As 2024 starts to close, and the doors have firmly shut on the haunt season, I reflect on where this last year has taken me.
This year was calmer than 2023, no doubt about that, but there was still plenty of growth and learning. Both in my haunt career and in my personal life. I could go on and on about how I grew personally, but I’m not sure that’s what you’re all tuning in for. Maybe I’m off, and you do care about that side of things, but hey, we’ll probably dive into more of our personal lives in future episodes. For now, though, the focus is HAUNTS! So, let me jump into what this year has taught me when it comes to haunt life.
I learned so much more about the complexities of animatronics. I feel like just as I am getting to understand them something new comes up that I didn't think of, and that is largely because of Alexa.
Alexa this year, dove into the deep end of the world of animatronics and being a beacon of hope around the entire subject. She continually makes a point to show anyone who wants to know everything she knows, and then some. This season, and year, couldn't have been done without her! Sharing her knowledge and passion with me every step of the way. Her love for this craft is infectious, and through her guidance, I find myself constantly learning and if anyone knows me well enough, you know I love learning. It's amazing how the roles can reverse, where the mentor becomes the mentee, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I'm truly grateful for the experience, and I am so thankful for her.
Secondly, I learned a lot about what it takes to manage a team differently than I have in the past. Not to say how I've operated before was wrong or bad, just different, and that's thanks to Melissa. She often provides a very introspective point of view, and it's refreshing and needed. Working directly with Melissa over the past three years, and this one in particular, I can’t imagine going through all of this with anyone else. Like Alexa, I’m constantly learning from her. Especially when it comes to managing the overwhelming amount of work we handle every single day. The trials and tribulations we face together, and the countless tasks that often go unnoticed by others, are all part of a thankless job. But with her by my side and her voice in my ear, the process of building, creating, and mentoring feels so much more manageable than it has in the past. She knows exactly when to reel me in, and when to let me run with my wild ideas, sometimes to our detriment. Together, we take those ideas and turn them into reality, navigating the how, when, what, and why every step of the way, and it's so appreciated.
Lastly, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Bob for always keeping me grounded. He has this incredible ability to solve problems, no matter how silly or complex, that leaves me amazed at how simple the solutions are. Honestly, I often feel a little silly for not thinking of them myself! Beyond that, Bob has been my emotional anchor, offering reassurance, whether I’ve asked for it or not. His steady presence and support have been more meaningful to me than words can express. I truly couldn’t do this whole haunt thing without him. The biggest lesson he’s taught me is that no matter how daunting a problem may seem, there’s always a solution. Even when things look like the end of the world, Bob reminds me that there’s always a way forward. Also, he would hate me thanking him like this so I hope no one shows this to him ever.
There are so many more to thank, and it would be a year's worth of text alone, but these three keep reminding me of why I, we, do this, and it's because we fucking love it.
Well, this was supposed to be a growth post, and it's morphed into me just thanking those who are around me. However, without their support, I wouldn't have grown in the ways that I did. Gratitude and growth do go hand in hand.
More onto the growth part; One thing I always tell my staff is to never stop learning, and that's what this year brought me - lots of new lessons to learn. From animatronic know-how to how the heck to manage me better around my everlasting need for the haunt to be perfect (shocker, it will never be perfect)
I think this was my biggest takeaway of this year. Things will never be perfect, and the haunt isn't anything to cry over. But I will always put my blood and sweat into every inch of it - as we all do.
Needless to say, I have spent many times during our load in hiding in one of our haunts crying about something stupid, and I still have those moments but it's less so now. I don't know if many of my male counterparts have similar moments, but this is something that happens to me and some of those around me.
We put so much pressure on ourselves to get it right the first time. We have big dreams and hopes for what things can be, but sometimes we have to be ok with missing our mark (that we have set for ourselves). Our general clientele isn't looking at those small details and going "Wow, I wish they had more fake blood in this one spot in particular" and if they are, we haven't done our jobs of ensuring they are looking where they should be looking and, newsflash, it will never be in that spot we have hyper fixated on for 30 mins.
So this year I was reminded to relax more and trust that my team is doing exactly what they should be doing. As well, as just remembering who the fuck we all are in this grand scheme of providing entertainment to the masses.
It matters to us, but it only matters for a second to the guests. We can only do so much. Through the problems, through the breaking of animatronics, through the lights and the fog. The only thing that matters is how we make the guests feel. That's it.
The rest is fodder, and if anyone ever tells you otherwise - they are lying and trying to sell you a product.
Thanks for reading this far, and thanks all for a lovely 2024 haunt season <3
Happy haunting yall 🎃🎃 👻👻