Boo! We love Halloween; here are some ways creative innovators are celebrating it.
- “Scary Creative” for Halloween October 31, 2024
An Over Coffee® special-edition podcast!
“There’s so much more to haunting than just getting a startle,” says legendary haunter Shar Mayer.
“I want you to scream. I want you to cry. But I’m going to respect you as a human…I’m not into torturing people. I just want them to scream, and be scared.”
In this 2018 interview, recorded onsite at ScareLA, Shar, who is a haunt consultant, producer, scare actor and all-round “scary creative” (she mentors and teaches aspiring haunters and workshops) shares some of her favorite insights on creating an effective and fun Halloween “scare”.
And she even offers some low-cost tips on ghoulish makeup that could work for you today–and which uses ingredients you may have in your kitchen!
Happy Halloween, be safe and stay innovative!
On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover:
- How haunting became Shar’s passion;
- Why she sees scaring someone as a “relationship” of sorts;
- A “how-to” mini-lesson on horror makeup–and some easy scary looks to create this Halloween;
- The techniques behind successful haunting;
- Shar’s advice to scare actors as they prepare to work in a haunt (including the number-one thing to do, to succeed!);
- The psychology and boundaries of professionalism in haunting;
- How to stay safe, as a haunter;
- The ways Shar has seen the haunt industry change, over her four decades as a haunter
- The Science of Fear October 7, 2024
Happy “scary season”! For the start of October, we’re reposting one of our all-time favorite Halloween-themed interviews. Enjoy!
(Photo courtesy of Dr. Margee Kerr, and used with permission.) “BOO!”
“Ohhh, you scared me!” (Laughter.)
What just happened. scientifically speaking? And how might that experience help you deal with things that really scare you, in daily life?
Sociologist, author, educator and haunt consultant Dr. Margee Kerr can explain all of the above.
Margee has done extensive research on the science of fear. For two years, she traveled the world, seeking experiences she’d consider “scary’–and exhilarating–as research for her book, Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear.
A faculty lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh, Margee has also served as haunt consultant for museums and the ScareHouse haunt, in the Pittsburgh area.
But that’s only one aspect of her expertise.
Margee’s research is ongoing, as she uses what she’s learned, about fear, to help others overcome fear in daily life. She is the creator of the “Understanding and Overcoming Fear” course on the Great Courses website, and explores the subject in her sociology classes at the University of Pittsburgh.
She is also the co-author of a second book, “Ouch!: Why Pain Hurts, and Why It Doesn’t Have To,” on which she collaborated with Linda Rodriguez McRobbie.
Margee explained the science behind a good scare, shared some of the stories of her experiences while researching Scream and offered some ways that science can work to create an effective, yet enjoyable, Halloween experience.
On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:
- How Margee first became interested in haunts and the science of fear;
- How her book, Scream, ultimately resulted from her research and her work with a popular Pittsburgh haunt;
- Some of her creative challenges, as an artist designing haunt experiences;
- A closer look at some of the scientific reasons we enjoy Halloween scares;
- How being alone, or with others, will affect the ways we experience a scare;
- An important point to remember, about “fun” fear experiences;
- How to use the science of fear, as explored in Scream, to create a compelling haunt experience;
- The haunt that scared Margee the most during her research, and why she found it effective;
- Her experience “ghost hunting”, in the allegedly most-haunted location in the U.S.;
- How real-life fear can be used to create haunt experiences, based on the three types of fear which Margee outlines in Scream;
- Why something that scares us can be empowering;
- Margee’s takeaways for daily life, from her research findings on fear.
- STEAM and You June 10, 2024
Over Coffee® is on one-week summer hiatus. Please enjoy this reposting of our special-edition podcast, which explores what we’re all about!
(Royalty-free image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay.) As a creative person, how might you use S.T.E.A.M.?
There are numerous opportunities.
Most creative work involves some blend of the elements of science, technology, engineering, art and math.
In this special-edition episode, we explore the various aspects of S.T.E.A.M. in a wide range of creative and innovative projects.
On this edition of Over Coffee®:
Sociologist, author, educator and haunt consultant Dr. Margee Kerr explains some of the science of our enjoyment of a good Halloween scare.;
Fairchild Botanic Garden Director of Education Amy Padolf discusses the citizen-science classroom program, Growing Beyond Earth, which she developed in partnership with NASA.
University of Chicago doctoral student and Calico robot developer Anup Sathya offers a look at the tiny wearable robot he and his colleagues developed.
La Canada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Director of Float Development Pam Wiedenbeck explains the engineering elements behind award-winning float creativity.
Meow Wolf Senior Creative Director Spencer Olsen explores the ways science, technology, engineering and math serve as vehicles for the creativity of local and international artists in Meow Wolf’s second permanent installation, Omega Mart.
CSULB Director of Educator Preparation Dr. Fred Uy offers a math lesson for artists! (Want more? Dr. Uy previously served as a member of the Steering Committee of the California STEAM Symposium–the eleventh annual edition of which is happening February 9-10 in Long Beach!)
And thank you, to all the talented musicians whose royalty-free music we’ve used as transitional elements in this special-edition podcast! You’ll find them all on Pixabay’s music section–and they’re available to be hired for independent work!
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