Little haunted house PSA for yāall
You like haunted houses, right? Of course you do, itās October.
So hereās a little (semi-wordy) PSA for you all, from an actor working at one:
LISTEN TO THE RULES
They are there for a reason.
TIE. YOUR. FUCKING. SHOES.
I canāt tell you the amount of times people lose these goddamn things while running, which brings me to my next point:
DONāT FUCKING RUN.
I know we trigger fight/flight response, and itās better to choose flight. However, it makes it dangerous for both you, and us actors. You can break props, damage the structure itself, as well as hurt yourself or someone else.
LISTEN TO THE FUCKING ACTORS
If we tell you not to do something, donāt fucking do it.
If we have to break character in order to tell you something, you fucked up, and youāve ruined the scare for both parties.
KEEP MOVING
You canāt āstop to catch your breathā or āchill with usā in an actor room. If you seriously canāt breathe and need to catch your breath, tell us. We will break character and escort you out. If you are too scared to keep moving, we will escort you out. If you just stand there, you cause traffic and ruin the scare for the next people.
IF YOU ARE HAVING A SERIOUS MEDICAL ISSUE (INJURY, ASTHMA ATTACK, PANIC ATTACK, ETC) TELL US.
We will break character and escort you out the nearest exit.
DO NOT TOUCH THE ACTORS
We canāt touch you, you canāt touch us.
IF YOU SWING AT US WITH INTENT, YOU WILL BE ESCORTED OUT
We can tell the difference. If you accidentally hit us, itās understandable and usually forgiven. Iāve been hit numerous times, but nearly every single one of them apologized.
DONāT BE AN ASSHOLE
If youāre under the influence, donāt come in. If youāre a massive asshat, you will ruin the scares and piss off the actors.
DO NOT USE FLASHLIGHTS
If the area is dark, itās dark for a reason. If there is an actual power outage/fried breaker the actors themselves will have lights and guide you into the next area. If you use lights, you can blind the actors. The only exception to this rule is if you are handicapped.
DO NOT TAKE PICTURES/VIDEO
This falls under the āyou can blind the actorsā category, as well as ruin the scare for people. If they want to see the actors, they can walk through themselves.
IF YOU LOSE SOMETHING AND CANāT FIND IT IMMEDIATELY, KEEP MOVING. We will find it for you and give it to security. Some things, like earrings, canāt be found until after the lights come on. If you stay and look for it, you ruin the scare for others.
Feel free to add more, I probably missed some.
Iām not writing this to be an asshole, itās just some things people seem to forget while walking through a haunt. Haunted houses are supposed to be fun, letās keep it that way.