To get a job at a haunted house, apply directly through the haunt’s website or social pages in August or early September, when most haunts hold auditions. You don’t need acting experience at most haunts, auditions are usually group exercises rather than prepared monologues, and hiring continues all season, so late applicants still get cast.
That is the short version. The longer version below comes from the people who actually run the auditions. Over the years, Haunted Attraction Network has interviewed hundreds of haunt owners, casting directors, and general managers, and hiring comes up constantly. This guide compiles what they have told us about how to get hired, what happens in the room, and what makes an actor stand out.
When Do Haunted Houses Hire?
Most haunts cast in August and September, ahead of season openings that cluster between September 11 and early October. Check our opening-dates guide for when haunts in your area start their seasons.
But the door does not close in September. Shalee Mudgett of The FEAR PDX, who joined the Haunted Attraction Association board with hiring and retention as her specialty, told HAN in a 2023 interview that continuous hiring is the industry norm, not the exception: “You have to hire throughout the whole entire season.” Operators who audition 100 people at the start of the season, she said, “are probably going to end up with 20 by the end of the season” unless they keep bringing new people in.
For job seekers, that means applying in October is not too late. Haunts lose actors to school schedules, day jobs, and burnout every single week of the season, and many will onboard replacements right up to Halloween.
What a Haunted House Audition Is Actually Like
Forget prepared monologues. Haunt auditions are mostly group exercises, improv games, and conversations.
At Reindeer Manor Halloween Park in Texas, co-owner Alex Lohman described their group audition approach in a 2022 HAN interview: nothing scary at all. Candidates get up in a group and respond to prompts like “do something crazy, something hokey,” or act out silly physical bits like an inflatable tube dancer at a car lot. The point is to see who commits, not who already knows how to scare.
Some haunts skip the audition format entirely. Netherworld co-owner Ben Armstrong told HAN in a 2022 interview: “We do not do an audition, we do an interview. We talk to the person, figure out who they are, and what their background is, and really learn about the person.” At one of the most acclaimed haunts in the world, he and his casting director interview every single hire personally, then match each person to a role where they can succeed.
And if improv terrifies you more than any monster, there is still a place for you. Bryan Kopp of 13th Floor Entertainment’s Chicago operation explained in 2022 that they name and categorize their acting positions by comfort level. Some roles are close to running an effect, “essentially pushing a button or hitting a trigger,” while others are full-on improv performance. “Some people feel more comfortable with that, they don’t like the pressure of having to be on like you are in improv,” he said. Good haunts cast for both.
What Operators Look For
Scott Swenson, who has cast haunts for decades and wrote HAN’s original guide to auditions in 2019, is blunt about what wins the room: preparation beats gimmicks. “I’d much rather see you be well rehearsed, well prepared, clever, and committed,” he wrote. A costume trick with no performance behind it “may mean you’re a great trick-or-treater, but you’re not necessarily a good haunter.”
He is equally blunt about the physical reality: “It’s hard work. You wake up the next morning hurting in places you didn’t know you had places.” Directors watch for stamina, because a scare you can do once is not a scare you can do 200 times a night.
At the most competitive haunts, the bar stays high even for veterans. Michael Malec, general manager of Thrillvania in Texas, compared his process to theater casting in a 2022 HAN interview: “I look at it as, like a Broadway musical.” Even actors who have worked with him for decades re-audition, get scored, and can lose their role to someone better. His deeper point applies everywhere: “I think the most important thing is, you add value to your crew.” Haunts keep the people who treat it as a craft, not just a job.
How to Stand Out
From Swenson’s casting-side advice, three habits separate hires from maybes:
- Treat every moment as the audition. From the email you send to how you wait in the lobby, the casting team is watching. Swenson calls this the first rule: everything the actor does is part of the audition.
- Follow direction. Many directors will give you a prepared bit, then ask you to change it on the spot. They are testing whether you can take a note, because the haunt will re-block your scene mid-season.
- Follow up professionally. Swenson’s advice after the audition: send the casting team a short thank-you email. Almost nobody does it, and directors remember the ones who do.
No Experience? You Are Exactly Who They Are Looking For
The Summoning, the immersive horror production at the San Francisco Mint, held open audition calls in its early years. Co-founder Joshua Grannell told HAN in 2022 that their cast came from everywhere: experienced haunt actors moonlighting from other haunts, theater performers, and drag performers taking lead roles. The haunt industry has always pulled first-timers in and trained them.
Swenson makes the operator’s case for it plainly: auditions exist to bring in “new blood.” Haunts need fresh faces every season, and most would rather train a committed rookie than re-hire an uncommitted veteran.
How Much Do Scare Actors Make?
Scare acting is seasonal, part-time, hourly work, and rates vary widely by market, haunt size, and role. Some haunts run as volunteer or charity operations. There is no industry-standard wage, so check each haunt’s job listing for actual numbers. One useful signal from our archive: in HAN’s 2021 staffing coverage, Scott Swenson advised operators that it was the year to raise pay and add incentives rather than cut them, and competitive markets have kept pushing rates up since. Haunts that pay better say so in their listings, because they are competing for you.
How to Find Auditions Near You
- Go straight to the haunts. Nearly every haunt posts casting calls on its own website and social pages in late summer. Pick the haunts within driving distance and follow them now.
- Use our guides. Our state and city haunt guides list every major haunt in a region with links to each one’s site, and the opening-dates guide tells you when they ramp up.
- Watch for the words “now casting” and “join our scream team” on haunt social accounts from August onward. Some haunts also list on Indeed and local job boards, but the haunt’s own channels post first.
Watch: Hiring Advice From the HAA Board
Our full 2023 conversation with the Haunted Attraction Association’s board members, including Shalee Mudgett on hiring and retention:
Scare Actor FAQ
Do I need acting experience to work at a haunted house?
No. Most haunts train first-timers, auditions test commitment rather than technique, and haunts like Netherworld replace the audition with an interview entirely. Roles exist for every comfort level, from effect-trigger positions to full improv characters.
How old do you have to be to work at a haunted house?
It varies by haunt and state. Many haunts cast performers 16 and up, some are 18-plus, and youth-friendly charity haunts sometimes go younger with guardian consent. Every haunt lists its own minimum in the casting call.
How long does the haunt season last?
Most haunts run select nights from mid-September through November 1, and the biggest independents now run into mid-November. Including rehearsals, expect a two-to-three-month commitment of mostly Friday and Saturday nights.
Is scare acting hard work?
Yes. As Scott Swenson puts it, “You wake up the next morning hurting in places you didn’t know you had places.” It is physical, repetitive, loud, and hot inside a mask, and most actors come back anyway.
Hear the Full Interviews
The quotes in this guide come from HAN’s podcast archive, where the full conversations go much deeper:
- Netherworld’s season recap with Ben Armstrong (2022)
- Thrillvania with GM Michael Malec (2022)
- 13th Floor Chicago with Bryan Kopp (2022)
- Reindeer Manor with co-owner Alex Lohman (2022)
- The Summoning with David Flower and Joshua Grannell (2022)
- Killer advice from the HAA’s five newest board members (2023)
Updated July 18, 2026. Auditions and casting calls change fast during hiring season. If you run a haunt and want your casting call listed in our coverage, send it to us.
