Whether it’s a store, or a restaurant, or an apprenticeship, most high schoolers look for whatever job they can get. Though these jobs sound interesting, nothing can compare to my working experience at Statesville Haunted Prison.

Statesville Haunted Prison is known for being one of the top ranked haunted houses in Illinois for its quality and entertainment value. As soon as I walked in, I had to wait in a line to get casted into a particular role in the haunted house. Statesville has a  professional makeup and costume team that totally helped to transform us into the characters we were playing. When I was done with costumes and makeup I was able to socialize and meet all of the people around me which was so much fun since we’re all from different areas. 

For me, Statesville was the first place I ever felt like people truly got me and were genuinely nice. All the actors, as well as some of the older veterans, really collaborated with us  and helped us to develop our characters. Twenty minutes before we went into the haunted house we were gathered into a dark room known as the pit. 

There we would dance around to heavy metal and get a pep talk from some of the owners. This really helped get me pumped before entering the haunted 

house. I’ll be honest, the first few days working at the haunted house were brutal. There was no ventilation and sometimes we could even be in there  really late on a school night. I actually lost my voice the first week because of not pacing myself. There were also some customers that would come into the haunted house in a drunken stupor and harass me and some of the actors. These were minor struggles that I overcame later on. 

The actors that I would be in rooms with were so nice and so supportive though, that it really made the whole experience worthwhile. I got to be in eight different rooms, so I got a lot of experience in different parts and got to meet a lot of different people. Getting to scare people in different rooms was always so fun and exciting. Sometimes reviewers and celebrities would come in that we got the honor to perform for. After this whole experience, I was able to walk 

away knowing that I have a huge group of friends who I could contact anytime for love and support. These were the kind of people you go to a Denny’s with  at two o’clock in the morning, right after you get out of work. Even though I got a little behind in schoolwork and sleep, It was still all worth it. So now I can’t wait to go back next year and in the word of Statesville, “Feed the Beast,” because Statesville is truly an experience to be had.