Actors are the number one comodity in every haunted house production. They put their body into a room and fill it with great interactive entertainment. No matter what kind of make-up, no matter what kind of mask, good or bad, the actor brings creativity and inspiration that makes any show capable of being the best.

In the Line of Fire
Putting an actor in a treacherous situation is a sure fire way of losing them to injury or interest. The whole point of the experience of acting is to have fun. When an actor is placed in a situation like a fog-filled room with strobing light and no protective rails, the actor is taking an unecessary risk. I participated at a local haunt once where one theme was a walk through maze of chain-link fence. The room was filled with fog, had stobes all over the place, and no rails for protection. The problem with a room design like that is not that there were no rails, because there were plenty of escape doors to get out. There was so much fog used to fill the room and with the strobes flashing, made it hard for the actors to judge distance. There was at least one incident a night where an actor got hit and sometimes, knocked to the floor.
Casting Directors, Managers, Producers, and Owners should always take precautions that start in the first stage of production, the blueprint. Establishing spaces within a room for the actors to find escape routes is the most critical stage in safety for the actor. The rooms should always have an acess door, wall where the actor can get out in case of emergency. Long hallways should also be avoided, because very often a staff member may be lurking in a hallway when six or seven patrons scared out of their minds come racing down the hall and trample over the staff member. Creating a runway strip isn't the best idea. Besides, the best option is to keep the customers inside as long as possible. If a long hallway is necessary, then create coves for the staff to duck into, on either side (if possible) of the hall. All staff members must be protected at all times.

Behind the Rail
In situations where haunters have a younger cast of actors, they wear masks and therefore, their vision is slightly impared. Extra consideration has to be taken for the safety and welfare of the actors. In that type of scenario, protective rails should always be used to guard against abuse. Not all haunts with younger actors use rails. It's a risk but then they have to rely on security staff to back them up. Some haunts even stage a "dummy" customer in line to gauge some of the unruly customers and get them out before a situation even occurs. Usually the actors between the ages of 11-16 should always be inside the rails of a haunt inside or outside and a member of the staff or security close by. I can't stress how important I feel it is to have a physical member of the staff close by to protect a younger member of the staff. Just in case a radio goes out and a staff member can't communicate, a member of security will always be there. It shows the organizations comittment to professionalism, respect for the unruly patrons, and a relief for the parents. Also, it is a wise move to never leave a younger actor alone in a room. A more experienced and older actor should act beside them and perhaps even perform a skit or interact with them. If extra attention is paid to some of these subtle details, the haunted experience that we all love and enjoy will be a much more pleasant experience.