Ahhh, October. For many, it’s the official beginning of the fall season. The leaves change, the cider mill is a hot spot everyday of the week, and haunted houses are a great place to work.
Not many can relate to that last statement, only visiting the spooky establishments to get into the Halloween spirit. However, some can, including Randi Beaudette ‘18, whose job is at Erebus, a four-story haunted house that once held the Guinness World Record for being the largest from 2005-2009, in downtown Pontiac.
“I absolutely love Halloween and haunted houses so I thought what would be better than working in one,” Randi says. To be able to work at Erebus, Randi had to audition before the season. She is considered an actor, having to make up scary situations for customers based on her given character for the night.
“I have to be creative, coming up with different ways to scare people. So far I have played a nurse in an asylum, a reaper in the vortex, a doll, and a t-rex keeper. My favorite was being the nurse in the asylum.”
Most, if not all haunted houses run only at night due to the unnerving atmosphere the darkness brings. This means crazy hours for Randi which most don’t expect from a high school student. “I work Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Thursday’s I work from 6:00pm to around 1:30am and on Friday’s and Saturday’s I work from 5:00pm to 1:30-2:00am,” she says.
Although it seems to be a very fun job, in no way is it easy. “Once, a girl didn’t want to be at the haunted house so she came into the room that I was working in, and punched 3 out of the 4 people there, including me. She was kicked out,” Randi says. Despite this challenge, there isn’t a better place she would work. “I love the entire experience! The people, the makeup, which makeup artists do for us to complete our roles, the customers, it’s all great.”
Like every October, the month is quickly winding down, and soon so will Randi’s job. “Erebus closes for the season the first week in November. I’m going to try and work there every year that I’m able,” she says. Along with taking in all of the beauty that the fall season has to offer, and indulging in warm cinnamon doughnuts and apple cider from the cider mill, make sure to pay Erebus, and Randi, a visit this Halloween season.
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