PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Few people are fueled with such a passion for scare acting at haunted house attractions that they manage to build an entire year-round career within the industry. Versatile scare actor Shar Mayer has done just that, working at a variety of haunted attractions, including traditional haunts, haunted hayrides, extreme haunts and theatrical horror haunts. She also does special effect makeup and helps with horror conventions. More recently, she was featured in Jon Schnitzer’s directorial debut, Haunters: The Art of the Scare, a documentary that dives deeply into the Halloween subculture and the world of haunted house attractions. PopHorror recently had the pleasure of speaking with Shar, as well as Jon, (check out the interview with him here) about all of this and more!
PopHorror: Hi, Shar! Thank you for speaking with me!
Shar Mayer: Of course!
PopHorror: So, how long have you been working at haunted attractions as a scare actor? When did you first become involved?
Shar Mayer: This is something I’ve been doing for over 40 years. I told the story in Haunters: The Art of the Scare about how I always wanted to be a skeleton for Halloween when I was a kid. But my mother was against it. She allowed me to be a witch one year, but finally she gave me a skeleton costume the following year when I was in 2nd grade. So, I ran around scaring people dressed as a skeleton, and it was like my life just opened up! It was the greatest thing! From then on, I loved Halloween and scaring people.
When I was teenager, I became involved in a home haunted house attraction that was put on by my neighbors. It was a very small scale mom and pop haunt. The type of haunt to where you put your hand in a bucket of grapes and say that it’s eyeballs (laughs). At the end of the haunt, I would be waiting dressed as a monster. I would jump out at the guests and chase them out of the haunt. I did that for a couple of years. I eventually became involved with a haunted maze on more of a professional level. It was more traditional with pop out jump scares. After that, I found another one and another one. It eventually got to the point to where people would contact me, asking if I would like to work at various attractions!
PopHorror: That’s awesome! You basically were building a career at a very early age.
Shar Mayer: Exactly! Eventually, I moved to California and became involved with Knott’s Scary Farm where I worked as a scare actor for 15 years. Following that gig, I spent 10 years at Ghost Town. After that, I worked at Blackout, Sinister Point, Delusion and several others. For the past few years, I’ve been involved with the development and casting of an attraction called 17th Door. There’s always something new! I even did my first Christmas haunt last year where I played Mrs. Claus…but it wasn’t your typical Mrs. Claus. It was more scary and creepy (laughs).
PopHorror: Wow, that is incredible! How many haunts have you done?
Shar Mayer: Too many to count (laughs). I’m like the oldtimer at these haunts nowadays. Most people involved in haunts are between the ages of 18 and 25. Whenever I get someone who tells me it’s his or her last year haunting, I just don’t understand (laughs). I know how physically hard and demanding it can be. But I still haven’t gotten to the point to where I’m ready to be done haunting.
PopHorror: You are passionate about this, for sure. What are some of your favorite haunts you have worked at in the past?
Shar Mayer: Oh, different ones for different reasons, you know? I’ve loved working at 17th Door because of the level of production that’s in the show. At this point in my haunt career, I don’t want to work on a haunt that’s made of chains and just rattle them. That was good when I was younger. But now I’m into more of a higher production level, which I think is very important. I’ve seen this industry go from cardboard walls and mazes to professional movie sets. And the high level of production value is what really drew me to 17th Door. When I spoke with the creators, I couldn’t believe they didn’t have experience in either theater or haunts, but it still blew me away with how great of a design they had. This was before they had the whole show, so I jumped in early on and helped. Knott’s has its own traditional style of haunting, which I like. But at this point, I’m more interested in the more theatrical interactive haunts. That’s more the direction I see the industry going.
PopHorror: Where do you see extreme haunts fitting in the future of the industry?
Shar Mayer: I love extreme haunts. Like I mentioned, I worked at Blackout. But I don’t see that being the direction the industry as a whole is going. I see the industry moving more towards interactive horror theater. A couple of years ago, I became involved with a show called Play Dead. This is an interactive play that has horror elements. It’s very different and unique. It’s actually where I met Jon Schnitzer, the director of Haunters, and eventually became involved in the documentary. Play Dead has a very special place in my heart. I loved doing it, and I loved everyone I worked with. It was with a small cast, but it was a big turning point for the direction I went with my haunting career.
PopHorror: In the documentary, I remember you speaking about an injury that almost took you out of the haunt game completely. If you’re comfortable talking about it, could you tell me a little more about what happened?
Shar Mayer: I’ve been injured a lot. This past season alone, I broke my arm and ripped both muscles off of the other arm. But I’m fine now. I always bounce back. I’ve been tripped, I’ve been punched, I’ve been kicked. We all have. Everyone who works haunts has taken hits. The bad one that took me out of full-time haunting was at Knott’s Scary Farm about six or seven years ago. I was in the middle of performing when suddenly this drunk guy jumped on my back and dragged me to the ground. I hit the ground hard enough to smash my knee open gushing out a puddle of blood. I thought that was the worst of it. It turned out that I had crushed three of my vertebrae. So, every day, I am in pain. I just deal with the pain for now. My doctor says that I have about three more years until stem cells will be available to treat my injury. For now, I just tolerate the pain. I’m not letting it stop me, though. I keep going because a monster haunts.
PopHorror: This is obviously something that you love! That’s very respectable. Although you may not be haunting full-time, do you haunt seasonally or is it all year?
Shar Mayer: Well, I’m very lucky. I’m one of those few people who work on this year round. Because I work in the haunt and horror industry, I’m able to do a variety of things. I also do film, TV and theater, and I work on a convention called ScareLA. I don’t haunt year-round, but I do work in the industry year-round.
PopHorror: That would be a dream come true for any horror fanatic! So, what is your favorite part about working as a scare actor?
Shar Mayer: I love to scare people (laughs). I know that sounds like a bad answer, but that’s it. There is nothing better in the world than finding your victim and scaring them. There are lots of different techniques I have developed over the years. The easiest one is approaching someone who doesn’t realize you’re there. When they notice you and react is what’s great. Just getting that interaction is incredible! You don’t know them and they don’t know you, but all of a sudden, the two of you are doing this dance to where both of you are reacting differently. It’s an interaction and experience that two people have that is really personal. It’s a very primal level in your brain. And there’s nothing better. I have friends who do standup comedy, and they say the same type of thing. When you can make another person laugh, you’re connecting with that person, and it feels good. I feel the same exact way with making them scream. It’s that feeling of causing a reaction. You know that adrenaline rush you get as a guest in a haunt? We get the same rush multiplied by 10 as a haunter. And some people don’t get it, which is fine. It’s not for everyone.
PopHorror: I think that is true with horror in general. The horror genre goes beyond films. It goes into music, haunts and art. I mean, it’s kind of this cult following of a lifestyle in a lot of ways for people who love it. And it isn’t for everyone.
Shar Mayer: Yes! Some of us just like this sort of dark twist on things. It doesn’t mean we are going out and murdering people or enjoy the suffering of other people. Most of the people I know in the haunt industry are some of the nicest, sweetest people, and it’s generally more accepting than most communities. Sometimes I talk to people who don’t understand this and are surprised by how nice of a person I am. Of course I’m a nice person (laughs). Just because I like to scare people doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. Most of the people we have in our industry are very nice.
PopHorror: I can certainly see that. There is a difference between entertainment and something legitimately being wrong with someone.
Shar Mayer: Speaking of (laughs)! That’s where many of us draw the line with Russ McKamey and McKamey Manor. Now, he is a different type of person. I’m not a fan of his. However, I do see why Jon includes him in the Haunters documentary as part of the haunting industry. Russ did start out as a haunter, and he does have similar elements in McKamey Manor that many of us incorporate. But he is different. I don’t have any desire to go through his haunt or be involved with his production on any level. I’ve had some feedback from fellow haunters asking how I can be a documentary with Russ (laughs). But I’m not in a documentary with Russ. I’m in a documentary that happens to have Russ in it. And if you don’t understand Jon’s reasoning for including Russ, then you don’t understand the film.
I see the value in scaring people, but you need to know when they’ve had enough and disengage. That’s the problem I have with no safe words when it comes to extreme haunts. Until just this year, Russ was running his show without a safe word. Without this, you have zero control as a guest. When you go on a roller coaster at an amusement park, you get the adrenaline going and have a suspension of disbelief, but you know the ride is over in a short amount of time and you will be safe. So, I think that’s why it is important to have that kind of boundary so that the guests can let themselves scream and let themselves have a good time. There are many guests who return to our attractions for this reason. They come back for the thrill of being scared and have a great time. I like to push their limits, but I don’t want them to have a horrible experience and never come back.
PopHorror: Oh, absolutely. There’s a difference between pushing someone’s limits and completely breaking them to the point of traumatization.
Shar Mayer: Yep! Even Blackout, being the first of the extreme haunts, went to some crazy places. They did waterboard at their attraction. But there was always a safe word. If you had enough, you could always get out. And the way we did it at Blackout is that we required the guest to say the safe word three times to make sure it was not an impulsive decision. At 17th Door, we have a safe word. You say the safe word, which gives you an option. You can move onto the next room of the haunt or you can leave the haunt all together.
PopHorror: That does make sense. I could see some people looking at extreme haunts as a challenge to prove how tough they are without really questioning what they might be subjecting themselves to. What is your honest opinion of extreme haunts like Blackout and McKamey Manor?
Shar Mayer: So, I have a completely different opinion of Blackout than I do of McKamey Manor. Although some people may see McKamey Manor as a haunt, I personally do not. I see it as something Russ is doing to enjoy himself by torturing people. Whereas, Josh and Chris from Blackout are both theater people who put on a show. They are trying to reach people on a different way than traditional walkway boo scare mazes. So, they do it in a theatrical way that plays with people’s fears and comfort levels by incorporating things like waterboarding and some nude scare actors.
They are the first haunt to incorporate nudity, actually. Since then, there have been other haunts to use that element. The idea of seeing a person who is completely naked in the same room changes the way you feel immediately. No matter what the person is. Male or female. Gay or straight. Ugly or beautiful. It doesn’t matter. There’s a naked person standing right by you, and that will make anyone feel differently. So, they are making people feel things that aren’t their usual feelings… unless they’re a nudist, I guess (laughs). But I understand what they’re doing, and I really love it. I don’t see what Russ does as the same thing. Much of that is due to the fact that he is taking control away from the guests. Once you take the control away, you’re crossing the line from a performance into a potential crime.
PopHorror: In your mind, what makes a true haunt?
Shar Mayer: Wow, that’s a good question. I guess it’s kind of like what you were saying earlier to how many things are involved in the horror genre. How horror films, music and haunts are all part of the same thing. A true haunt would be any kind of experience that somebody can go through to get scared. What makes it good? People having fun and coming out safely in one piece at the end. Surprising people with the unknown. Something that affects you on an excitable level and gives you an experience to talk about.
PopHorror: That makes sense, for sure. So, you mentioned that you met Jon at the horror show, Play Dead, in which you performed. What made you want to get involved with his documentary?
Shar Mayer: I get interviewed quite a bit by people who are doing documentaries and specials. Sometimes they get made, and sometimes they don’t. But there was something different about Jon. He really had a vision. The first time I interviewed with him, I knew that this is something he really gets! He is a big haunt fan. Because of my level of involvement in the industry and his work on the documentary, we ran into each other several times at different events. I’m also the first person he met who has done all different types of haunts, everything from traditional and extreme to mazes and shows. Well, except escape rooms. But that’s on my radar (laughs). One great thing that came out of my involvement with the documentary is my husband and I’s friendship with Jon and his wife. We all went to New Orleans awhile back and we got along just famously!
PopHorror: That is great! Other than the friendships that developed, what was your favorite part about being involved in Haunters?
Shar Mayer: The aftermath. People have been contacting me from all over the country. Haunt actors have been thanking me for being a voice of the industry. I’m honestly just overwhelmed by this. It’s incredible! I’ve also had people contact me, seeking out advice on how to get started in the industry, or more seasoned scare actors seeking advice on how to step up their game. They will send me photos of their haunt characters for my opinion and advice on how to keep improving. Just making contacts from all over the country is just so cool! It’s wonderful! I think that some haunts feel a bit isolated from the haunt community because they might be the only haunt in their town. But I think Haunters is a film that has brought people closer together by connecting and start talking to one another. This was very unexpected, and it’s the thing I’m excited about the most!
PopHorror: That’s incredible! I’m very excited for you, Jon and everyone else involved with Haunters! Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me.
Shar Mayer: I love talking about haunted house attractions, so it is my absolute pleasure!
You can learn more about Shar and the Halloween subculture of haunts by checking out Haunters: The Art of the Scare, now streaming on Netflix!
