As Halloween approaches, Winthrop Eagles are bringing in this spooky season in their own way. For some students, Halloween has already begun, and they get to act out their monstrous dreams by working at SCarowinds, Carowinds’ annual haunted themed park.
Emily Hayes is one of these students. By day, she is a junior technical theatre and psychology major, a university ambassador and a member of the Chi Omega sorority. By night, she is a horrifying mad scientist.
Hayes has been working as a scare actor at SCarowinds for two years. This year, Hayes acts in the opening ceremony for the park and acts as a mad scientist in the Depths of Darkness maze.
“You have to open yourself up to that kind of job,” Hayes said. “It’s really different, and it’s something you’ve never experienced before, but once you do open up and you are more comfortable in your position, it’s probably one of the best jobs you’ll ever have.”
Hayes said her best scare was when she scared a group of guests to the point where they all fell to the ground.
“I ended up coming out of the fog and screaming so hard that the girl in the middle just dropped to the floor and brought all her friends with her. Everytime that one of them tried to get up, the other one would pull her back down and they were just stuck in the room,” Hayes said.
Although some guests are rude as a reaction to being frightened, the process of transforming into her character, getting into costume and makeup “and becoming a different person or creature” makes up for it.
Hayes expresses her interest in theatre at school and at work, but she advises anyone who is interested in theatre to go for it, even if they do not have the experience.
“If you’re at all interested in working at a haunted house or just auditioning for anything theatre-related, do it,” Hayes said. “It’s a whole lot of fun. You just have to get out there and try it for yourself, even if it’s just a little bit of interest.”
