Spooky season is synonymous with haunted houses, which usually involves the work of scare actors. Scare acting is the art of working at a haunted house or event, in costume and interacting with guests. This career path has become incredibly popular in the past few years, especially through platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. While many scare acting jobs are through large events like Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights and Knott’s Scary Farm, local haunted houses and events often rely on the help of students.
A big question asked in the scare acting community is: Is there such a thing as going “too far?” While some actors are unwilling to break character on most occasions, the general goal is to scare guests without traumatizing them. In the age of social media, there are many actors willing to go to great lengths in search of social media fame, which has brought up concerns of what visitors are consenting to versus what they are experiencing. Scare actors are legally not allowed to touch customers, so many turn to other methods to evoke fearful reactions.
While some companies have introduced waivers to ensure consent, there is a gray area regarding the extent of what clients are consenting to. When an individual enters a “scare zone,” they are agreeing to be in a place with scare actors being paid to jump out at them, but are not consenting to being touched or harassed by an actor. The responsibility falls upon the scare actor to ensure the promised experience without being overbearing.
When asked if there was such a thing as going too far, Joshi says, “I think [there is such a thing as going too far]. Unless there are warnings posted, scare actors should not touch people … if you see somebody in distress, back away,” said senior Adi Joshi, who has volunteered to be a scare actor at a school festival.
Scare acting has a place in the spooky fun of Halloween, but the scares need to be appropriate to the situation. Some events are more extreme than others and both actors and visitors should hold themselves accountable in terms of researching an event and being prepared for a variety of situations.
