Haunting Tales: Erzie the Fish Bride
Jul. 31st, 2010 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elionwyrSo I’ve written about how exactly I came to be a haunt actor. One of the things that makes me eminently useful in a haunted attraction is that I can also scream my head off all night and not lose my voice.
Yessirree, I’m a screamer. Makes me SO popular with the boys, too!
..Ahem.
ANYWAY. One of the roles at Grisly that was often difficult to fill was that of Erzabet Grisly. Many haunts incorporate the idea of a cursed bride into their storyline. We handled the plot point a little differently. Some years, Erzabet was cursed because she was interrupted during her wedding preparations, and her bloody reflection pulled her into her mirror. Other years – most years – she found her groom in a compromising position on their wedding night with Raven the chamber maid, and in a fit of rage tried to cut out his heart.
(We did this sans gore. Because that’s the way the Grislys roll, y0.)
The biggest issue with the role of Erzabet was that she needed to be able to let out a quality shriek without blowing out her vocal cords. It’s a little surprising to me how many women actually physically cannot scream.
I do not have this problem.
One year, Grisly was set up in the basement of a farmer’s market. Erzabet’s attic was positioned directly underneath the fish market portion of said location, and just about every night there would be a puddle of slimy fish water in the room. One of the first things on Allan’s agenda, therefore, was to make sure that water had been dryvacc’ed up and removed from said room.
Usually he remembered to do both parts of this task.
..Usually.
So here I am, in a wedding gown, sans glasses, getting ready to leap like a gazelle from a coffin at a group of visitors.
I wait for the cue.
I leap, screaming.
…Annnnd I hit that bucket of fish water.
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-squeak!”
Thus was Erzie the Fish Bride born.
SLOWLY I turned after the group had left my room and, holding the dress as far away from me as I could, I went off in search of Allan.
Who looked horrified and walked backwards away from me, stuttering out an apology.
“Just make sure this thing gets cleaned by tomorrow night,” I said through gritted teeth.
Lesson learned: Always have a back-up costume. Just in case.
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Yessirree, I’m a screamer. Makes me SO popular with the boys, too!
..Ahem.
ANYWAY. One of the roles at Grisly that was often difficult to fill was that of Erzabet Grisly. Many haunts incorporate the idea of a cursed bride into their storyline. We handled the plot point a little differently. Some years, Erzabet was cursed because she was interrupted during her wedding preparations, and her bloody reflection pulled her into her mirror. Other years – most years – she found her groom in a compromising position on their wedding night with Raven the chamber maid, and in a fit of rage tried to cut out his heart.
(We did this sans gore. Because that’s the way the Grislys roll, y0.)
The biggest issue with the role of Erzabet was that she needed to be able to let out a quality shriek without blowing out her vocal cords. It’s a little surprising to me how many women actually physically cannot scream.
I do not have this problem.
One year, Grisly was set up in the basement of a farmer’s market. Erzabet’s attic was positioned directly underneath the fish market portion of said location, and just about every night there would be a puddle of slimy fish water in the room. One of the first things on Allan’s agenda, therefore, was to make sure that water had been dryvacc’ed up and removed from said room.
Usually he remembered to do both parts of this task.
..Usually.
So here I am, in a wedding gown, sans glasses, getting ready to leap like a gazelle from a coffin at a group of visitors.
I wait for the cue.
I leap, screaming.
…Annnnd I hit that bucket of fish water.
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-squeak!”
Thus was Erzie the Fish Bride born.
SLOWLY I turned after the group had left my room and, holding the dress as far away from me as I could, I went off in search of Allan.
Who looked horrified and walked backwards away from me, stuttering out an apology.
“Just make sure this thing gets cleaned by tomorrow night,” I said through gritted teeth.
Lesson learned: Always have a back-up costume. Just in case.
Click Here to Donate