As I said before I had never haunted professionally, or in this case semi-professionally, so the experience was completely new to me. Not only that, but I am playing a well known horror icon. That is both a good and a bad thing. It’s bad in that people know the character and have certain expectations of me. There are certain standards I have to uphold. The good bit is that it is a well known monster so half of the work is done for me because of the appearance and those expectations.
Now I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Wait, Chucky isn’t a girl!” You’re right, he’s not; however, with a sports bra, multiple layers, and the fact that the Chucky shirt is baggy hides my gender. In fact those who I encounter after say they had no idea that I was Chucky.
Of course the best thing about being a haunter are the reactions. It goes without saying, but I’m gonna say it anyway, screams and shrieks are awesome! Although to be honest I also enjoy the jokes, the thrilled recognition, the enthusiasm of wanting to play with Chucky, the horrified looks, and even the sarcastic comments. Any reaction is great. It lets me know I’m doing a decent job, or at least being amusing.
Although I’m going to take a quick sec to tell you all something. A little haunted house etiquette if you will. Haunters have 1 job, and 1 job only, and that is to scare you. At the very least get some kind of reaction out of you. Don’t be the strong silent type; it’s rude. A scarer not getting a reaction is like a comedian getting silence while on stage. We know we’re not going to get to everyone, and that’s fine, but show a little something towards our efforts. Thank you for giving me that moment and consideration.
“Is that Chucky?! Oh my God it’s Chucky! HI CHUCKY!”
“IT’S CHUCKY!”
“Oh my God I hate Chucky! Keep him away from me!”
“Dude seriously, I hate dolls!”
(After asking, “Who wants to play with Chucky?!”) “I wanna play with Chucky! C’mon Chucky, I’ll be your best friend!”
“Chucky aren’t you supposed to be a midget? Why are you so tall?”
“Oh my God he’s got a knife!” (plastic prop by the way)
“Holy crap Chucky is following us!”
(As I was following the hay ride wagon) “Okaaaayyyy Chucky I get it!”
“Look it’s Chucky. OH MY GOD HE’S REAL!”
“Chucky, you’re seriously creeping me out.”
“KEEP AWAY FROM ME!”
(After asking, “Who wants to play with Chucky?!” and having a friend pushed towards me despite their attempts to get away from me) “He does! He likes Chucky!”
(This was a conversation between myself and a girl at the back of the hay wagon after I said, “CHUCKY NEEDS A NEW BODY!”)
“Chucky needs a new body?”
“Yeah, Chucky needs a new body!”
“Why does Chucky need a new body?”
“LOOK AT ME! I’M STUCK IN A FRICKIN’ DOLL!”
(After saying, “CHUCKY NEED A NEW BODY!”) “You can have my body Chucky. You want it?”
"You're not a 'Good Guy' Chucky!"
“Chucky you need to go home and go to bed! Go home Chucky!”
There was even one time Chucky got to run amok in a Spirit of Halloween store for a remote broadcast. Scaring is much easier when people aren’t fully expecting a life sized Chucky doll to be creeping around the aisles. I got some good screams that day. Although I did take it easy on the little ones and I tried to incorporate humor by pretending to try on different costumes and accessories. Some people are never going to look at Chucky the same way after seeing him hold up a Wonder Woman bustier for size. Or the princess crown for that matter.
So what have I learned from my experience as a Chucky doll?
That Chucky certainly creeps out, if not outright scares, most of the population.
It takes a few tries to figure out what works best for scaring people on a hay ride.
Any reaction is better than none at all.
It sometimes creeps people out more to learn that Chucky is a girl than Chucky himself.
No matter what, have fun. If you’re not having fun why do it?
... echuckydoll.blogspot.com
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