Scaring people for $16 an hour: 8 things to know about Singapore’s Halloween industrial complex

SINGAPORE – Singapore may not have autumn leaves, but locals know the end of the year is near when the Halloween scares arrive, with a slew of horror-themed events to partake in.

The backbone of these events are the scare actors, some 400 or so Singaporean and local resident freelancers who embrace the chance to step into another persona and deliver frights to eager audiences.

Drama and singing teacher by day and scare actress by night, Ms Miranda Ng, 30, says the job is a natural fit for her. “One of my dream jobs is to be in a horror film or anything horror-related,” adds the horror genre fan.

Donning the mask and costume means being able to leave her usual reserved self at the door, and boldly immerse herself in a character unlike her own, with the vicarious perk of creating well-timed jump scares and eliciting screams.

But she scored only one scare acting gig this season as these are rare roles in Singapore, where the majority do not celebrate Halloween, says Ms Ng, who wishes it would be as big of an event as in Japan or Taiwan.

In 2024, however, horror enthusiasts may be more spoilt for choice, with three major horror events to choose from.

The largest event is Universal Studios Singapore’s Halloween Horror Nights (HHN), which takes place on select nights till Nov 2, with ticket prices starting at $80.

Meanwhile, Haw Par Villa is hosting the third edition of its Haw Ror Villa event for two weekends, starting on Oct 18 (ticket prices start at $35, go to

hawparvilla.sg

). It features an escape room set in Hell’s Museum, an interactive murder mystery tour with ghoulish scare actors, and a bazaar with a real coffin for guests to jump into.

Fort Canning is also unveiling a new horror experience at the historic Battlebox – called Underground: The Summoning (

underground.sg

) – on select nights till Nov 3 (ticket prices start at $53).

Organised by Super Productions, this 45-minute immersive, horror-themed theatre experience takes place in a World War II bunker, and is intended to be enjoyed by groups of eight or nine.

Scare actors behind these events typically earn $15 to $16 an hour, usually on a freelance basis, according to Super Productions and Haw Par Villa management Journeys.

They come from all walks of life, although the majority of those who spoke to The Straits Times are self-employed or do part-time work that can accommodate moonlighting as scare actors.

Resorts World Sentosa, the parent company of Universal Studios Singapore, declined to disclose the amount its scare actors earn. But it is understood its going rate is similar to the rest of the industry.

From the scare industry giving out its own “Oscares” awards to scare actors’ least favourite guests, here are eight things you may not know about this unusual seasonal gig.

1. Audition process can be “cringeworthy” and unconventional

Current and former Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) scare actors say the event’s organisers typically use an unconventional audition process. It requires applicants to engage in improv scenarios – like crawling menacingly around on the ground or howling.

Singapore Institute of Technology student Angela Hatem Attieh, 23, says she applied for the position because she is a huge fan of the horror genre. “I never had any background in performance, but I love horror. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone, and it turns out I’m pretty good at screaming,” says the third-year information security undergraduate.

Though people typically audition in groups, she ended up going alone.

“I think it’s better because I don’t think I would have wanted to howl like a werewolf in front of the camera and my friend,” she says. Her howl set her apart from the pack, and Ms Angela will be a first-time scare actor at the ongoing HHN.

For Ms Megan Lynn, 24, this year’s HHN will mark her seventh year performing, this time as an “under-raver” in the Nether-Land scare zone. The event manager says: “We did the most cringeworthy, embarrassing things ever at the audition, but seven years later, I’m still doing this, and I don’t regret it at all.”

Not everyone finds the unconventional audition process daunting. Mr Samuel Chua, 27, a professional dancer, says that auditioning for the Fort Canning Battlebox’s Underground: The Summoning came easily to him because of his performing arts background.

His audition involved a series of improv scenes, from pretending to have his guts ripped out to roleplaying someone possessed by an evil entity.

He says: “There’s no overthinking, just responding in the moment and really committing to your character. You have to create a world with a minimal set and without even a scene partner.”

2. Dealing with party poopers out to ruin the magic

A common bugbear of veteran scare actors are unruly guests who fail to observe event rules and touch or harass scare actors.

Ms Ng says: “We get pushed and shouted at, but you’re coming here to be scared. All we want is a little respect. We’re here to scare you. You don’t touch us, we don’t touch you.”

She recalls an experience at Halloween Horror Nights when a guest shoved her from behind while she was in character, laughed in her face and ran off. 

“We have ushers around to catch them and kick people out of the park, but sometimes we can’t catch them because they run so fast,” she adds, “and there are a lot of drunk people coming in as well.”

Guests who try to make scare actors break character are another common peeve.

Ms Lynn notes that scare actors have to think quickly on their feet so as not to let a few bad apples ruin the magic for other guests. Some of her go-to tricks include redirecting the scare to another guest nearby or winding them up for a fright they do not expect.

3. Best guests embrace the fear

It is a misconception that the job consists only of looming, lurking and winding people up through jump scares.

Mr Chua notes that as most scare roles require the donning of complex costumes and heavy make-up, a scare actor’s physicality becomes more important, compared with other kinds of performance.

“To be honest, I just like the physicality of everything. Coming from a dance background, I like to move. Especially now, if you’re donning a mask, the character has to be embodied through your body. The story needs to be told through the body,” he says.

Retired marine industry worker Eliyah Osman, 52, who previously worked at Halloween Horror Nights, says: “The trick to a good scare is to not act the same for everyone. You look at them and react to how you perceive them. Some people just need you to stand still, some need a jump scare and others need you to lurk.”

She adds that considering the amount of work that goes into preparing a scare, the worst thing that can happen is a guest’s non-reaction.

In 2024, Madam Eliyah will be performing at Underground: The Summoning.

“It’s the lack of feedback that sometimes makes the work less fulfilling – when guests try to put on a strong front, act macho and be unemotional,” she says. “When I try my best to scare them, it makes me feel like, ‘Am I not doing a good job? Is it not scary enough?’”

The best audiences, say scare actors, are the ones who match the energy of the event and come with the intention of being scared. Their trophy tales are of sending packs of teens scurrying in fear, scaring the drink straight out of somebody’s hands, or eliciting a scream more blood-curdling than the set’s atmospheric soundtrack.

Mr Jonathan Cheong, 27, a freelance actor and stuntman who is performing at Haw Ror Villa in 2024, says: “The satisfaction comes from seeing the reactions – you know you’ve done your job when people are truly terrified, screaming or running away.

“What I do here is very different from screen acting. It’s more interactive, and I get to be involved in something theatrical and live, which is a nice change.”

4. USS holds an ‘Oscares’ event to celebrate its best actors

On some years, including the 2024 edition of Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Studios Singapore (USS) holds an after-party for scare actors called the “Oscares” to celebrate the actors who delivered the best frights. Each scare zone and experience nominates its best actors for awards.

Mr Jag Singh, 49, an emcee and comedian, recalls receiving an award for long service in 2018, after playing ghoulish characters across four different Halloween Horror Nights. The 2024 edition will mark his seventh performance, this time as a blood dealer supplying vampires.

Ms Lynn recalls being nominated for the Best Scare Actor award during her first year playing a lobotomy victim in 2016, though she failed to clinch the prize. She says: “I didn’t win, but just seeing my face on the screen, it was like, wow, I really did do a good job.”​

Halloween Horror Nights veterans tell ST that over the years, a strong sense of community has formed among the over 400 actors who take part each year and have caught the scare acting bug.

Though not all return for every iteration, each event brings with it its fair share of familiar faces, and old HHN WhatsApp groups tend to flare up again in the lead-up to Halloween.

5. Anybody could be behind the mask

Though one might assume that scare actors are largely young and extroverted horror enthusiasts, this was not the case among the scare actors who spoke to ST, who say that the role draws an eclectic cast of characters from all walks of life – united only by their shared love of Halloween.

Some are not even horror fans. “I don’t watch horror movies at all,” admits Mr Cheong. “I can’t watch them; I’m scared. It’s a bit ironic, but when I did scare acting, it became fun to scare people – even though I don’t dare to scare myself.”

The diversity of each cast – in terms of age, background and personality – is something all scare actors appreciate.

Mr Singh appreciates that the casting process is inclusive and looks beyond appearance and other superficial factors, focusing instead on what each individual actor can bring to the table.

Ms Lynn recalls 2023’s Halloween Horror Nights, when she became friends with a fellow scare actor who was hearing-disabled and a “phenomenal character” in costume. “A lot of people in my cast actually picked up sign language because we all wanted to communicate with him,” she says.

Meanwhile, Madam Eliyah, who retired from the marine industry in 2019, says she applied to be a scare actor at Halloween Horror Nights in 2021 on a whim, then “caught the bug” for scare acting. She now juggles up to two roles across different horror experiences in Singapore each Halloween season.

Part of why this seasonal gig is so transformative is because it allows anyone to leave behind who he or she is upon getting into costume.

Madam Eliyah says: “Being a scare actor, you can forget about yourself and be someone else and interact with another person when you are not you.”

6. Cue lighting, effects and ghost stories

Although scare actors take centre stage, they say their work builds upon the extensive effort that goes into lighting, set design and the setting’s spooky reputation.

The organisers of Underground: The Summoning have hired story consultants and a magician to develop a storyline that works with the Battlebox’s historical World War II bunker setting and incorporate special effects into the experience.

Meanwhile, Haw Par Villa, with its hellish reputation, initially shied away from spooky events. Executive director Savita Kashyap of Journeys, the company managing Haw Par Villa, says it initially did not want to augment macabre urban legends surrounding the park.

But it was swamped with requests from horror enthusiasts and urban explorers to visit the park at night, after closing hours, and to use it to host nightlife events.

“We were fending them off initially, before we realised that this could be a good way to draw in the young,” she says, adding that the group is now doubling down on the park’s quirkiness through events like raves, music festivals and Haw Ror Villa.

“Haw Ror Villa offers a balance between Halloween and authentic Asian culture, and I think that’s what sets it apart from the other Halloween experiences available,” she adds.

Mr Cheong, who will be performing as an undead court official there, says: “The place is already famous for ghost stories, so people come with a sense of fear even before we act. That makes our job easier, but we still add to the experience.”

7. After-dark rehearsals can be intense

Getting into character is tougher than it seems. Rehearsals involve learning how to interact with guests, timing scares and working with the environment to maximise impact.

Usually, multiple dress runs are required to stage one show. After Universal Studios Singapore closes at 5pm, Halloween Horror Nights’ scare actors enter the theme park in the lead-up to the event for rehearsals, during which they simulate their roles in the emptied-out park while producers take on the role of guests.

Ms Lynn says: “We go through what our character is supposed to be like, the background, physicality and poses. It’s about embodying the character fully because someone might watch you for a long time.”

Similarly, scare actors at Underground: The Summoning undergo at least 10 hours of rehearsals at the Fort Canning Battlebox, in the dead of night.

Haw Ror Villa actors go through at least 18 hours of rehearsals, for example, to play a period-inspired ghost in a murder mystery set in the park’s distant past, or a member of the ghoulish cast of the Hell’s Museum escape room.

8. Don’t worry about getting home

Scare actors work long and late night shifts. Haw Ror Villa lasts from 7pm to midnight, while Halloween Horror Nights can run until 1.30am.

Scare actors say that these events can be endurance challenges, as they have to stay in character the entire time, barring breaks.

One thing they will not have to worry about, however, is getting home. Both Haw Ror Villa and Halloween Horror Nights scare actors get free transportation home after the night shifts end.

Haw Ror Villa’s scare actors get their transport fees reimbursed, while actors at Halloween Horror Nights use an app to key in their home address for the company to arrange group transport.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we made an error with quotes from two scare actors. This has been corrected.