Q&A for How to Avoid Ticking Off the Actors in a Haunted House

Try to avoid doing it again, honestly the actors will probably understand if you slip up and do something silly.

Joking is fine as long as you're not making disparaging remarks about the actors or sets.

Don't go in.

Scare actors take great pleasure in scaring everyone who enters their house. An actor would love to scare you, no matter your sexual orientation.

No, not really, I wouldn't worry about it.

If an actor breaks character to chat with you at any time, they are likely not a very good or professional scare actor. Try to avoid this if you recognize someone, or they recognize you. Stopping to talk to someone ruins the atmosphere that the builders have created. This also causes the group behind you to run into you, which is the biggest thing actors try to prevent.

Even if you're not a screamer, let yourself be vulnerable to the scares. The best groups are active groups; groups that talk, express their fear, and sometimes scream. If you want to avoid making it awkward for the actors, just try talking and having a good time. ("Holy crap that was awesome" or "I don't like that guy" etc.)

Just tell them. While actors are supposed to remain in character, they'll still be able to respond to a potentially hazardous situation, or at least be able to contact other staff to address the problem.

Being scared is the point of a haunted house, so if you are not up to it, do not go in.

You may be asked to leave the haunted house or charged with assault or another crime. Do not go to a haunted house if you don't believe you can keep your hands to yourself during a frightful moment.

Yes.

Many haunted attractions have a no touch policy (actors will not touch you). Some haunts, however, will not. I recommend contacting the haunted attraction, or speaking to an usher prior to entering if you are uncomfortable with actors touching you. If an actor does touch you, he/she does not have any intention of harming you. Never hurt or assault an actor for touching you. Just continue through the room and away from the actor.

Don't urinate in the first place. It may get you kicked out and banned from the house. Use the restroom right before entry and don't drink liquids until after the haunted house.

Stand up for yourself. If you don't want to go in, don't go in. Your friends shouldn't force you to do anything you don't want to. If you are already inside, and are too afraid, ask the staff to escort you outside.

I would suggest going for low scary if you're not sure about your reactions, in order to prevent hitting anyone.

Admiring details is most acceptable when going through a haunted house, as long as you stay positive about the work put into the house. On busy nights, don't pace a room back and forth, looking at the scenery. As long as you don't take forever walking through each room, actors won't mind.

While it's difficult to describe how marijuana will affect you personally and whether or not it will impact your enjoyment of the haunt, it's best to go through sober to fully appreciate the experience. Additionally, while under the influence, you may be a bother to others if you are loud, obnoxious or smell strongly of marijuana.

No. Though some small talk can be okay, don't pretend to be an actor and take the scene further, just leave and move on.

The front of the line usually gets the majority of the scares (especially ones that use motion-sensing animatronics), but actors in a haunted house are coached on scaring the entire group, not just the ones on the ends. Overall, the entire group should be scared about equally.

Yes, if they escort you out, you will go through some of the haunted house with one or more actors. However, there are often hallways and back rooms that are normal looking, and the exits are usually not far away anyway. Finally, once an actor has broken character to help you, the scariness is immediately reduced.

As the article says, don't force others to stay if they are too afraid. It's okay to chicken out. Ask the staff to escort that person out.

Contact your doctor to make sure. Ask the staff of the haunted house. Failing all that, I would recommend not going in.

You could watch jumpscare videos before you go to get into a paranoid mindset. Try to go to a haunted house that is known for being very scary. Go to one with paid actors; the actors are well-trained and will probably be better at scaring people.

Like it or not, if this should happen, leave, go home, shower, change your clothes and wash the dirty clothes. It really does end your activity if you poop in your pants. Even if you don't care, you will smell bad, and it's unhealthy.

In most cases, you will have to escort them out. Just let another actor in the scene know that you're leaving, and tell the people who won't move that they need to follow you to the next scene so that others can continue to move through the house.

Help them and apologize, but step out of the way of other visitors so you don't hold anyone up.

The reaction when you're scared is not entirely involuntary. Sure, you get startled and your reflexes kick in, as a self-defense mechanism. But they are still your arms, you still very much do control them. And it's not enough to say "That's just my reaction" when you go around slapping people. People with heart problems, for example, can indeed ask the actors to take this into account. But you know, if you don't want to be scared, don't go to a haunted house. Asking them not to scare you is like asking the water in the pool not to make you wet. There are no other reasons, apart from perhaps admiring the interior decoration, why you would visit a haunted house.

No, they are not allowed to actually touch you. No one is - ever - without your consent. Just as in any other situation, speak up, point out your boundaries, tell them "OK, let's not ever touch me again please." If it continues, ask to speak to the manager, file a complaint even. Stop it before it goes any further. Being an actor in a haunted house does not give anyone permission to go further than you would allow in a normal situation.

Wear them only if you need them. For example, you should wear them if you are near-sighted, but if you have sunglasses on you should remove them.

If you got jump-scared and water splashed everywhere as a natural reaction to getting scared, i.e. it wasn't intentional, then it's not too bad. It's only water, after all. But if you intentionally throw water on them, then they may well call security and escort you out.