 |
| Photo by Patty Murphy |
by Bruce Carroll
Every year, for five or six weekends in September and October, monsters invade the theme park.
It is all part of Fright Fest, a spooky celebration at SixFlags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois . I have worked as one of
the scaractors (scary actors) in the park for five seasons, now. I’ve played a
zombie pawn shop owner, a demonic “Founding Father” figure, and a clown (or as
we scareactors like to refer to it on social media, a klown). There are
monsters in haunted houses and monsters on the midway (not to be confused with the Chicago Bears). I’m usually one of the
“street actors,” delivering my scares on the midway.
Last season, there were two major changes to Fright Fest.
First was a new guideline referred to as #NoMercy. The monsters come out at six
p.m. Anyone in the park after that time is a fair target. We are allowed to
scare anyone, of any age, virtually anywhere in the park. The second change was
the addition of a new character, Nox, the Demon Overlord of Fright Fest.
Nox is big. Nox is scary. At just a tad over seven feet tall
with a strong baritone voice, Nox easily inspires terror in the hearts of
nearly every guest in the park. But he also inspires admiration.
Two weekends ago, a little girl came to the park. She met
Nox and became a huge fan.
That night, she went home. She had an idea; a creative
project she wanted to do. She asked for her parents’ help, and they gladly gave
it.
The very next day, the little girl came back to Fright Fest dressed as Nox himself! Her parents had helped her modify a mask to look
like the Demon Overlord. Nox saw her, and was pleased. (His response was, “I
have no words.”) He dubbed this new junior demon Nyx.
I don’t know what other name you go by, Nyx, but I am glad
to have you as a part of our monstrous family. Let the scaring begin!
Update on the Update
A different child created this:
Clearly, Nox has his fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment