I’m Nicole Conniff, Design Manager at ScareHouse, and This Is How I Work
ScareHouse , one of the most famous haunted houses in Pittsburgh, has received national press acclaim and praise from fantasy horror director Guillermo del Toro. Our sister site Jezebel wrote about Margie Kerr, the designer of the ScareHouse Basement ride. We spoke to another ScareHouse executive: design manager Nicole Conniff, who started at the house in 2009 as a makeup artist and actor. She is also a longtime salesperson at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival , selling her own masquerade masks, terrariums, and candles. We asked her how she works.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Current position: Design Manager at ScareHouse. One word that best describes how you work: Manic. Current mobile device: iPhone 7. Current computer: MacBook Pro.
First of all, tell me a little about your past and how you became who you are today.
I studied special effects at the Art Institute. He received his bachelor’s degree there in 2008, and the following year began working at ScareHouse as a makeup artist / actor during the ghost season. A year after that, I was hired as a painter-painter on a 3D attraction that was supposed to paint for hours in all kinds of strange colors in black light for several weeks. Every year I was asked to take on more and more stage or construction projects, and here we are!
I wasn’t actually a huge horror fan when I first started here, but I’ve always loved fantasy worlds and immersive environments, and my job as a designer allows me to create all sorts of new worlds every year.
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without?
I use Google Docs for everything. Project plans, scheduling, budget and time tracking, shopping lists, etc. This is my lifeline.
I also spend a lot of time browsing apps like Letgo , OfferUp, and the Facebook Marketplace looking for those stage items and weird items that you just can’t get on Amazon. They made the search MUCH EASIER! I used to have to search all the local thrift stores, flea markets and real estate sales, which is a lot of fun but time-consuming and discouraging if you can’t find what you’re looking for. UPS probably doesn’t know how many weird things they brought to my door.
How is your workplace arranged?
Has ever changed. No, two days don’t give me the same point of view. I do have a writing desk in our treehouse office that ultimately serves as a primary repository for small decorations, things that need to be fixed, or things that I just don’t want to lose. I spend most of my time on the floor during the build season, working on a lot of projects we run and checking them out at the same time, which makes accessing all of my lists via a mobile phone extremely important. I also have a home office and workshop, which are very often used during the creative phase.
How does your job change throughout the year?
People always ask me: “What do you do during the rest of the year?” having no idea how much work it takes to create new attractions each year. We completely renovate and renew about 10,000 square feet of our attraction every year. In fact, October is my least busy time of the year because all the design and build work is finally complete. Starting in November, our team will start analyzing customer feedback and looking for new creative ideas, I will spend the winter budgeting and scheduling to demolish old sets and then create new ones, and from spring to September, I am here every day. we supervise the creation of our new scenery and theatrical elements.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
I know this is outdated, but I love pen and paper. I’m all about stickers. I have so many things going on at the same time that if I don’t write them down immediately, they will disappear forever. I can place them exactly where I need them to be visible and they come in different colors!
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I keep everything google based. I create a master project workbook for each year in Google Sheets that I update daily and can share with our management team, and from there I bring our daily to-do lists onto a whiteboard in our shared place where I can assign tasks and share the fun. holding this big red marker over each element in the process. There are very few things that give me the satisfaction of crossing out a to-do list.
What are some of your best everyday activities? What’s your secret?
Shout! HAHA, you would think that working in a haunted house over the past 10 years would have made me smaller than it did, but I get a good chill at least once a day, sometimes resulting in a strong chilling scream … It’s pretty funny for everyone involved.
What do you listen to while you work?
We have a large Bluetooth speaker in the common area and take turns choosing music. When it comes to radio, I’m a classic rock girl, although 90s pop is also a lot of fun to work with. Our costume designer recently captivated me with podcasts about true crime (most notably My Favorite Murder ), so that happens sometimes too. Show melodies too! Hamilton , Les Mis , Phantom , In the Heights … the list goes on. But usually I try to save it for when I work alone.
What are you reading now or what do you recommend?
The Night Circus is the current favorite and has had a huge impact on one of our attractions this year. And also “The Devil in the White City” . I am mainly into fantasy or monster books. We’ll assume the obvious Harry Potter, LOTR, Rice and King. But Philip Pullman, Tamora Pierce, and Laurel K. Hamilton are definitely at the top of my recommendation list.
How do you replenish? What do you do when you want to forget about work?
Scary movies, of course! We try to watch a new movie almost every night. I’m actually watching Silence of the Lambs as I write this! We love to travel when we have time, which is often difficult. My boyfriend is a photographer, so free time, when it is built, immediately takes some kind of adventure. I also have a very needy Jack Russell named Wesley. He knows a lot of tricks, but he does them only when HE considers it absolutely necessary. He is also a master of disguise.
What’s your favorite side project?
CRAFTING! I love to create. I am always working on something, be it a handmade gift or an art project. I started selling masquerade masks at a local renaissance festival years ago as a creative outlet when I was graduating from high school, which has morphed many times, most recently into soy candles and living terrariums last season.
What is your sleep pattern? Are you a night owl or get up early?
100% owl. I find it very difficult to turn it off at the end of the day. Especially if it has been a very productive day, I am very excited and want to get everything done. And so the morning can be pretty harsh. I have 3 alarms at 5 minute intervals and another one that goes off 10 minutes before leaving the house. And a very tolerant guy. Most of my team works the same way. Because of this, we keep a smooth start time during the construction season. And nothing happens before coffee.
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
[ Ghostbusters Investigator] Amy Bruni
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
If the answer is not “hell yes,” then it should be “no.” Especially when you are as busy as I am, you can be choosy about what projects or commitments you take on. This is as it should be if you value your sanity.
What else would you like to add that might be of interest to readers and fans?
There are still so many misconceptions about modern haunted landmarks such as ScareHouse. I think many people think that these are just children in rubber masks hiding behind black plastic. But oftentimes your local haunted house showcases a tremendous amount of work and creativity. We spend all year creating new sets, characters and effects that are as impressive as what you see in Hollywood movies. These places aren’t just for kids. They are for everyone who wants to scare on Halloween the old fashioned way!