Haunted Forest

(End of Sept - Oct, 2023)

The Haunted Forest is a fun place you can go to be scared around here. It isn't the only one. There is also the Haunted Circus, and Fear Factory. I think there might be a few more as well. But the Haunted Forest has been my go-to if ever I want to spend a ridiculous amount of money to have a few jump scares. I'm not really scared of people in costume anymore. 

Ivory  mentioned last year that she thought it would be fun to work there. She loves special effects, so the idea of dressing up and scaring people was right up her alley. When I saw signs saying the Haunted Forest was hiring, I told Ivory, and she went out right away and got a job.

It is definitely seasonal and pretty short. Haunted Forest is open on weekends at the end of September and then every night (except Sunday) in October. Ivory wasn't doing a lot, so she filled up her calendar and took as many shifts as she could. They don't pay very much, so if you want to make some money, you have to put in the time. Ives sure did.

They have an interesting set-up. You show up to work and choose a costume. It is first come, first serve. So if you don't come early enough, you might get stuck with something you don't want. The important costumes are doled out first, since they don't always have a large number of people working and they need to make sure the main characters are out there. That said, Ivory went through a large number of different characters. She tried the whole assortment.

The majority of the costumes had masks, but not all of them did. If you wore a mask, you put black around your eyes and mouth, so Ivory came home with a black face most evenings. Sometimes it didn't wash off well. I think Ivory probably had permanent eyeliner the whole month from having her eyes blacked out so often. Are you ready to see some of the characters she played? 

Her favorite was the Mortician. She was just short enough to fit in the coffin they had on display. Ivory would come home with funny stories and anecdotes every night. I think she had a good time overall, but some nights were exhausting and she would get very dirty and stay up very late. I was surprised how often she got hit on. Apparently, the Haunted Forest is the place to give your number out. Who doesn't want to date a stranger in a mask?

Some of us got to go out and see her. Daisy went with the young women. Beau, Pearl, June and I went another evening. I think Ivory was the Alien that night. (NOT her favorite costume.) We had a lot of fun and having a daughter working there made me see the place with new eyes. It was fun to see all these kids dedicated to coming, getting in costume, and trying to scare people. Weird hobby, but commendable. Beau clung to me the whole time, and I wasn't too scared, except by the second chain saw clown at the end. (I didn't expect a second one.) 

Oh, they also have a list of top scarers each evening. Ivory made the list a few times and got a couple prizes from her terrifying antics. I think many people would have been surprised to know that a petite, 17 year old girl made them pee their pants. :)