The tenth annual HalloWeekends at Cedar Point provides students with an opportunity not only for entertainment, but for a fun side job.

During September and throughout October, the amusement park is transformed into a spooky play land featuring roaming “Screamsters”, live entertainment, haunted houses, rides and entertainment for kids.

Sophomore Josh Jones was asked to be a part of the HalloWeekends after the man in charge saw him perform as the beast in Beauty and the Beast.

He is excited to be working as a live performer at Cedar Point this season since it is his first taste of scaring people. Jones goes home every weekend to work at the park and plans on doing it next year as well.

“I work as a live performer with others as part of an illusion,” he said. “The best part is scaring younger kids when they come up with their friends and girlfriends and act like I won’t be able to scare them.”

New this fall will be Fear Faire, a new haunted walk-through attraction. Located just off the Main Midway, guests will enter through one of two castle portals and find themselves in the middle of a renaissance festival filled with various street vendors.

According to Public Relations Manager Bryan Edwards, the new attraction will create a scary atmosphere for guests.

“We turn down the lights and fill Fear Faire will a heavy, thick fog that makes it almost impossible to see what’s in front of you,” he said. “Medieval characters lurk behind every corner and in the fog, just waiting to scare unsuspecting guests.”

Fear Faire is the fourth outdoor walk-through attractions, combining the best of CarnEvil and Fright Zone.

CarnEvil features spooky clowns and sideshow freaks and Fright Zone is filled with fog and ominous creatures that roam around. Other forms of entertainment for those who don’t like being scared include live music, fortune telling and magicians.

On top of entertaining and scaring people, this is an easy way to make some extra money for college students.

According to sophomore Alexis Kollay, the application process is simple. She filled out an online application and then completed a phone interview.

“I was asked questions regarding my acting experience, my physical capabilities (they were looking for those who wouldn’t tire easily or become upset by being pushed around in the dark walkways), my availability, and my excitement for Halloween themes,” she said.

As Screamsters, they are to be in character at all times when in front of guests. During the interview, they wanted to be sure that each person was up to the acting challenge.

They also hoped that each Screamster enjoys Halloween and the act of scaring others to make for a more interesting and exciting environment for guests. According to Kollay, it was not unlikely that a guest becomes so frightened that he/she hits a Screamster or something of the like.

After interviewing, the participants attend an orientation meeting where the ground rules are learned and costumes are determined.

“I played the dead bride. The costume from the previous year worked well with my body type. We were encouraged to develop a character for ourselves based on our costumes and own creative ideas,” she said. “I found that my character was most frightening when silent. I was proud to hear guests say that I was the ‘creepiest’ character. I snuck up quietly behind guests and swooped out in front of them.”

Kollay said it was a great feeling to see a guest’s eyes grow wide as they scream with terror. She added that the best scares of all were the ones when a guest would lose control to the point of spilling a cup full of beer or wetting themselves.

She said the coolest part of her costume was her face. She only wore a half mask. It covered one full half of her face, leaving the other side natural.

“I think that guests were so afraid because there was an element of reality to me. It was as if it was possible for someone to look that horrible,” she said.

Kollay is happy to have met a lot of new people and had the great experience; however, her schedule is too busy to return this year.

“It was a great feeling to be friends with the man with the chainsaw or the demon around the corner,” Kollay said.