Art of the scare

Jen Zoratti, a columnist for the Free Press, recently tried her hand at being a scare actor at Killer Noob Escapes, a horror-themed escape room located on Century Street. The annual subscription to this immersive experience costs $205.00 + GST for one year, with a 10% discount applied for returning subscribers. The owner of the escape room, Lisa McMillan, invited Jen to participate in order to gain a better understanding of the experience from the other side of the curtain.

Upon arriving at KNE on a Tuesday night during their busy season, Jen met with manager and game master Justyn Chernak. Chernak, who has been working at KNE for four years, explained that intentionally scaring participants is part of his job. The first time scaring someone can be stressful, but once in the mask, he becomes a different person. Chernak takes Jen to the back area where they monitor the progress of the rooms via CCTV, allowing them to ensure participants are dealing with the scare appropriately and safely.

Jen opted for the infamous Puddles the Clown, a role she had to choose from a variety of clown masks. Her adrenaline was pumping as she faced her first scare together with Chernak. As they entered the dark, disorienting room, a fully grown man yelled, "There's two fucking clowns!" The rush was intense, but Jen had to suppress the urge to yell after them, "I am so sorry!"

For her second scare, Jen had a clown bat prop and chased the group of large men through a wall, successfully eliciting fear from them. During the final scare, Jen switched masks and used a honka-honka clown horn, but froze, forgetting what she was doing. Despite not immediately excelling in the clown costume, Jen still beat herself up for not immediately excelling.