Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Students supply scares

               Every weekend Dylan Grunn dons a military-like gilly suit, which transforms him from an every day human being to an unavoidable swamp monster.At Pittsburgh’s ScareHouse, on Locust St. in Etna, Pa., Grunn, a sophomore advertising major at Point Park University, sneaks through “actor walkways” and spies through holes to pinpoint his next group of victims to scare. He crouches low and becomes a simple overlooked brush until the group gets closer and Grunn lets out a terrifying deep groan. The mortified high-pitched screams from a group of girls reveals success.The ScareHouse provides also scare jobs for sophomores Scott Sudzina, a sport, arts and entertainment major, and Christopher Ranallo, a screnwriting major, also.                Their evenings begin routinely; clock in, receive assignment, become something terrifying, attend a group meeting, go to a designated post and scare.                Jimmy Krahe, an art major at Carnegie Mellon University, is one of many who transforms the living into the dead with the skill of a makeup artist.                “I get to tell people I’m going to cut them up every time I do their makeup,” Krahe said. “That’s fun because you can’t say that to anyone in real life and get away with it.”                 Krahe drew most of inspiration from the work of Dick Smith, the makeup artist for “The Exorcist.” He continues to improve his talent by creating sunken eyes, a gash across the face or the illusion of stitches for the “scarers.”                The ScareHouse ranks as one of “America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions” by the Travel Channel ranks 5th “Best Haunted House in America” by Haunt World Magazine.The ScareHouse tour begins with Forsaken, an old rickety run-down house which leads to a demented circus scene. The next haunt, Delirium 3-D, is orchestrated with black lights and vibrant colors to create a dance party theme. The last haunt is Rampage, a futuristic war setup with machine guns, bombs and mutated bodies. The ScareHouse building resembles a giant warehouse, and for $18 all three haunts can be visited.                Ranallo, from Bloomfield, is known as a “floater” at the ScareHouse. He usually dresses in multiple costumes intended for all of the haunts and takes the place of scarers who need breaks or fills in for absent employees.                “I get paid to dress up in cool costumes and scare people,” Ranallo said. “I really enjoy that.”                Though the adrenaline of scaring people can take precedent over caution, Sudzina does his best to remember the rules of scaring to avoid injuries: do not block visitors’ forward progress, keep one’s body out of the visitors’ personal space and avoid saying anything unrelated to one’s scare character.                 “One girl I scared threw her arms out and hit me in the eye,” said sport, arts, and entertainment major Sudzina. “I lost my contact [lens].”                Grunn and Ranallo shared similar stories of employees who were punched, pushed, and threatened directly after a scare. Ranallo understands the cause and effect cycle.                “It’s usually your fault if you get hit,” Ranallo said. “Were supposed to be an arm’s length away, so if I get hit, it’s my fault.”                Sudzina, Ranallo and Krahe are all second year employees, but Grunn is a first-timer.                “It works out really well because I run cross country here at Point Park and my practices and meets are during the day,” Grunn said. “I can work at night.”Grunn said his favorite part of his job is the satisfaction of scaring visitors. “Seeing them get scared…really boosts your energy. It is a huge adrenaline rush,” Grunn said.                Collectively, the boys agreed the ScareHouse is a “perfect job for students at Point Park.”                “The people there are awesome, they’re really friendly,” Ranallo said. “I would recommend this job to all college students; it’s nights, it’s weekends, it’s pretty cool, the location is not that far and there are a lot of students from the Art Institute that work there, so it’s pretty easy to get a ride.”  The ScareHouse will be open and running, rain or shine, until Sunday, Oct. 31. Buy tickets online to ensure admission.

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