Семья из Эскондидо превратила страйк-актинг в увлекательное хобби и карьерный старт для сыновей

BRAWLEY — Imperial Valley native Armando Padilla and his two sons never expected to be scare actors, but an unexpected twist of fate led them to it and to discovering a thrilling and supportive haunt community in Southern California. The family recently participated in Midsummer Scream, a 3-day Halloween-themed convention held in Long Beach and one of the biggest Halloween conventions in the U.S. Many vendors, entertainers, and entrepreneurs set up shop there, and the convention also hosts haunted houses and slider shows. A BUHS class of ‘92 graduate, Padilla moved to San Diego right after graduating and now resides in Escondido with his family. He now does digital marketing, multimedia design, and e-commerce. He and his family are now active in the haunt community and enjoy scare acting as a weekend hobby. Padilla explained what his sons will be doing at Midsummer Scream. “People are going to walk into the Hall of Shadows, and my oldest son will be scaring for a company called Eulogy Collective. It is a year-round haunt located in the city of Anaheim, right across from Disneyland,” he said. Padiolla himself was a panelist for the “History of Sliding,” where he focused on the positive impact sliding has had on his sons, “The Esco Sliders,” which led to them becoming talented scare actors. A slider show in the haunt community is a more performative and specialized performance or exhibition showcasing “haunt sliding,” an aggressive stunt and scare tactic where costumed actors suddenly hurl themselves across the ground, scraping metal-tipped knee pads and gloves against the pavement to create a loud, startling rush of sparks and sound. Both his sons have been part of the haunt and slider community since December of 2025 with Eulogy Collective. So far, Myles, age 15, and Drakken, age 14, both enjoy what the haunting community has to offer. They both find it fun, collaborative, and entertaining. Padilla remembers when they attended their first haunt together, back in 2021. “I believe they were ages 9 and 10. They were just so inspired,” he said. “My wife and I drive our sons out there. That’s what they love to do. So we drive out there almost every weekend.” “As a family, we did a drive-thru haunt all dressed as scary clowns. And my boys had such a blast,” he added. “The next day, on Halloween night, we did our home haunt, and they were scaring people way older than them. Adults were screaming and yelling, and the boys thought, ‘This is really fun.’” Padilla explained how from that point forward, the family was enchanted with the idea of being involved with haunting and sliding—and the rest was history. “What we discovered is that, in Orange County, Halloween is year-round. Typically, it’s thought of as a single-day holiday. But people are always honing their craft and making their costumes. We pretty much haven’t stopped since 2021. It’s just been a really good creative outlet for the boys,” he explained. Their hobby not only involves being scary, but the boys also started making their own costumes and masks. Padilla, whose favorite horror comedy is Spider Babies, shared that, “they even got more into acting and character development. There’s a lot involved, including athleticism, and it keeps them busy. That’s why we gravitated towards it, plus we like scary movies too.” “I’m a huge fan of horror. My favorite scary movie is The Purge,” Myles said. “I’ve learned how to make costumes and the process of scare acting. I think this translates into stage acting, or theater, as well as improv.” “I like scare-acting because you get to learn new things,” Drakken said. “I think it’s about teamwork for me. I can also get out there and meet new people.” His favorite scary movie is Black Phone. Padilla says that his wife is also very supportive of her boys’ scare acting as a hobby. “The haunt community is actually made up of a lot of really nice people. From the outside, you see everyone acting as monsters, but behind the mask, everyone is chuckling. It’s entertaining, and mostly everyone likes getting scared,” he said. He explained that they had connected with other parents in a similar position who referred to themselves as haunt parents and were highly supportive of the children. As they built relationships with more of these families, they were pleasantly surprised, and his wife gave her full support because of how welcoming the community was. “I recommend Valleyites visit Eulogy Collective because it’s for fright lovers,” he said. “It’s year-round Halloween-themed but also adapted around the season, for example, Christmas or Valentine’s Day. It’s different from most other haunts. It’s more interactive; it’s more immersive. It’s not your typical scary maze; it’s more of an experience.” Padilla pondered how these haunt experiences can help his kids grow and develop more talents. “They have all of these skills. For one, if they go to college, they can be scare actors on the side, and it gives them a different type of outlet. I possibly see my kids doing something in the entertainment industry one day. Only time will tell,” he said.