It’s the month of October, and Spooky Season is in full swing. That calls for Fall fun: pumpkin patches, scary movie marathons, and house decorating.

Many Horizon students, though, love haunted houses: the adrenaline of knowing someone is going to pop up and scare you, the rush when you hear a chainsaw up ahead, and the thrill of being faced with an intimidatingly large figure holding that chainsaw and chasing you.

But do you ever think about the scarers and what it’s like behind the scenes?  

Naudia Vitela, senior, currently works at the Haunted Field of Screams for her second season. She explains that “scaring people together is a different type of bond that can bring people together in a very unique way.”

However, there are both pros and cons to working in haunted houses.

Vitela says that the worst part of the Fields is working past 11 because this is when intoxicated college students and adults usually pour in. Incidents have happen due to this, and more than one assault has occurred against employees. Thankfully, managers care and act upon these situations quickly in each scenario, and ensure a feeling of safety among their workers.

“This job is a very bitter sweet. You need to have a good mix of wanting to do it for the fun and for the money,” says Vitela. 

Vitela breaks down nights on the job into two halves: generally, the first part of the night is solely fun, enjoying the job because it isn’t an ordinary, everyday thing; however, for the second half of the night, the focus is making money.

Vitela says that it is very tricky to get through nights. “This job is very physically demanding.”

Vitela found out about the job on Facebook and decided to apply online. She got a text saying they would love for her to come to training and turn in paperwork. She then had to go through character development.

“I fell in love on the spot!”

So, the next time you find yourself walking through a clown-infested crawl or a zombie-infected sprawl, don’t be scared! It might be one of your friends behind the mask!