Behind The Screams

After decades of scares, can you believe that Employee 001 still works for ScareHouse? Meet actor Tracy Campbell.

Scott Simmons [ScareHouse Creative Director] and I worked together many moons ago in television,” says Tracy. “I worked in news as a writer and producer. Back in the MySpace days, Scott and I were still in touch, and he messaged me on there. He said, ‘Hey, do you want to get dressed up like a monster and be in a commercial?’ And I was like, ‘Okay!’ And the rest is history.”

After the commercial, Scott asked Tracy about more work, (“Hey, do you wanna act?” “Okay!”) and eventually she found herself saying an enthusiastic “Okay!” to a position managing The Basement.

Through the years, some of Tracy’s favorite ScareHouse roles include her four years in Delirium’s 3D section (“I wasn’t scary, but I was at a party, and it was in my brain”), playing a nurse (“I work in STD research as my day job, so I made it an uncomfortable scene for people”), and morphing into Patty, the Crazy Cat Lady, which proved to be a bit therapeutic.

“I would make people do cheers because I was a cheerleader in high school or make them do aerobics because I taught aerobics. I would show pictures of my real cat. I would take chunks of my real life and put it on steroids. I wasn’t scary, but it was such a fun character to interact with.”

Even though many of Tracy’s characters aren’t necessarily ones that always send chills up people’s spines, she enjoys the engagement with guests.

“The scaring thing is a release, but even if you’re not a scary character, even that interaction and getting a laugh, that’s also a release of endorphins. If you have a bad day at work and you’re yelling the whole time, that’s a release. And if you’re making people laugh and joking around, that’s also a release. It releases those creative energies.”

While Tracy got her start with ScareHouse in a commercial, she’s in fact still doing ads for the haunt after all these years. When you’re driving on Route 28 from Pittsburgh to ScareHouse, you might notice the billboard guiding you there.

“I was driving, bopping to my music, and then I saw my spooky face they used from a photo shoot. I almost choked on my gum.”