For Baldwin students working at Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House, giving the patrons a good scare is the goal. Junior Sophia Colwell realized she had a talent for it during her very first shift.

“The first scare I ever got made a full-grown man go into the fetal position and almost fall on the ground,” Colwell said. 

Colwell is one of several Baldwin students who work at Hundred Acres Manor, a haunted house in South Park.

While most visitors to the haunted house tend to run away after a scare, Colwell has made some cry and crawl into corners. The busier the night, she said, the better the reactions are. 

“If you get someone to scream, it’s almost like they’re telling you good job,” Colwell said. 

Colwell looks forward to the reactions she gets out of people. Some customers, however, try their best to scare the actors back. 

“People like to scream back at you and sometimes it just turns into a scream-back battle,” Colwell said. 

Actors have the creative freedom to make up lines on the spot, making interactions with people more fun. When people interact with the actors, it makes it more enjoyable for both sides. 

“Sometimes people say really out-of-pocket things and I can’t help but break character,” Colwell said. “I have to hide behind the set to get back into character.” 

For freshman Katelynn Burger, giving friends and family a good scare is a highlight of the job.

“Scaring people I know is my favorite part of the job because I can include things about them in my performance – like addressing them by name or mentioning something about them,” Burger said. “Sometimes it will be people from school who don’t recognize me immediately. But I have had people who do recognize me come up to me in school afterward and ask about it.”

Burger loves the acting aspect of the job.

“I’ve done theater acting for years, and I absolutely love everything horror and Halloween, so this job is such an amazing experience,” Burger said.

The key to a good scare is assessing each group that comes through and focusing on the people who already look scared.  

“If someone is looking down or covering themselves, we like to target them,” Colwell said. 

Senior Ariana Russell, who has been working at Hundred Acre Manor for four years, first became interested when she was a young customer. 

“I really enjoyed walking through it as a kid, so when I grew up I gave it a shot,” Russell said. 

Growing up watching horror movies also gave Russell the inspiration to try scare acting. 

“It doesn’t only impact me, but others in many ways,” Russell said, explaining that the customers enjoy the scare and have a good time. 

Hundred Acres Manor is open from Sept. 13 to Nov. 2, on Thursdays through Sundays early in the season, and every day as Halloween approaches. 

Actors who are 16 or older are paid employees at Hundred Acres Manor and have a starting salary of $10 an hour, with the chance to earn bonuses through their attendance. 

But there are still opportunities for younger horror enthusiasts.

“I am just a volunteer, not a paid actor, because I’m under 16,” Burger said.

The audition for an acting role involves walking like a zombie and reciting lines. Those who are hired go to at least one training session, where they are taught how to prepare and act, but they can choose to go to more sessions. 

Tyler Kozar, the chief operating officer at Hundred Acres Manor, has worked there for 11 years and is happy with the cast’s performances this year.

“This is one of the better casts we’ve ever had at the haunted house,” Kozar said. “This year we have more new people than ever before.”

Each night for the actors begins with the makeup process.

“When we get to the manor, we’re assigned our roles for the night and sent to one of the two makeup trailers. It’s airbrush makeup and the process goes pretty quickly,” Burger said. “Each role has a different makeup level ranging from one to four – four being the most coverage and realistic appearance.”

Once the actors have their makeup done and are in costume, they go inside the house to run their lines and practice their performance to perfect their scares. 

The house includes an inside portion as well as an outside area. Some sections have more jumpscares, while others have intense set detailing, adding an eerie feel to the experience. 

“We can ask to be placed in a specific area if we like it enough,” Colwell said. 

The job does have some challenges. For starters, the shifts last until about midnight, though the actors get to pick which days they want to work.

The actors also have to pace themselves, Burger said.

“I have to be careful I’m not overdoing it. Specifically, if the character I’m playing for that night has to scream at the attendees, I have to make sure I’m not damaging my voice,” Burger said. “I make sure I’m drinking lots of water, only scaring once per group, and being mindful of my limits.”

Russell said she has enjoyed her years of working in the haunted house, and she encourages others to try it.

“It’s just something I have always loved doing,” Russell said. “Hopefully that inspires others to also scare act.”