So, when I was eighteen, I created and ran a 'haunted forest'. We did it for three nights, with the last being on Halloween night (of course). So, that final night we were humming along very well. Suddenly, I am hearing some of the 'actors' murmuring over and over about 'Randy''. Seems 'Randy' was a high school football player who all of the gang that were working with me seemed a bit afraid of. They were all concerned about this. (I found that interesting as he seemed okay.) He did not seem scared or worried about going through this attraction of ours. His girlfriend was about to rip his arm off at every scene, and she squealed at every one as well. All he did was laugh like Ed MacMahon and make 'scared' poses. So, I decided to handle the situation.
The run consisted of myself being 'The Guide' at the beginning, and after X number of scenes, I was 'killed' by a monster and after the group left me laying there I would get up and rush to the end of the trail to become The Grim Reaper for the big finale. There were strobes and 'flash pots' in this scene. And, here they come, as I am donning the headpiece (with a wireless mic on a headset so my voice had effect and echoed through the entire wooded area.). They come up and I go into my schtick. Then, the flash pots go off and the strobes kick in and I would normally start to walk forward while waving my arms like I was going to call down lightning or something. However, this time, I took one step towards the crowd and DOVE towards 'Randy' like I was going to rip him in half. As usual, the crowd all screamed and took off towards the exit path, which had been clearly marked and was pointed out before the scene started.
This motion carried me into a body roll, so I basically used the momentum to end back up on my feet. I then realized that I had come to a stop practically nose to nose with 'Randy's girlfriend. She was white as a sheet with her mouth frozen open. It was then that I realized that she was alone. 'Randy' was no where to be seen. I then also noticed that about half of the forest no longer had lighting. I looked back at the girlfriend, who was still frozen in front of me. I basically grunted at her like a pig looking for truffles. She let out this loud, high pitched scream and took off down the path with my 'Death-Laugh' (tm) echoing in her ears.
It was then that I realized what had happened. When I dove towards 'Randy', he literally abandoned his girlfriend and ran away from my advance, without a thought as to who he was with, or following any kind of path. As he ran through the woods willy-nilly, he was tripping over our light cords left and right, which would wrap around his legs. After I reset my props and costume for the next group, I walked out towards the exit, which led to an open yard beside the wooded area. And, there was 'Randy', with six or eight extension cords wrapped around his ankles, trying to get himself untangled. We all sprang into action and helped him untangle the cords and he actually helped us get them re-run to their proper lights, and then we continued with the night.
After that night, 'Randy' became good friends with the lot of us and was involved with the next two seasons that we did as a 'crowd plant'. Helped control the group tremendously. (He would sometimes literally shout out "OMGs, that is scary!" and, like any good defensive lineman, push the group in the direction we needed to go). Anyone trying to act the fool would end up right in this 6 foot lineman's arms. Had more than a few adults get carried away from a scene because they thought it would be funny to mess with my actors. That is a major 'no-no' in any haunted house attraction. (The actors are not supposed to touch you either, BTW.) His second season with us, he got to do a bit where, as a 'crowd member', he would walk up on The Grim Reaper as if he could defend the crowd from me. I would reach into his shirt, where we had a specially constructed pocket made to hold a gelatin 'heart', and 'rip' it out to show the crowd as he fell in front of me. It sounds fairly bland, but with the strobes, the yelling, and my amplified voice laughing manically, it was more effective than I thought it would be.
I did this kind thing for decades. Halloween is and will always be my favorite holiday. Now I live around fuddy-duddy old people who do not even decorate their houses, much less do the Trick or Treat thing, so I only decorate the inside of the house. Sigh.
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