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Show 1 o zj Costume, at Rocky make-up all part of show Point Haunted House i STEVE CONLINTHE SIGNPOST By Mark Forsberg Signpost managing editor "I just take the heartbeats of the dinosaur eggs., basic lab tech work," said Gina Erikson about half an hour before she was to go on duty. Erickson's coworker, Brandon Scroggins, works as a clown in a room full of strobe lights. Scroggins' job is simple: helping people not find their way out. Both Erickson and Scroggins' jobs are perfectly normal for where they work; the Rocky Point Haunted House. The Salt Lake and Ogden chapters of Rocky Point employ a cast of about 240 actors and a crew of 20. Almost all of them are volunteers. All proceeds from the two houses go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.Erickson, a volunteer, said she loves her job. "Everyone gets along here, It's like a big family." Scroggins, the clown, said he likes his position. "It's fun to confuse people. I know how to use the strobe lights better that they do." Cast member Dave Trease said he's been whipped, worked in cage and operated the Scareassic Park. But his expertise seems to be jumping out from corners. "I've made about four dozen people fall down, just by startling them," Trease said. "And there hasn't been a night yet where somebody hasn't wet their pants." "We've had problems, like a girl who was pushing the actors. People come in off the 'Vard (Washington Boulevard) and just want to cause trouble," he said. "The other night we had some gangs pushing people around." Troublemakers are usually apprehended and politely asked to leave, he said. "Some people stick with the same room," he said. "We help them some, but a lot of them work up their own little bits to add to the effects." The cardinal rule, he said, is not to touch people. "I've heard about haunted houses where this point isn't emphasized. They have a reputation for being dangerous. I don't see a point to that," he said. IMMMMIMIMMMIIIIIIIIIIMIIIII Enjoy your meal on kt to Dee Events Center's Harrison B!;i pain entrance A peek behind the masks By Mark Forsberg Signpost managing editor The ghoul that startles you may only be visible for a second or two, but that doesn't faze David Garlitz and Tom Wilson, who put hours into effects and costumes at the Rocky Point Haunted House. "It's fun as hell," said Garlitz, who spends about two hours nightly decorating the cast of Rocky Point. "We'll get to do make-up all day, and then we get to scare people at night," he said. Both Garlitz and Wilson spend equal amounts of time applying latex cuts and abrasions. They also aid with the props. Garlitz said he started make-up on Halloween when he bought a kit from a store. "Since then it's been a contest to see how real I can make the cuts and road-rash look." He recalled an instance when a friend he had made up was pulled over by an officer. His friend was nearly arrested for brawling before he could prove his wounds weren't real. Wilson said he started doing make-up when he was10-years-old and helped a church group put on a haunted house. This year marked his seventeenth in the make-up business."I love doing this," he said. "I wish I could do it all the time." mm fiS Sports Deli Sandwich Shop 4396 Harrison Blvd. Ogden, UT 84403 (801) 392-5565 our open air deck f f o uimmminin mimm |