In a time where summers seems to drag on longer and longer, the autumn wind, chilly temperature, and falling leaves is a special time-- especially for engaging in the demons and spirits of Halloween. Pennsylvania offers many great haunted attractions from late September to early November with places such as Field of Screams, Pennhurst Asylum, and Eastern State Penitentiary. But one of the more popular and unique haunted attractions takes place at a farm in Glen Mills called the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride. It’s especially scary with the authentic Pennsylvania mist and meadows along with the corn maze and deep forest in the woods.
Why is so fascinating? Because I’m one of the people dress up as an actor wearing a costume with makeup or a giant mask and get paid to scare people.
The job seems almost too good to be true: every night from late September to early November gives me the opportunity to frighten strangers walking by the area, whether it's the haunted hayride, the dark Bates Motel attraction, or the eerie corn maze. And for someone who would offer themselves to go out every night for a month to wear an elaborate costume or apply scary makeup, someone has to have a little cookiness in them. The actors playing the characters are indeed a cast of characters of all walks of life, and yet everyone gets along and treats one another like family.
When the lights go down it's time for all actors to get into their scenes and characters to get ready for the show, and that's where the fun begins. Like a hunter waiting in the bushes for the right time to catch it's prey, the actors at the Bates Motel await the first of probably hundreds of customers going by the scene. For every customer who goes through, each actor has a window of about five seconds to get a good reaction from them. Whether it's a scream, gasp, or silent but shocked response with their eyes getting wider, there's is a great satisfaction in knowing a reaction and impression was made on them. That cycle goes on over and over again for the next several hours and each scare feels just as good.
What also comes with the job is the burden each actor's endures of waiting a long time for someone to come through their part of the attraction to scare. The lull of standing at the same spot in the middle of the night with only a hidden water bottle and taking a look at the cell phone while no one's around are the only resources they have left to rely on. And it is especially challenging while wearing a silicone mask covering the entire head with beads of sweat dripping, but once a group of new customers finally come through all energy is restored and it's back to scaring.
When the night is finally over, it's a great relief for the body, and most employees after work crash take over the bar and restaurant down the street of the Bates Motel called Duffers while having their makeup still on. When hanging at the bar is over comes the best part, when you get home to wipe the makeup off the face take a shower and fall asleep, only to wake up the next morning and try to wipe off the rest of the eyeliner paint.
All of that occurs in just a cool night in October while prime time football is playing, and for the next month we do it all over again because we love it, and because we can.
