Page 2 of Scary In Love
Despite those words of encouragement, I still strongly prefer the company of the living. After school, the obvious choice was to work at Crowmorne Heights, the retirement home my parents run. Twelve years later, I’ve worked my way up to Senior Care Manager, my relationship with them is much stronger, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.
The residents I work with are a fucking riot, some of the most brilliant, funniest people I’ve ever met, once you give them time to warm up to you. And while they’re still with us, of course.
When you see these things as often as I do, you stop being afraid of death or dying. I’m far more terrified of things in the real world, like the persistent dismantling of basic human rights by those in power, urinary tract infections, and falling in love.
I wonder what Peter would have to say about that last one, but he hasn’t actually asked me a single question about myself tonight. Now I’m playing a game where I wait and see how long it takes for him to turn the conversation in my direction.
It was my idea to visit the Miller house for our first date. Figured I’d throw him in at the deep end, and see if he’s worthy of my time. He seemed open to it, but judging by the blank look on his pasty face, he’s not gonna be the man to match my freak.
2
Mason
Thisisreallyhappening.Opening night of The Miller Mansion, the sleepy town of Crowmorne’s first Halloween haunt.
In the backstage break room, the forty-strong cast and crew I’ve assembled and trained over the last few months are in high spirits.
Some are locals, some are London friends I know from acting circles, but all have two things in common. One, theyloveHalloween. And two, the future of this house depends on them.
They all know the backstory. I’ve stayed upbeat, haven’t wanted to put pressure on them, but the worries I’ve been burying for months are creeping back in.
I’ve worked a lot of haunts, but this is my first time running one, and I’m functioning on caffeine and adrenaline at this point. It’s occupied every waking thought, and plenty of sleeping ones, since I had this ridiculous idea six months ago.
Now it’s time to find out if it’s all been worth it.
“Okay, team, I need all eyes on me and just a minute of your time.” They huddle closer and their chatter dies off. “Hey, Nicky, over here.”
“I’m looking at you, boss. My custom contacts point in different directions.”
I snap my fingers and point at one, then the other. “Right! I keep forgetting. Those are outstanding, by the way.”
Nicky is one of several actors who play the staff of the Miller house. Their job is to roam the hallways, gently spooking but mostly guiding customers from one space to the next. Our scare teams will run each room, and they’re responsible for giving guests the fright of their lives, but Nicky and the hands-off crew are the backbone of making an experience like this a success.
We don’t want guests going rogue or wandering off into spaces out of sequence. Every haunt operator has stories about customers who are determined to go off-script, desperate to peel back the curtains, literally in some cases. Some people try to scare us before we can scare them, but I’m confident this lot will be the only ones scaring.
“We open in ten minutes. Your costumes look amazing, your make-up is incredible and terrifying. You’ve trained hard for this, and I know you are all gonna kill it tonight. Metaphorically speaking. We’re here to have fun, but we also have an important job to do. So what’s our motto?”
“Scaring is caring!” the team shouts in unison.
Everyone is buzzing for opening night, but it’s a little weak for my liking.
“I know it seems corny, but I’m gonna make you do this briefing every single night, so we never forget it. People come here for a very specific experience, and we’re all here to make sure they get it, so let me hear it louder, in character.”
I cup my hand to my ear, and they yell, shriek, roar, and howl back at me.
“Scaring is caring!”
“That’s right. We scare the first person through that door just as hard as the last. I’ll be based in the Tavern supporting the bar crew all night, but I have my earpiece in if you need anything. Have a great time, and I’ll see you all back here after closing for pizza and beers.”
They file out, heading off to the different parts of the house we’ve worked so hard to set up for tonight, but I head in the opposite direction.
I want to lurk at the top of the grand staircase and watch the first groups of guests arrive. I need to see the anticipation on their faces, need to know this was the right call.
If tonight, and the next twenty, go well, then this crazy plan might just work.
3
Jenna
