From Haunting to Amusing Hong Kong gets into the spooky spirit
By David Tam
Sam Wong is an expert of spook. It’s very much a part of his job. Wong is the director of Ocean Park’s popular Halloween Show, otherwise known as the Haunted House.
“We have to understand the characteristics of the mask before we scare people stiff,” said Wong, who has been able to put the skills that he learned from drama school to good use. “We have to make eye contacts, read out lines and move in characters. It’s pretty much the same as performing on stage but in a more interactive way.”
What are other ways to spook the crowds? How about contortionists, whch Disneyland has incorporated into the show.
“People are amazed by my contortion performance and usually could not believe in what I am doing,” said Ariunsanaa Bataa, a contortionist who performs at Disneyland’s Halloween Show. “With a strong storyline combined with my contortion, I can reveal the extraordinary dark side of my character by twisting my body into unnatural yet elegant positions to impress the audience.”
The element of surprise is one of the keys to the scare factor. Generating heavy smoke creates a creepy mood and devils jump out at the crowds from dark corners in the ghost house. “People panic because they are uneasy with the unknown,” said Big John, the Ocean Park’s talent director and trainer.
