It’s haunted house season, and there’s no one (alive, anyway) who can haunt like Scary Gary, who got his start two decades ago with The Darkness.
See also: This Is What It’s Like To Run a Haunted House
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Here’s what we learned from St. Louis’ most professional scarer:
- When someone’s taking off running, you know you’ve done what you’re supposed to do.
- I got started 23 years ago, when my wife saw an article in the paper about an opening at The Darkness. She knew I was interested in haunted things.
- The guy didn’t want to hire me, because I looked homeless.
- I’m the one who’s stayed the longest with The Darkness. I’m an original one. But I’m getting older, and I’m not as good as I used to be.
- One year, they wanted me to run the haunt—but I’m more of a people person, so I wanted to be out front.
- The industry gets better and better every year. When we first started out, we just had junk. Now it’s animatronics, sound effects, fog machines… It’s fantastic.
- Those who know me come up and hug me. You’ll always walk away with blood on your face if you’ve been with Scary Gary. That’s my marking now.
- There are a lot of jealous boyfriends. Whenever we go out to restaurants, girls come up to me and ask for a picture. They say, “We love you, Scary Gary!”… My wife says they can have me.
- I scared one girl so bad, she jumped out of the car and left it rolling down the street.
- I can be your worst nightmare. People will message me, saying they looked under their beds when they got home.
- I do a lot of conventions, but I’ve also done Oktoberfest and Mardi Gras. I was at Ballpark Village in July; a lot of the people recognized me.
- My trademark at conventions is giving people the finger. I throw fake fingers.
- I once got pulled over going 70 miles per hour in a hearse on my way to Channel 2 at 4 a.m. In full makeup. The cop didn’t give me a ticket, because he said everyone would laugh at him.
- There are times when you don’t want to be bothered. If I’m in makeup, I don’t mind if you hug me—but don’t come near me if I’m not in makeup.
- I’m not a celebrity. I’m just a normal person having fun.
