Sammy Reilly (12) crept quietly behind the black partition as a group of elementary-schoolers stumbled through the dark room at the Deer Canyon Monster Mash. Reilly jumped out, and the students screamed, running away in terror at the sight of the Pierrot clown.
“It’s really fun, because not only are you able to scare people, [but] I also find it a really nice way to be creative,” Reilly said. “You can create your own characters, dress up, and have a reason to go buck wild.”
After being introduced to scare events three years ago, Reilly has been working at the Deer Canyon Monster Mash and similar events every Halloween. Reilly has found his driving force for participating in Halloween is to deck out in elaborate costumes that he designs and creates.
“Instead of being told what to do, you have almost complete freedom.” Reilly said. “I’ve made about three major costumes with this intention of being independent with my acting. I began making costumes seriously back in 2021, where I found a profound interest in character and costume designing.”
The creative freedom is Reilly’s favorite part of designing Halloween costumes. He looks for characters that he thinks he can embody. Then, when creating an original costume, he dedicates time to crafting the distinct traits of his character, beginning with a fictional backstory.
“My very favorite thing about making the costume is coming up with it, [and] the general idea,” Reilly said. “If it’s an original character that hasn’t already been established, I make a backstory. I make [up a] personality and different mannerisms they have before I go about getting or making their costume.”
Over the years, Reilly has furthered his craft of costume-making through learning how to design garment templates, how to embroider, and how to 3D model. Reilly said he has recently honed his skills with a sewing machine to better execute the vision he has for each costume and character.
“I didn’t know how to sew very well last year, nor was I able to properly use a sewing machine, so that hampered a lot of different ideas that I had,” Reilly said. “But now, since I’ve grown, I’ve been able to more accurately depict my ideas and creativity.”
Being someone who is drawn to horror, Reilly discovered the interest through a desire to face his fears of the unknown.
“What scares me most in life is what’s unknown and what I usually don’t encounter,” Reilly said. “It gives a nice twist [to life]. Unusual things in life are a nice change from mundane tasks in life and sometimes even stirs up some thought. ”
Reilly said the scare events can be inspiring for both the creator of the costumes and the kids who are terrified by them.
“[Scare Events] allows you to express different ideas that you may not otherwise be able to show.” Reilly said. It’s good for kids’ creativity, it shows [them] that you’re able to do whatever you want to in the creative process. You can make the most absurd things come to life.”
Reilly has been acting in theater since middle school, but he has found that the majority of scare events, such as Deer Canyon’s Monster Mash, differ from acting, requiring better improvisation and range. This distinction from theater acting has improved Reilly’s confidence, reassuring him about his acting abilities and creative range.
“In scare acting, it’s more improv and being your own character.” Reilly said. “You get to make choices that wouldn’t otherwise be in your control. [Interacting with horror] reassures me that I have range in acting and in creative choices. It lets me know that despite playing a role I don’t usually do, [I’m] still effective in [my] job.”
Horror has not only impacted his costume-making, but also Reilly’s self-confidence. Through the creation of personas and the years performing at scare events, Reilly said he feels like he found his voice.
“I used to be a very shy person and I would never talk,” Reilly said. “But after having this horror-like persona, it got me to come out of my shell more. I got to socialize, and I learned people aren’t actually as scary as I think they are.”
