Scaring for a living

Ghouls on the job have been pinched, pushed, punched, kicked, slapped and even spat at when they failed to get out of the way fast enough.

A group of Chinese men once pestered the pontianak for 4D numbers. A batch of young girls harassed a particular hunky zombie for his handphone number and refused to leave.

I had mixed reactions on the job.

"Hello cutie!" one guy smiles while tugging my hair.

"The Grudge! The Grudge!" another girl yells into my ear.

"Now you don't want to see something like that on the first day of the Chinese New Year!" two Chinese men point at my face.

And when I tried projecting a "tiger" roar at a Caucasian girl, she screamed so loudly she sent me fleeing into the tunnel. After my heart has stopped pounding, I realise that scaring is hard work. It takes focus, energy and effort to scare effectively and repeatedly in the dark for hours. My fellow ghouls with the rubber masks start perspiring profusely within minutes. And I wonder how our pontianak, Sharifah, can cackle all day long.

For many of Scream Park's resident ghosts, scaring is addictive; it is even therapeutic to see people quaking with fear, then laughing in relief.

"I enjoy this job as I get a kick out of everyone I scare!" declares Zamrin Mohamad, 31, who runs a shisha caf? after park hours.

"I've always loved scaring my friends and family. Now I get paid to do it!" says newcomer Alvin Patrick, 22.

For Herwanto Tamjis, 23, Scream Park is an opportunity for this talented make-up artist to practise his craft.

And not just youths like this unusual occupation. Nadiya Abdullah, 52, was formerly a videographer who got tired of the long hours and stress.

"This job is fun," says Nadiya, who plays a zombie. "My three children in their 30s think it's cool. My grandkids think I'm cool. And I do enjoy scaring my daughters-in-law when they visit!"

Ghouls love sharing stories about visitors' reactions. They also enjoy solemnly retelling strange sightings of a sisterly pair of ghosts wandering around Scream Park.

And there's the little boy who's constantly seen after the lights are out when all the hired ghosts have gone home....

-The Star/Asia News Network