by Frank Giorno

I was a Halloween Monster at Canada’s Wonderland. For three nights. As the Northern Blog’s investigative reporter, I took on a job that basically pays actors dressed up as monsters to scare the crap out of people who pay good money to be scared.

I have to say it was a very spooky experience.

I was hired to lurk in the dark shadows of a twisting cornfield maze in Canada’s most famous amusement park to scare the living daylights out of paying customers who craved to be horrified around Halloween time

Canada’s Wonderlands’ Halloween Haunt provides a variety of frightening experiences late September to October 29th. Hundreds of monsters were unleashed upon the park. For the price of admission guests can be frightened in seven mazes, five scare zones, watch six sinister shows, and ride all their favourite roller coasters in the dark.

I was assigned to be a corn stalker in the corn maze. After putting on my costume which consisted of torn, shredded shirt and shredded jeans I went to make up and had my face sprinkled with red liquid resembling blood, scar lines were added. The fake blood was sprayed on my shirt and jeans. I was ready for the haunting.

Along with the other corn stalkers we proceeded to our haunting positions in the maze and waited for to scare the living daylights out of the thrill seekers. The maze was really creepy. Dimly lit. With many twists and turns. Eerie music droned over muffled with incomprehensible groans, gibberish. Every twist of the maze contained frightening surprises. A dangling skeleton in on corner. A monster dummy swinging from a noose from an adjacent tree.

I kept myself hidden by leaning against the tall corn stalks in the twisting, dimly lit maze. Like in the movie Children of the Corn, the maze was dotted with scary corn stalkers – blood splattered men and women from the entrance through the approximately 50 metre maze.

I was situated at the final third of the maze just prior to the exit.

I could hear them approaching. Chatting, laughing as they walked eagerly anticipating what might befall them.

I timed my sudden leaps and growling to appear at the last second as they walked by. Jumping out of the dark, growling, howling, shouting and acting menacingly to satisfy their lust for that frightening sensation.

This went on for 5 hrs from 7 p.m. to midnight. A monster has to be inventive over the course of the five hours of plying our trade. The maze was festooned with skeletons, bloody clothing enmeshed into the tall cornstalks. Every twist and turn along the path was filled with anticipation of horror.

The thrill seekers were in pairs, groups of three, four and more. The crowd was mostly groups of friends, teenage boys and girls. There were couples and families including toddlers and children in strollers.I coordinated with one of the other corn stalkers to build up an unexpected fright. At times I would put on a semi-comical exaggerated monster act and as they chuckled past me thinking all was safe but then a monster woman leaped shrieking out of nowhere and the customers shrieked in horror at the unexpected danger. They lurched back with their eyes wide open, mouths gaping, fists held high against their chests.

As the customers strolled cautiously round the twisted maze the sounds of a chain saw coutld be heard. A deranged cornstalker with a hideous face stormed the cornfield. It was fueled by diesel and the strench of the fumes combined with the flesh curdling cutting sound created a forbidding atmosphere.

Moments later they broke out in laughter. That scary incident was what they came for. Some turned around and what to high-five us monsters, but monsters don’t do high-fives or fist pumps. We just growl and glare and go on our way scaring the next unsuspecting customers.

The children looked around with wide-eyed amazement. Hand held by a parent. Often, they would laugh and exclaim “you are not a monster.” Some were frightened but their parents reassured them that it was all for fun.

I tried to be more of Monster-Mash kind of monster for the little kids. It was a corn yard smash as the children giggled.

The course of the maze has attendants strategically located to assist any customer who needs help but also to remind the monsters that they must be in character and scary throughout the evening. No casual conversations with the customers, many who want to high-five or talk photos with the monsters. Those who are frightening are hired to be spooky and monstrous. But for those who want to walk through the scare-zones without being terrified, Canada’s Wonderland provides a please do not scare button to ward of us monsters.

But I never saw any the three nights I worked.

To become a monster I had to attend a group interview. During the interview we were asked to perform impromptu skits to display our monster capabilities and also to see if we can work well with other monsters.

Once I was hired, I attended an orientation course which instructed us on how to act monstrously. My instructed said the secret is to provide an internal narrative of your monster character. How did you become a monster? Why did you end up in the corn field? Why do you want to terrorize intruders?

I have to admit scaring people who want to be scared was fun. I would not otherwise act so monstrously. I am grateful for this experience.

After it was done, I looked up on Google why people enjoyed being scared to death and are willing to pay for it.

Some experts said people love experiencing fear and fright because it gives them a rush of adrenalin. Perhaps. I think people enjoy it because its fun! Like tumbling down a roller coaster at break-neck-speed.

Watch my cornstalker monster in action. Warning: Very Frightening Content. Please Use Caution When Viewing.