the Monkey Temple, I would say somewhere in the north-northwest sky, there was a bright ball of fire.  It was quick, but it was definitely there.  I sat for a quick moment and just thought about the wonder of what a shooting star is; it is truly an amazing phenomena.  And then over com, the spot op that is on the Chow House roof asked if anybody else saw what he saw, and I confirmed that I saw it too.  Okay… so I wasn’t the only one; I wasn’t just seeing things.  A shooting star!  Too cool!

Overall, it was another night of great shows.

Only two more nights to go…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. 

This date is special to me for another reason.  October 31^st is the anniversary date of me getting Part Time status here at Knott’s.  The reason this year is so special to me is that it is my 20-year Anniversary of working at Knott’s.  Who would have thought that my summer job of working in the Magic Shop would have brought me to where I am today?  I am so thankful for my job.  I am so thankful for all the great experience I have gained.  I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends I have made through the years.

Tonight’s shows were full of energy.  Could it be the spirit of the night?  Or could it be that we are just one night away from being done?

Who knows?

Only one more night to go…

My eyelashes are long and black, but my legs are even longer.

My eyes are cobalt blue and my skin is thick as a vault.

My dress is red as blood and my hair is black as night.

I smile and wave at children and snarl and hiss at adults.

You walk by me night after night calling me a whore, a pretty dancer, a bitch, a slut, but really all I am is a girl in a dress with Haunt make-up on.

You get mad at your boyfriends for looking at me and even more upset at your girlfriends for trying to touch me.

I make you uncomfortable, lurking in the shadows and pouncing on your desires.

I dance 20 - 25 hours a week, bruising and tearing many muscles to entertain you.

You throw nasty looks and comments at me and most of the time, and I can not even hear them.

During the day, I wear jeans, t-shirts, black-framed glasses and study science.

I am a full-time student who loves to entertain you for minimum wage.

I risk my health and grades to give you the illusion vampires really exist.

I wish my higher-ups would realize that working 40 hours a week for an entire month does not allow for a normal life, and would give us the options to do split shifts for maze monsters next year.

I want to thank everyone who makes Halloween Haunt happen... from the builders, designers, managers, corporate office, First-Aid, Wardrobe, Make-up, etc. and of course, the guests.

Until next year... when it's time to open my coffin lid and call to my werewolf brother named Lu...

Unpleasant dreams...

Here we are, at the final night of Haunt.

Due to the rain over night and part of today, the Stunt Coordinator and I decided that a “rain show” would be best for the first show since the ground surrounding the stage was still wet and slippery.  A rain show means that there is no (or limited) action on the upper levels and that no one falls off the stage.  The cast and crew adjusted accordingly, and all went well.  Again, the cast and crew display their professionalism.

The second and third shows were back to normal shows.  Well, normal in the sense of no technical concerns.  Not so normal, in the sense that it was the last two shows and in typical tradition, there were fun and games happening on stage and behind the scenes.

One of the most notable games is Blood Wars.  Blood Wars: the tradition of putting some of your blood packs aside to save them for the last show to drench your fellow cast members during your fights.  The cast was having so much fun getting each other.  Mind you, they were very careful to keep the show intact and not go out of control.  Basically, if you didn’t know what was going on, you wouldn’t have noticed any difference in the show.

So for tonight, all shows were performed with the usual energy and professionalism that this cast continually displayed throughout the entire run.

Closing a show is always bittersweet for me.  I am happy for things to end – I’m glad to see the drama and negativity go (yes there was some drama and a fair share of negativity, but I didn’t want to focus on that and dwell on it; this type of yuck comes with the territory, just in different degrees depending on the group and the year).  I am sad for the fun times to end – the backstage fun and games.  But as the saying goes:  All good things must come to an end.

So sadly, another Hanging is in the books.  I have had a great time, even with the challenges that were put before me.  I walk away having learned a ton about others and a lot about myself.

I walk away with new friends and great memories.

I hope that you have enjoyed my “Whispers” from Entertainment and behind the scenes at The Hanging.  I hope this has given you a new perspective of what it takes to put on a major production at Haunt.  I have had a blast sharing my adventures with you.

Until next year… Happy Haunting!

Magic Wishes!

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