Ghosts wanted

June 7, 2010 by Webmaster

Never in my life have people shunned me so much. There they go, decent folk screaming and waving wildly at me to stay away. All I did was stand and stare at them.

It's strange how a white face with bloodied lips peering from behind long, straggly hair can cause such extreme reactions in people. Imagination sure runs riot inside the darkened confines of Lynton V Harris' Scream Park at the Sunway Lagoon theme park in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia - especially when ghouls and special effects are thrown in.

Flashlights beckon. Here comes another batch of hapless people to scare. I totter over to a dark corner to await them. Coming in from the sunlight, they are disoriented in the dark. Timid footfalls signal their arrival as they grope their way through the dim hallways. I jump out.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

"Oh my goodness!"

"My God!"

Scared, screeching folks scurry past me. My fellow zombies Airol and Zam grin. Scaring is satisfyingly fun!

Back to school

Now how did I end up being that creepy little girl among the 30-odd ghouls employed to haunt the Scream Park?

I was scanning the classifieds on a Saturday afternoon. One ad jumps out - GHOSTS WANTED. Do I think I could be trained at Scare School as their new pontianak, pocong, zombie or Terminator?

So I turn up at the auditions conducted by Dominic McChesney, our tutor. McChesney is training director for the New York-based The Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company that runs Scream Park which specialises in haunted live attractions based on hit movies such as Van Helsing, The Mummy and Tomb Raider.

"We take scaring seriously," explains McChesney, a trained English actor.

"Scare School teaches actors how to scare. Like any job, the right attitude is important. A good ghoul shows up on time, is presentable, works well in a team, and doesn't mind acting like a fool, because the job, after all, calls for acting.

"The eerie setting is conducive for a good scare. But ultimately, a haunted attraction is just a house of wooden boards with atmosphere. Trained actors are the ones who take the experience to a higher level of entertainment."

The first of our 40 hours of interactive classes over a week is spent on team building. It takes team effort rather than a lone ghost to max up the fear factor.

We are taught breathing exercises and given vocal training. Ghosts shouldn't shout like a mad person, for that would be more annoying than scary. A perfectly timed and aimed hum, growl, roar or jump would be more effective.

Different types of ghosts invoke various responses across cultures, we learn. The hopping pocong is terrifying to locals and Indonesians, as is the pontianak's cackle. But Westerners may find it a silly Halloween gag.

"The trick is to anticipate their reaction," says McChesney.

"Sometimes a whisper of, 'I am behind you,' in the dark can yield awesome effects."

Goals for ghouls

It's impossible to scare everybody all the time. But we ghouls have succeeded if visitors find their experience entertaining, scary or cool.

Understanding human reaction is essential. When people feel threatened, they can turn violent and display an array of emotions. There'll be screaming or laughing, or show of anger, shock, defensiveness or panic. Some pee in their pants. A woman fainted and our resident pontianak Sharifah Raziatul Akmar Sayed Salim, 28, had to haul her outside.

"When people are in a dark maze, tension and fear build up. Their hearts beat faster. Adrenalin shoots through their veins," explains McChesney.

"Some will try to make you break out of your character. They will eyeball you; laugh, poke and verbally abuse you. Always remember that you are in control of the situation. Get in with the scare and get out fast!"

Fear brings out a strange side of people. You'll find meek old ladies swearing. Some men push their girlfriends or wives at the ghosts and sprint off. Parents use their kids as shields, even wailing ones. Couples have clutched each other in the dark, not realising they are being watched by us ghosts.

"I have no problems with these reactions, because they'd just been scared out of their wits," says McChesney. "The customers I do not like are the ones who march on with absolutely no emotion, who look like they are filling out their tax forms instead of having a day out at the theme park.

"But like any good performer, regardless of who the audience is and how we feel, we always give a good performance."

We have drills on running up to a person only to stop within a hair's breadth away. The key element is to get real close, without touching the visitor. We are not to intimidate, block or focus on one individual.

And we are reminded of personal hygiene. Nothing spoils the mood faster than a ghost with bad breath or body odour. It also wouldn't do for a zombie to whisper an apology after spraying spittle on a customer.

The final day is devoted to make-up and characterisation. Zombies wear ashen faces and red lips. The Terminator cast calls for dramatic trauma bruises, abrasions and bloody scratches. We can't wait for opening night or should I say, opening fright!

Scaring for a living

Ghouls on the job have been pinched, pushed, punched, kicked, slapped and even spat at when they failed to get out of the way fast enough.

A group of Chinese men once pestered the pontianak for 4D numbers. A batch of young girls harassed a particular hunky zombie for his handphone number and refused to leave.

I had mixed reactions on the job.

"Hello cutie!" one guy smiles while tugging my hair.

"The Grudge! The Grudge!" another girl yells into my ear.

"Now you don't want to see something like that on the first day of the Chinese New Year!" two Chinese men point at my face.

And when I tried projecting a "tiger" roar at a Caucasian girl, she screamed so loudly she sent me fleeing into the tunnel. After my heart has stopped pounding, I realise that scaring is hard work. It takes focus, energy and effort to scare effectively and repeatedly in the dark for hours. My fellow ghouls with the rubber masks start perspiring profusely within minutes. And I wonder how our pontianak, Sharifah, can cackle all day long.

For many of Scream Park's resident ghosts, scaring is addictive; it is even therapeutic to see people quaking with fear, then laughing in relief.

"I enjoy this job as I get a kick out of everyone I scare!" declares Zamrin Mohamad, 31, who runs a shisha caf? after park hours.

"I've always loved scaring my friends and family. Now I get paid to do it!" says newcomer Alvin Patrick, 22.

For Herwanto Tamjis, 23, Scream Park is an opportunity for this talented make-up artist to practise his craft.

And not just youths like this unusual occupation. Nadiya Abdullah, 52, was formerly a videographer who got tired of the long hours and stress.

"This job is fun," says Nadiya, who plays a zombie. "My three children in their 30s think it's cool. My grandkids think I'm cool. And I do enjoy scaring my daughters-in-law when they visit!"

Ghouls love sharing stories about visitors' reactions. They also enjoy solemnly retelling strange sightings of a sisterly pair of ghosts wandering around Scream Park.

And there's the little boy who's constantly seen after the lights are out when all the hired ghosts have gone home....

-The Star/Asia News Network

----------

SOURCE: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100602-219688.html