Punched and Kicked

[WeAreTheUnion]

I agree with Howie, the haunt i run is also very in your face status. However i dont tell my acotrs that if their not getting punched then they arent doing there job because they might take it literally and get a little TO in your face. I mean usually you can tell which person will react violently, thats why actors have to keep a cool head most of the time. But then again there is always like a little girl that can really pack a punch ((or a kick to the nuts)).


-Zackary J

Well, as one of Howard's actors I would have to say...there really is no "too" in your face at Deadly...
Obviously we don't touch but I usually find myself WELL within the 6 inch "personal space" bubble.
Last night alone I was kicked in the shins by two different customers and got slammed into a wall by yet another (not maliciously, just an instinctual reaction), and today I discovered at least a dozen minor bumps, bruises and scratches on my legs and arms from people scrambling to get away from me.
Every group leaves my room laughing or screaming, and I don't mind getting hit cause I know it means I'm scaring the hell out of people.

[harvest night]

we always did "no touch" haunts. one kid got knocked out cold popping out of the back end of a coffin, the girl slammed the lid on him! we told him not to do it, oh well we didn't like him anyway and he never came back. he just would not stay in character or in his scene, he was only there cuz his mommy begged us to let him do something. glad we thought to put him in a disposable spot! safety measures are always to be followed. exits cleared, full lights, and security a must. we were lucky, i have friends in a local biker gang that was our security! the worst accident was when someone got trampled in the graveyard. tripped and fell over her own feet and everyone else dogpiled her, breaking her ankle.

[Damien Warwick]

ya I have a ? I've seen videos of some of the more "extreme" haunts and I see actors touching the patrons.....how do they get away with that....I mean the business side of my head screams "LAW SUIT" when I see it. Also, I would assume that would put the actors themselves in danger....in a haunt (as a patron) I'm not gunna try and touch the actors but if they intentionally grab me it might be on....it just seems like a bad idea

[Jim Warfield]

What if you touch the patron with a rubber hand on the end of a stick?
(Has anybody ever responded to this question before?)
What if you stuck them with a stick held by a rubber hand?
Nevermind!

[OdetteDespairr]

My home haunt is located in a tougher sort of neighborhood, so we have alot of wanabe gangster groups of kids, and alot of people after football parties let out coming through soo one of the things im most grateful for at my haunt is the Actor Saftey Course that they run a few weeks before we open. They cover everything from saftey while wearing vision imparing contacts, to having safe customer interaction in the Q-Line (which by far is the most difficult), to being safe in scenes and reporting problems. The class is mandatory for all actors no matter how long you have been haunting, and its a great reminder/refresher for some of the younger actors at the haunt. We also use wonderfuly trained Zone Capitans to keep our actors safe.

I will admit though that one of my best scares came after i got hurt by a customer. I had been in a trashed bathroom scene that was in the very last leg of their journey through our haunt. And i had sprawled myself out on the floor in a broken fashion (Im a dancer so flexibility i use to my advantage) and slowed my breathing. Due to the low flickering lighting of that scene it was hard to tell if i was real or if i was fake. Each group that came through i would pick a target and start to move or suddenly some to life.


Well about halfway through the night i had a small group of three guys and their girlfriends, i targeted the last group and waited. Just as i figured the girl started whining "oh my god i cant go through there" the guy walk in and stands inches from me and acted before i could move. He said "its a prop stupid" and proceded to kick me hard in the side. It was one of those split second descisions where i knew no matter what i was going to get it, but i also knew that if i could lay there and take it it was going to be hysterical. So he kicks me and hits right under my ribs thankfully (i was so scared he was going to break a rib if he kicked hard.) So i took it and layed there till she walked in and stepped inches from my face. I started moving coming after her on all fours like a wounded animal and making horible retching noises and she absoulutely lost it and started screaming hysterically and took off dragging her boyfriend behind her who was shouting "Ithought it was fake! Its real! its real!

probably one of the funniest scares iv ever had

be safe and sound all

OdetteDespairr

[phreakout]

The 08 Haunt I worked at didnt have that many problems. I did have a few teens who tried to be tough in front of their parents, to which thy called me names, so of course acting as a clown, I threw some words back at them. They tried to turn back to me but the pushers kept em moving.

to Damien:

Our haunted house has done a haunt "remix" to where we change the scenery, change the start/exit of the maze, and little/no lighting. Ours was anything goes, but heres the rules

the patrons must be 18 years old, and sign a waiver allowing us to do whatver we want to them, including picking them up and holding them. When we did this, we only used actors who have worked in a haunt before, as these situations can get extreme. Thankfully we had no problems with anyone, and was a success!

[Jim Warfield]

Do you check their ID to make sure they are 18?
" Picking them up?" Do you mean physically lifting them?
That would become just like real work after a very short time, I would think.
If you pick them up, what then? Swing them around above your head?
Tickle them? Pretend to throw them from a cliff? Squeeze the poop out of them?
Pee? Some people I have know bruise very easily and their bruises don't heal quickly.
"Look! You bruised me the other night!"
"No, that is a custom tatoo to look like a real bruise, I wondered who got that? You owe us some money for that kid!"(But don't go showing that around or everybody will want one!)

[DamienReaper]

I've never been socked or kicked in the "damnation" but I've been slapped ,door slammed in the face I call them war wounds . I have got nose to nose with people If If I get punched or kicked, well then they go to jail. I've never touch people because we are not allowed to touch plus I don't want to touch them God knows where they have been. All you can do is call the police and have them locked up.
And the poor actor that got punched and kicked in nuts to go to the hospital,
People are very unpredictable,He can always wear a cup or if he is really sore about it he's not meant to do this type of work because like pro wrestling anything can happen you have to grin and bare it and keep doing what you do.

[Jim Warfield]

Getting perpetually physically abused while working in a haunt means something?
Maybe it's time to explore a new style of haunting? Keep your distance, let them see you, know where you are..kill the lights and simply be quiet...then make little noises.....then talk to them...use multisylable words and eloquent phrases..this scares many people, they mistake you for a mad genious who just may be smart enough to kill them and then get away with it?
(Maybe I won't be his first victim? Maybe he's very experienced and just too smooth?)
Yes, at any time any one can simply walk across the room and wail on you but then everyone will know for sure that you didnot inspire them to do this at all, at least not by the normal standards, they go to jail if anyone does.
I try to design ways to discourage people swinging and kicking with pop outs on the customer's right side making them then have to swing left handed since most people are right handed, making it all more aukward for them, physically.
There can be other ways to help the situation to be more in your favor to begin with.

[damon carson]

Jim there has been a many a game lost due to lefthanders. LOL!
Damon