Screams pierced the night, and figures in masks roamed the forest, seeking innocent wanderers as their next prey.

No one is actually in danger — unless it’s the danger of wetting themselves.

For nearly 15 years, the Haunted Forest in Ames has been a popular attraction for all ages. It has also been a popular activity for those behind the mask.

“You get paid to scare people. What’s better than that?” said Megan Beck, junior in industrial engineering and an actor at the Haunted Forest.

Lynn and Lee Ballard are brothers who founded the Haunted Forest 15 years ago with their father, Orville Ballard. Since then it has been a family-run business.

“It’s an outdoor haunted attraction. It’s about a 20 minute walk through the forest, with a few mazes and rooms,” Lynn said. “Our customers enter the forest, and they are on their own.”

Lynn said the Haunted Forest has been a success for many years.

“We always draw a big crowd, even after all these years,” Lynn said. “We have people come from a hundred mile radius.”

Lynn said the attraction is based on the people who do the scaring.

“It’s family-run, but we employ around 40 actors who range from hired personnel to Iowa State students,” Lynn said.

Lee Ballard said the attraction would not be the success it is without the actors.

“Without them, it would be nothing,” Lee Ballard said.

For actors at haunted houses, scaring is an experience that is very different than being scared.

Not only do the actors have to scare as many people as possible, but they are required to make sure participants make it through the forest safely.

Lee said the actors have creative freedom to use whatever scare tactics they want in the Haunted Forest.

“When we hire them, we tell them that they can do whatever they’d like, and we’ll help them make it happen,” he said. “They bring in all these ideas for costumes and scenes and so on. It’s just amazing how they come to together. They find a spot in the forest, and they do great things.”

The actors find the best features of the job is the creative freedom.

“It’s all about having fun with it,” said Kristin Livingston, junior at Des Moines Area Community College and a veteran actor. “We get the freedom to be creative with scaring people and with your costume.”

Nicole Harrison, sophomore in architecture and first-year actor, said it can be difficult to be creative.

“You never realize how creative you have to be,” Harrison said. “There are different kinds of scares. A jump scare can scare anyone, and it’s hard to just be creepy and follow people. It’s hard to judge what people are feeling, so I think about what scares me and try that.”

Harrison said it often takes practice to perfect a good scare.

“We didn’t really know what we were doing the first night,” Harrison said. “If we try something new, it takes a while for it to actually start working. Like tonight, I had to make something work, and it took me hours to figure it out. Once I did, it worked great.”

The actors of the Haunted Forest see a completely different side of people who dare travel through the attraction.

“It’s hilarious what people will say once they get scared of something,” said Jade Stufflebeam, sophomore in performing arts and first-year actor. “You hear a lot of the same things from people. Like, ‘Is that real? I don’t think that’s real. Oh, geez that’s real!’ Or, ‘That didn’t even scare me,’ right after they jump.”

Timothy Bass, freshman in world languages and cultures, has stories as well.

“I was working the bridge one night, and I scared a girl so badly that she went through the bars and fell off,” Bass said. “She was okay, but we couldn’t help but laugh.”

Beck has also had interesting experiences with people showing their true natures when they are frightened.

“People just do things because their body reacts in a certain way,” Beck said. “There was a couple, and I scared them both, but the guy used his girlfriend as the shield. So scaring brings out something in people that you wouldn’t really know otherwise.”

Harrison has also seen some unexpected reactions from people.

“We scare people we don’t expect to scare, like the big, bulky fraternity guys,” Harrison said. “When you scare them, that’s really funny. It’s nice to have the easier scares, but when you get someone you weren’t expecting to, that’s really fun.”

“We tend to get injured, but I think it’s because we’re more into it than most people,” Harrison said.

Stufflebeam said she enjoys what she does at the Haunted Forest.

“I’ve made a couple people pee their pants,” Stufflebean said. “It’s just the greatest thing to make people expel some kind of liquid. You know you’re doing a good job when that happens.”

Most actors come to the Haunted Forest to work because of friends who had acted in previous years. Beck, Stufflebeam and Harrison are roommates who decided to work the attraction together.

“[Beck] told us about it and she forwarded us the e-mail from [Lee],” Harrison said. “We contacted him, and he scheduled us in immediately.”

Beck said diversity among the actors is a great way to improve the experience for the participants.

“It’s crazy because we all bring something different in,” Beck said. “Most actors here are Iowa State students but not everyone. So that age and background difference is really awesome. I’ve met people here I wouldn’t have met otherwise, so it’s nice to meet all sorts of different people.”

Beck said that although working for a haunted attraction is fun, it can also be dangerous.

“There are the people who come in belligerently drunk, and they think that they’re being funny,” Beck said. “I’ve heard stories about [actors] being kicked or punched in the face by those people because they didn’t think it was real. I’ve almost been punched in the face once.”

Beck said people react without thinking when they are frightened.

“It’s a constant work hazard that some people might actually hurt you because they don’t realize you’re an actual person,” Beck said. “So you have to remind them that you are a person and that could be difficult.”

Despite that, Beck said she would be willing to be an actor for the Haunted Forest’s 2015 season.

“It’s a fun job, and I really think the more people know about working at a haunted house the better,” Beck said.

To be an actor for the Haunted Forest, actors must be at least 18 and have a sense of people’s boundaries. 

“The main rule is that you can sneak up behind people and scare them, but you have to keep them moving forward into the maze,” Livingston said.

It’s about having a good time as well.

“It’s a fun time for everyone, even for the people getting scared,” Bass said.

The actors at the Haunted Forest encourage anyone brave enough to join the attraction for next Halloween.

“You do have to give up most of your weekends in October, but it’s worth it,” Beck said.

Harrison said she has enjoyed working for the Ballards.

“It’s a really fun experience, and working for the [Ballards] is really a treat,” Harrison said.

If you wish to be an actor for the Haunted Forest for the 2015 season, contact Lee Ballard at 515-249-0553.

The Haunted Forest is open Oct. 30 through Nov. 1. Tickets are $13 each.

Another haunted house in Ames is right on the ISU campus: Helser’s annual Haunted Helser event is a student-run haunted house that is happening from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. Oct. 31. It is free for anyone to attend.

Haunted Helser is partnering with Friley Residence Hall’s Halloween event Frightful Friley. Frightful Friley is a dance that will be held at the residence hall from 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. Oct. 31.

The Collegiate United Methodist Church and the Wesley Student Center are also hosting a haunted event for Halloween, but it’s unlike anything around.

Dr. Fran Kenstyn’s Lab is a live, “escape-the-room” experience.

“Your only hope for survival hinges on your group’s ability to solve a series of puzzles which hold the keys to release you,” said Jim Shirbroun, the associate director of Wesley Foundation and campus minister. “Succeed, and you’ll live another day to boast of your immense brain. Fail, and you won’t be needing your brain, if you know what we mean.”

The attraction is a fundraiser for the Spring Break mission trip that is funded by the church every year. This year members of the mission trip will be traveling to the Heifer Project Ranch in Perryville, Ark.

Tickets are $10 per person or $7 per person in a group of six or more. The maximum group size allowed is 12 people.

The lab will be operating Oct. 31 through Nov 1. However, it may go beyond the Halloween season if there is a demand.

Contact Shirbroun via e-mail at [email protected] to reserve tickets.