Friday, September 23, 2011

Fear Farm offering more than just fun and fright, it's creating jobs

Fear Farm offering more than just fun and fright, it's creating jobs:


Fear Farm
Photographer: ABC15

"Friday marks opening day for haunted attractions across the Valley as they prepare to deliver fun and frights this Halloween.


But many are being hailed as financial saviors for Valley families trying to make ends meet.


For the second year in a row, the Fear Farm in west Phoenix saw more adults and professionals applying for jobs once occupied by teens.


Fear Farm advertised 170 jobs this year.


"I had a friend show me the ad and I thought why not, I had to do something," said Courtney Fishell, a makeup artist at the Fear Farm."



Fishell graduated with a degree in fashion design two years ago but has not been able to find work in her field.

"I came back thinking, I have a degree now in arts a
nd everything so it should be easy to find a job and it hasn't at all," added Fishell.


Desperate for work, Fishell decided to give Fear Farm a call and see if they would be interested in her design talents for costuming.

Fear Farm manager Bobby Busse not only hired Fishell but also gave her the opportunity to attend makeup classes.

"I had to do something...this is in area I wanted to get into, the makeup the costuming and everything."

As we sat talking with Fishell, she finished off makeup on Howard Turner, who's returned for seasonal work.

Turner told us he was once a driver in the florist business. "Unfortunately the economy crunched and the business I worked with had to let their drivers go. I've been unemployed since."

Turner was hired at Fear Farm to play a terrifying homeless character that runs around giving crowds a fright as they wait to go into the six different haunted attractions.
"I never thought I'd be working at a haunted amusement park at 43 years old and having it be the only means of income right now."

Turner added the haunted pay is also income for many of Turner's family members. "My brother, my sister and my mom all work here, so this is helping all of us out, the money helps a lot."

And like Fishell, Turner wasn't sure he could do the job, saying, "I didn't know how I was going to do this for sure."

But the character isn't so far from a chilling reality and Turner boasts that he plays it so well some Fear Farm guests will actually give him hand outs thinking he's truly homeless.
Turner's and Fishell's stories are among many of the same at Fear Farm.

Busse tells even the pool for teens have changed. Where once the youngsters worked for extra gas money, "many are now working to help their parents pay the bills or hang on to the house. "

It's a terrifying way to pay the bills that haunt the jobless, but it works.
"In the meantime we have a lot of fun while we're doing this."

The Fear Farm will open its doors at 7:30 p.m. Friday night. For more information on their attraction, hours and ticket prices go to www.fearfarm.com .




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