Junior English major Katherine Taylor is finishing up her first year at Scarowinds as the Fleet Street barmaid. Taylor said that as a barmaid she sells an elixir that stops the “poisonous fog of Fleet Street from eating away at the skin.”
After having previous experience working in haunted attractions, Taylor chose to work at SCarowinds because she had friends working there. Her favorite part of her job has been scaring guests when they are least expecting it.
“It’s really satisfying to watch a grown man run screaming because of me,” Taylor said.
One of Taylor’s best scares resulted in a guest “tossing her drink in the air.” Another one of her best scares was when a guest mistook her for a Fleet Street prop.
“[I] got very close before I turned to her and lunged,” Taylor said. “It was very satisfying to watch her run out of the zone.”
Aside from the fun of scaring people each weekend, sometimes customers can be ill-mannered towards the actors. Taylor said some of the guests “forget” the actors are real people.
“A lot of people will intentionally try to make us uncomfortable or hit on us since there’s nothing we can do about it,” Taylor said.
Even though some guests may be rude, Taylor does not let that stop her from enjoying her job.
“SCarowinds is a really fun and exciting place to work if you have a thick skin,” Taylor said. “I definitely hope to be back next year.”
