With fall creeping around the corner, that means haunted house season is upon us! For anyone who's ever worked a haunt, these will all be very familiar.

You’re always late, even when you’re four hours early

Preparing to open the doors every night is a long process, imagine putting makeup on 50-100 people!

The first scare of the night is always the lamest- sorry everyone.

Never be the first in line at a haunted house! We’re still warming up!

The urge to break character to talk to someone you haven’t seen in a long time.

Usually, the customers walking through the haunt haven’t had enough time for their eyes to adjust to be able to tell who you are. So, I guess it could just be a good tactic to scare. “Hey! I haven’t seen you since camp. How have you been?” Golden opportunity.

When people come through a haunted house and try to scare the actors…

It’s just awkward. What are you thinking?

Even worse, when 15 year old boys want to show their friends how tough they are by yelling at haunt actors.

We can see that you’re scared, and we also know that you just paid $30 to get in here. You’re not fooling anyone.

Intoxicated patrons are the absolute worst.

Not only are haunt actors in super vulnerable positions to begin with, but mixing fear and alcohol is just way too dangerous. Trust me, being 5’2" little girl getting swung at by a huge, intoxicated man is not a fun way to spend your night. Just don’t do it.

That one scare that you completely miss because you were drinking water.

Believe me, they definitely saw you.

When you accidentally break a prop during your performance and you have to play it off like you’ve done it 200 times that night.

I mean, it always makes for a good run. Shattering a coffee pot on your knee only works one time though.

When the props break you.

“I’m just going to hide in this box!” Which is always littered with screws. Ouch.

Whenever someone brings a baby through the house and it completely kills the energy.

I’ve never understood why people decide to bring kids, let alone babies. I’d say that’s just not a good idea. It also makes the house super quiet and we basically have to drop our characters.

There is nothing more satisfying than finally wiping of the chunks of dried blood and paint off of your face after a long night.

If you’ve never had latex applied around your hairline, you don’t know real pain.

My favorite is working with young, new actors that try really hard to be cool while they’re acting.

I totally remember my first night, and it is so embarrassing. There’s nothing cooler than watching someone who yells “BOO!” end the season with a complex script. It’s really something to watch grumpy kids turn into these detailed characters!

In the end, no matter how annoying or tiring haunted house acting can be, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing during Halloween season. It’s an experience unlike any other and I definitely recommend it to anyone.