Screams fill the air as the fog hides the lurking monsters and frights from sight. Night has fallen, and a horde of zombies, clowns and monsters rush out to torment the patrons at Six Flags’s Fright Fest. Among the many scare actors is Cassidy Moritz, a sophomore here at Palatine. 

“I’m obsessed with horror, and I needed something to do,” Moritz said. She started working last September with her girlfriend, and goes by Giggles when working.

Fright Fest is an annual event at Six Flags, where scare actors and haunted attractions come out after dark from September to November. Special attractions include haunted houses, Halloween decorations, and a sinister ceremony with animated skeletons and a pumpkin overlord.

It takes around 45 minutes to get from Palatine High School to Six Flags in Gurnee, which is why Moritz is worried about transportation and getting to work on time. Often, Moritz carpools with her girlfriend or her friends to get to Six Flags, where she’ll work from 4-6 hours per week.

Once she’s there, Moritz has a team of makeup artists and a costume to help her look as close to a clown as possible. After preparations are done and makeup is set, Moritz heads out to get to her position in time for Fright Fest.

Moritz is primarily stationed at Lost Circus in front of Sky Striker, where she converses with patrons and staff and scares people walking by. 

Scare acting requires quite a bit of energy; Moritz has food and water breaks when she feels tired after acting for too long.

“We are required to take food breaks,” Moritz said. “Fatigue is common and happens a lot.”

Moritz recounted an unusual experience where a parent asked her to scare their toddler.

“It was funny because they were begging me,” said Moritz. “We’re not allowed to scare children in strollers, no matter what.”