Reading the room (AKA Coping with different guest personalities)

Part of the challenge and fun of being a scareactor is learning to interact with different guests. While everyone is, of course, an individual, you don’t have the luxury of getting to know them as such. You have to size someone up in an instant and decide how best to go for the scare—or when to stay away from someone who might be trouble. Fortunately, guests basically fall into a few simple categories. You won’t always get the reactions you want, but if you follow these guidelines you’re likely to find a pretty good margin of success.

Teen girls: These are typically considered the easy scares, and are the ones new scareactors generally start with. They’re also great for a laugh from their friends, and for riling up the crowd. Not all teen girls are easily frightened, but those that are tend to have huge reactions. Shrieking, dancing, and bolting are common reactions from this group.

Middle-aged couples: Middle-aged couples typically don’t react as strongly as teen girls, but are usually fun to interact with. They’re the ones that can be fun to pursue, as the carefully measured “jaded look” sometimes falls away when they feel like there is no escape.

Older visitors: Sometimes young families seem to have stumbled into the wrong event, and walk through the park looking as if they don’t quite understand what’s going on. By and large, though, if older people are in the park during Halloween Horror Nights, it’s because they intend to be there. They tend to REALLY get into it, smiling and laughing their way through each house and scare zone. You won’t necessarily get a huge fear reaction, but you will probably get a genuine smile of thanks.

Disabled guests: Some scareactors seem to be uncomfortable around disabled guests, and try to avoid them whenever possible. More confident scareactors, though, find highly creative ways to scare them. For example, my dad used an ECV for a few years due to back problems. One time, he was parked on the sidewalk watching the action when a member of the chainsaw gang did an elaborate pantomime of hacking his scooter to pieces. It was great! Disabled guests are there because they want to be, and they love feeling included like anyone else.

Tough guys: A lot of scareactors avoid tough guys for fear of trouble. As a small, young female, though, I took them as a personal challenge. And what I discovered is how quickly the bravado falls away when you engage with them directly. I’ve had big loudmouth guys use their girlfriends as shields, shriek like little girls, and take off in an almost cartoonish run, knees practically hitting their chins in their hurry to flee. And remember the old saying…the bigger they are, the harder they fall. It wasn’t during Halloween Horror Nights, it was when I worked for Terror on Church Street, but I did find out that was true when I dropped an entire football team!

Drunks: By and large, drunks ARE the ones that scareactors avoid, and for good reason. Alcohol is liquid courage, and it fuels bad behaviors that people would never normally do. They tend to be the ones who refuse to turn off their glowing devil horns, shove their flashing cups in scareactors’ faces, blind scareactors with camera flashes, poke into boo holes, handle or steal the props, break set pieces, and shout, “I SEE YOU!” to every scareactor they meet. We know it’s Halloween Horror Nights, and we don’t mind you drinking. Just be aware of your limits and stay cool. That’s all we ask. If not, don’t be surprised if you make it through an entire house without ever seeing a single scareactor.

Pass holders: Universal sells a variety of season passes for Halloween Horror Nights, from the early-season Rush of Fear to the Frequent Fear Plus, which includes every event night except Saturdays. Naturally, if you go to the event that much, we will start to recognize you. Scareactors read your signals and are great at developing meaningful interactions with frequent visitors. And on the last night, they always find a way to say goodbye without ever breaking character.

Kids: Many scareactors shy away from scaring kids, but my personal take on it has always been, if their parents brought them to the event, then their parents can deal with the fallout. I never differentiated between kids and adults when deciding who to scare, and some kids turned out to be unbelievably tough! It’s funny to try to scare a 6 year old and have her roll her eyes at you while her mother does the dance of terror.

Hurricanes, physical attacks, and other unusual scenarios

Remember when I said above that there is no such thing as a “typical” night at Halloween Horror Nights? I also mentioned that shared battle scars help to build the scareactor family. While these events are certainly not the norm, they do happen from time to time.

Hurricanes: A lot of visitors don’t realize it, but the Atlantic hurricane season actually lasts through the end of November. Granted, August and early September are the prime time for hurricane development, and it is rare for hurricanes to affect Halloween Horror Nights. But it is not impossible.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Florida in the early morning hours of October 24. If you are familiar with hurricanes, though, you know that their effects are felt well ahead of the eye officially reaching land. Sunday night, October 23, was a major washout. CityWalk actually closed at 10 p.m. But HHN went on, with just a few thousand soaked guests making their way through nearly empty haunted houses. Street scareactors were sent home, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure was canceled, and house actors spent most of our time staring at empty passageways counting the hours until we could leave.

Physical attacks: Unfortunately, while most guests are great, some people react to fear in a physical way. Being hit, kicked, slapped, or even punched is so common that veteran scareactors joke that you haven’t been properly broken in until it happens to you. Security takes these situations VERY seriously. Depending on the offense, penalties to the guest range from being escorted out for the night to being banned from Universal Orlando property for a year to arrest by the friendly police officer or sheriff’s deputy waiting at the exit. Worse attacks do happen, but they are thankfully few and far between. If anything should happen, though, rest assured that security, law enforcement, and paramedics will be there in moments.

On the surface, it seems somewhat unbelievable that major incidents are incredibly rare at Halloween Horror Nights. Packed crowds, free-flowing alcohol, and constant fear create an atmosphere that often feels uncontrolled, chaotic, and even dangerous. In reality, though, the event is closely monitored throughout the night. From thorough security checks at the front gates to officers posted at the house exits and security in the catwalks, Universal does a tremendous job of keeping everyone safe. Uniformed cops establish a presence while plainclothes officers mingle with the crowds. Halloween Horror Nights is certainly not immune to possible dangers, but the risks are minimized much more than most guests realize.

Being a scareactor is not for everyone. It requires a complex blend of acting skills, physical stamina, an understanding of human psychology, a strong stomach, and the ability to stay cool under pressure. For those who can handle it, though, it ends up being the thrill of a lifetime. Most scareactors end the year exhausted, bruised, and battered—and counting down the days until they can do it all over again.