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What Makes a Good Scare? What Makes a Good Scare?

By Colin Bock

Frightmare Farms Main Attractions
© 2021 Colin Bock

(ANC: SPOOKY SEASON IS HERE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK- WHICH MEANS HAUNTED ESTATES ARE GEARING UP FOR ONE LAST WEEKEND OF SCARING. N-C-C NEWS REPORTER COLIN BOCK DETAILS WHAT EXACTLY CONSTITUTES A GOOD SCARE.)

(Track 1)

LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF OSWEGO COUNTY, FRIGHTMARE FARMS HAS BEEN SCARING CNY FOR THE LAST DECADE.
LAST YEAR, THE FACILITY WAS NAMED THE BEST HAUNTED ESTATE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK.
TO GENERAL MANAGER AND SCARE ACTOR RYAN MCDERMOTT, THE BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESSFUL SPOOKING IS SIMPLE- IT ALL STARTS WITH A HORRIFYING IDEA.

{***SOT FULL***}
(CG: xxx)
[TAKE SOT
INCUE:YOU GET
OUTCUE:TERRIFYING
DURATION:0’14”]
(“YOU GET A CHANCE TO BE CREATIVE AND ANYTHING YOU CAN CONCEIVE, YOU CAN CREATE. YOU CAN USE IT TO SCARE PEOPLE, HAVE FUN, OR BE COMPLETELY TERRIFYING.”)

(Track 2)

STEP TWO? TIMING

{***SOT FULL***}
(CG: xxx )
[TAKE SOT
INCUE:YOU REALLY
OUTCUE:SOMEBODY
DURATION:0’16”]
(“YOU REALLY WANT TO PICK YOUR TARGET. GET ‘EM IN YOUR VIEW AND WAIT FOR THE PERFECT TIMING. THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE IS GOING TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO SCARE SOMEBODY.”)

(Track 3)

MCDERMOTT SAYS HIS IDEAL TARGETS ARE MEN BETWEEN 18 AND 23 YEARS OLD BECAUSE OF THEIR FALSE BRAVATO.
MCDERMOTT INSTALLED DECORATIONS 10 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND TO SCARE EVEN THE TALLEST HAUNTERS.
BUT VISUAL ELEMENTS ARE ONLY A SMALL PART OF THE EQUATION.

{***SOT FULL***}
(CG: xxx )
[TAKE SOT
INCUE:THERE’S A LOT
OUTCUE:THEATRICAL SCARES
DURATION:0’11”]
(“THERE’S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF GREAT SCARES. THERE’S A SIMPLE STARTLE SCARE WHERE YOU CAN BANG SOMETHING NEXT TO SOMEONE VERY CLOSELY AND IT SCARES THEM, OR THERE’S MORE THEATRICAL SCARES.”

ANOTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR FRIGHTMARE’S 160- YES, 160 ACTORS IS BEING UNPREDICTABLE, WHICH IS WHY EVEN VETERAN HAUNTERS ARE NOT SAFE FROM MCDERMOTT’S FLASHING LIGHTS.

{***SOT FULL***}
(CG: xxx )
[TAKE SOT
INCUE:WE WOULD
OUTCUE:FLOOR HAHA
DURATION:0’13”]
(“WE WOULD HAVE THE LIGHT GO OUT AND THE DOOR WOULD OPEN AND THE LIGHT WOULD COME ON WITH A STROBE. THE STROBE LIGHTS COME ON WITH REALLY LOUD NOISE AND YOU’RE RIGHT AT THEM CHARGING AT THEM AND A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE JUST DROPS TO THE FLOOR HAHA”)

(Track 5)

NEXT YEAR, EXPECT A NEW THEME, OVER 20 MORE SCARE ACTORS, AND OF COURSE… A GOOD SCARE. REPORTING LIVE FROM FULTON, NY, COLIN BOCK, N-C-C NEWS.

Fulton, N.Y. (NCC News) – For the past decade, Frightmare Farms has scared Central New York to its core. What started as a mere haunted house has blossomed into a multi-attraction estate. In 2011, “Dr. Fear” set out to “put on a show” of his own. Well, it’s safe to say, he’s done just that. Last year, Frightmare Farms was named the best haunted scream park in Central New York, according to CNY Central. Dr. Fear has since hired 155 scare actors to fulfill his dream. On a given night, 25-28 scare actors occupy each attraction.

But it all started with an idea. To General Manager and Scare Actor Ryan McDermott, “you get a chance to be creative and anything you can conceive, you can create. You can use it to scare people, have fun, or be completely terrifying.”

This year’s special theme is the Winter Harvest. Bedecked with calls for folklore character Goat Man, the Western Village is an amalgamation of the theme. Upon entering the forest, Dr. Fear’s creations come to life.

“Usually I toy with the senses of people and distract them,” Dr. Fear stated. “I use fog machines and sight-altering objects to pull [this] off.” After a slew of fog machines, the haunter is greeted by hanging animal flesh in a sensationalized butchery. Eventually, haunters receive a guttural scare in what appeared to be a reconstruction of Chernobyl.

Still, the Haunted House is the main bread-winner of the estate. To McDermott, the Haunted House emboldens him to unleash his versatile scaring profile. “There’s a lot of different types of great scares,” states McDermott. “There’s a simple startle scare where you can bang something next to someone very closely and it scares them, or there’s more theatrical scares.”

Included in the Haunted House are clowns, fake human body parts, tombstones, mystery boxes, and more. But none of these props are remotely as effective as the scare staff. With an increase in staffing every year, Dr. Fear places his “high energy” fear-inducers into a litany of different positions- all with the goal of invoking a response. “You really want to pick your target,” McDermott stated on Dr. Fear’s behalf. “Get ’em in your view and wait for the perfect timing. The element of surprise is going to be the most effective when you’re trying to scare somebody.”

With only two more open dates at Frightmare Farms, the clock is ticking for you to sign up for the SAFE scare of your lifetime.

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