Not ND, but I'm pretty sure the Halloween Horror Nights mazes don't involve being touched by the scare actors. That's the sort of thing that only happens in the more "extreme" haunted house places, and the're usually pretty up-front about warning patrons about possible touching.

... which reminds me, I should see if there's been any word on this year's Blackout NYC scare attraction. No way would I ever go through it, but it's fascinating to read about.

Hey, ND--a couple other questions--he's going to the Florida one--are they both similar? He's worried he'll have an episode and not be able to get out. And he's worried about being touched as part of the show. Is there a safe word, in Cali, at least? And touching?

No, the actors aren't supposed to touch but it is an enclosed space with lots of people in it. They will also get very close to people without touching. He will get pushed and jostled by the other patrons. There is also an issue of fight or flight response. I've seen far too many guests get scared in a haunted house by an actor in a rubber mask, and the fight response kicks in, and they haul back and punch the actor. We've had more than a few folks sent to the hospital due to this. There will be lots of loud sounds, and flashing strobe lights, and possibly things like simulated gunfire. To be honest if he's this concerned about it being a trigger, I don't think it is going to be worth going through it. Yes, they can get him out, but if it looks like a real problem, they may completely stop the attraction and turn up the lights and dump the audience to safely get him out. They policy is to err on the side of safety if a guest appears to be in trouble.

ita asked the question I wanted to know. I want to go to one of these things, but am freaked out by the possibility of being touched or getting some shit thrown on me. The latter is a much bigger issue than being touched.

I would flip OUT if fake blood is thrown on me.

Thanks for asking the question ita. I was kind of feeling stupid for wanting to ask that question.

no student should scream at you for any reason. I think these fools need to be reprimanded or worse.

I agree, but there's not much I can do. I sent my supervisor an email about what happened, because I'm pretty sure they might go to her to try to get me overruled, so now she knows what's going on with them, and she agrees with me about what their grade should be.

(This is complicated somewhat by the fact that several other students told me that, at the review session run by the campus learning center, the guy running the session did a similar problem and did it wrong, and the answer that these guys gave was wrong in that same way.)

Girly TMI: I have been on bcps for a long time now, and I went off of them in April. This month I am remembering just how awful my periods were before bcps. Do not like.

IOmemeN, the did the surgery on my uncle yesterday, but they did not close up the hole in his lung because they found them to be full of infection, so they are going to be treating that first. My grandfather's foot is doing much better, and he's on a ton of antibiotics to treat it.

Hil,

I don't understand. This is separate from the grade issue. Students should not register a complaint about grading by screaming at you.

This issue cannot be addressed?

I don't think that it was quite at the level where I could formally file anything against them, and I really don't know what to do otherwise.

okay, I'll let you handle your business.

from afar I continue to be appalled.

or getting some shit thrown on me.

Well, we don't throw things at people, but we do use lots of water gags. A actor will cut into a fake body and they will have a way to trigger a water spray so it seems like you just got hit with a blood spray. It's just plain water though.

Oh, I'm glad I could get you an answer to your unasked question, LeN.

Thanks, ND! That will be enough info for him to decide. I think he's trying to tough it out--I don't know why I'm trying so hard to convince him not to go, but it really doesn't sound like he's up to it, from what little I know of him online. Some people need a cathode ray tube between them and the macabre. And, good lord, what am I going to say when the last CRT is taken away from us?