A Night in the Life of... Jessica Peralta

Coast's online editor takes us through her nights as a Knott's Scary Farm monster. Check out our video on the park's newest maze, Delirium.

Photo By Ralph Palumbo

Get Spooked The Scare :: Knott’s Scary Farm is in operation through Oct. 31. Tickets range from $34 to $51 depending on the day. :: haunt.knotts.com

Scaring Halloween Haunt goers may seem like a frighteningly fun job, but it’s not all a scream. Just ask Jessica Peralta, Coast’s online editor, who has a penchant for the living dead, or more specifically, for dressing up like them. For the sake of journalism, Peralta has guest-starred as a monster at Knott’s Berry Farm’s Haunt numerous times. “It’s easy and it’s hard at the same time,” Peralta says, especially since the monster shift is typically between six and seven hours long. But it isn’t just the long hours that are hard; it’s figuring out how to really give people a fright. “Some people are really easy to scare and there are some people being tough about it, acting like it doesn’t scare them at all.”

Peralta fills us in on what goes into a night of scaring up some fun.

5 P.M. Peralta arrives to chat with fellow monsters and to change into her costume. Knott’s lends most get-ups out to the monsters for the season. “They have the costumes and you kind of take care of them and make sure they’re clean and washed,” says Peralta. “They can get really sweaty and gross.” There are a few veterans with their own costumes, pre-approved by Knott’s Wardrobe department.

5:45 P.M. Time for makeup, which usually takes about 15 minutes. Makeup artists have a lot of monsters to do, even with many wearing masks, so makeup time is very efficient.

6 P.M. Scare time. Monsters head out to their respective areas. Some are maze monsters working the 13 mazes Knott’s offers while others are street monsters roaming the park’s four different Scare Zones. This year, Haunt’s most popular Scare Zone, Ghost Town, will be expanded to include Gypsy Camp, where werewolves cursed by the gypsies slink in the shadows, seeking revenge.

7 P.M. The first hour is usually spent getting acclimated to her post. “I start out slow because I’m trying to get used to the environment and figure out what scare is going to work,” says Peralta. “Am I going to jump out? Are there places to hide?” It’s also slow because people are still working their way through the park. This year, Peralta will be working one of three new mazes, Delirium, near the back of the park.  

8 P.M. At this point in the night, Peralta has found a groove. She clues us in on some typical scares: “Standing still and pretending to be a mannequin and then jumping out; standing still and just following [people] with your eyes to freak them out, because they don’t know what you’re going to do; and just loud noises.” Tips like these are covered in Scare School prior to the season start. And there’s also Scare Force, which consists of 22 specially hired monsters that provide the ultimate scare and take over roles and guide other monsters in the mazes. ”They definitely take pride in what they do,” says Peralta.

10-10:30 P.M. Break time. Monsters can rest, get a drink of water and cool off. “It’s really tiring,” says Peralta. “You’re standing on your feet, stomping and your voice is gone because you’re yelling.”

10:30 P.M. Back at it. “There are rushes of people and then lulls,” says Peralta. “The key is to switch up your scare tactics.” Peralta often goes for the subtle scare, and it works. “This big, tall guy came in once, maybe in his 30s, six feet tall. He could have been a football player,” she says, “and he was doing the I-don’t-want-to-look-at-you thing, not giving me full eye contact. I almost wanted to laugh. I couldn’t believe this guy was scared of me!”

1 A.M. The night is over. Peralta usually is pretty beat – sometimes, literally. “You’ll accidently get hit sometimes,” she says. "People will get scared and jump into you or you’ll get stepped on, poked in the eye or hit in the face. You’ll feel like you do after a long run.” But it’s worth the work. “It’s my favorite time of year,” says Peralta.