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LEWISTOWN -- Imagine a dark autumn night. It’s foggy. It's chilly. You're inching through a maze-like field, trying to avoid a myriad of horrifying creatures who seem dead set on your demise. That's the fantasy world created at a haunted attraction.
Haunted attractions spike in popularity during the Halloween season, but how do they work? It takes a lot of time and effort to create the fear-inducing facades. Every year, these companies have to rebuild entire sets, cast new and returning actors, build props and promote the event.
Mifflin County's local haunts include Hidden Screams in Lewistown, Norman's Woods in Milroy, and the Bannerville Fire Company's haunted hayride event. Hidden Screams, which is currently closed, started as a steampunk themed home haunt in Reedsville before growing large enough to have its own commercial location. Norman's Woods and the Bannerville haunted hayride, on the other hand, are non-commercial. Rather than being for profit, these two haunts are run by local volunteer fire companies to raise money for the fire department's finances.
"A good location is a must," says Stephen Chamber, a local scare actor who has volunteered at both Hidden Screams and Norman's Woods. "No one will visit if they can't find you or find parking. The sounds and fog will bother neighbors so that needs to be considered."
Organizers must also take into consideration the set design planning and the cost of materials to build it. Norman's Woods benefits from local artists and professional set designers for site completion.
Once the build is complete, the event needs actors and props. Some of Mifflin County's local haunters attend the East Coast Haunters convention in Philadelphia to secure costumes, props and animatronics.
The scare actors for the event must go through several rounds of auditions before being trained to act in their specific scene. Volunteer scare actor Adelina Feather says that this training teaches them their scenes as well as "how to become better actors in general." This is all in the hands of Dan Foster, a self-taught actor who helps train the actors and develop the characters at Norman's Woods. Dan expresses that the most important part of training is getting actors to break out of their shells. To do this, he creates miniature improv games to eliminate fear and awkwardness. Once the actors are confident, they begin to ready themselves for the Halloween season.
Whether for profit or to aid the community, advertising and promotion are keys to success. These attractions not only need to account for every physical aspect, they must have a social media presence as well. Promotional photoshoots and dedicated media days are done to make social media content and gain traction. You can find each of these haunts on Facebook by searching their names, and see some of the local scare actors that work these haunts on Facebook by searching The Character Company.