One of the more important pieces of the Raven Haven Haunt, animal handler Diana Sleiertin is trying to establish a safe and family-friendly method of exposing your fears with the live animals she brings for visitors of the experience. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with her about getting interested in the haunt industry, her experiences working with the animals and visitors and upcoming projects.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Diana Sleiertin: Oddly enough, I am not actually “into” horror, and never have been. I got started working with a (semi-family friendly) haunt in 2012.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
DS: I have a very vivid imagination, and just setting up the haunt scenes the first couple of years gave me horrific nightmares. When I would share these nightmare images, we would incorporate some of them into the haunt scenes. As a young child, I saw West World, with Yul Brenner. It was not technically a horror film, but when his face melted off revealing the robot underneath, I had nightmares for weeks! After that, still young, I saw Lon Chaney as the Phantom, which also gave me nightmares. I pretty much skipped most horror after that. Although I did see Dawn of the Dead (more nightmares) and have seen bits and pieces of other “fad” horror.
Me: How did you get started at the Raven Haven Haunt? What can you tell us about the show and its various attractions?
DS: Raven Haven is a small, but well-known locally, home haunt that runs a tight competition to the local pro haunts. The yard at Raven Haven is predominantly family-friendly so that parents can bring their children to enjoy the scenes without being terrified to tears. There is also a “haunted” building, where all bets are off about scaring. We will do what we can to make them pee their pants, or worse. Every year, we change the theme in the yard (which includes the front and back yards - live and static displays). There are several outbuildings that have static displays, such as the witches hut - which may occasionally have a live actor as well. The Haunt building has between 9 and 11 rooms. Those incorporate a variety of scares from drop-down boxes to jump scares, clowns and creepers. Then there is my room, which incorporates live animals - snakes in a secured and heated enclosure to get the patrons' attention. I am essentially a jump scare - I wait until they are close to me or my mannequin body double before I step forward. But I am the “holder” of the animal actors - a 10 ft Boa Constrictor, a Chilean Rose Tarantula and Madagascar Hissing Roaches in my corset. Inevitably, the power of suggestion takes over and patrons will swear I threw my spider on them (NEVER happen) We make sure both the animals and the partons are safe at all times.
I got started at Raven Haven after I brought my son here in 2011. Because I know better than to let him in somewhere unattended, I went through the haunted house with him. While in there, someone attempted to scare us with a realistic-looking latex snake. As I exited the house, I introduced myself to the owner and offered that if they wanted to add snakes in as a scare, we should talk. I am an exotic reptile handler and outreach educator. The only caveat I had was that after we scared people in the haunt, I wanted to have a family-friendly tent where people could talk to my crew and learn about the reptiles responsibly. The tent is heated and well-lit. Kids/adults can meet and interact with small tortoises, small snakes and smaller lizards.
Additionally, as part of our family-friendly front queue entertainment, several of my goats come to meet and interact with the patrons. They are the perfect ‘accessory” for Krampus themes, Devil themes (although we do not show anything specifically Satanic) and just plain fun. The goats have all been hand-raised, and are comfortable with people interacting with them. They are all leashed trained and will walk with several of our handlers. They also have crates kept in the garage, away from the crowd, so they can have break time to rest and relax in their hay.
Me: How would you describe your main duties as an animal handler at the haunt? What appeals to you about playing with animals as you do?
DS: I am the primary/sole animal handler in the Haunt. The animals belong to me personally, and they are very specifically chosen for the Haunt, as they are ambassador animals the rest of the year in our educational programs. This way, I know they are least likely to be stressed or adversely affected by noise, lights, etc. I have a special place in my heart for the reptiles anyway, so there isn’t an easy “reader’s digest’ version to say what appeals to me about them. They are simply fascinating.
As for what appeals to me about using them in the haunt… I enjoy making grown men scream!
Me: What kind of planning goes into the segments to make it safe for everyone?
DS: As mentioned before, I am the owner and handler of the animals. I only introduce seasoned animal ambassadors into the haunt scene. I am always attentive to the body language of my snakes and spiders, and if they are exhibiting stress, I switch them out for another so that each animal has downtime. My room is the only room in the haunt that is heated, and the animals have heat packs in their “resting” bags. For the snakes in the enclosure, that is securely locked and heated with a heat lamp which doubles as “low light” for the room.
We are a “no-touch” haunt so people aren’t allowed to touch the animals in my room. There is an opportunity for that under supervision in our educational tent. Because I have been working with my animals in public venues for 20+ years, I am hyper-vigilant about patrons’ body language also, and have successfully avoided anyone reacting out of fear to injure my animals.
Another important factor is that one of our volunteers is also my veterinarian. Between her and I, we keep the animals’ safety as an utmost priority.
Me: What has been the most memorable or unique experience you remember about performing in general?
DS: Hahaha - there are a few. One, the only “craptastrophe” I can claim credit for in our haunt was a very tall fellow who promptly messed his pants when meeting my tarantula.
Another caused nearly every actor to break character with laughter when this sweet inner-city child came through the haunt - by herself (maybe 10 or 12 years old). She was relatively unphased by anything she confronted. I showed her my snake and my spider and she shrugged and rolled her eyes. I pulled my 3” cockroach out of my corset from between my boobs and she stepped back and LOUDLY exclaimed - “OMG, YOU KEEP THAT THING IN YO TITTIES!!!!!” We all nearly died with laughter.
My proudest moment, though, had to be the military man that stepped in through the front door and announced none of this stuff would scare him. I stood, waiting, until he got to my room. I waited until he was just about to pass me, when I stepped forward and he backed to the wall. I immediately invaded his space, with my snake on my shoulders, and we were right in his face. He turned his head to the side and whispered “Shit, maybe I am not as brave as I thought I was.” I was wide-eyed, and smiled mischievously. I wouldn’t let him go until he yelled it loud enough for everyone to hear “I am not as brave as I thought I was.”
Me: What are your current plans to continue the show under the current state of the world at large?
DS: Our haunt runs to be a safe and exciting venue for families. With that in mind, we are also all volunteers. Some of our volunteers are high-risk folks. In good conscience, we are not willing to put any of our team at risk. We “opened” last Halloween with a static fully decorated front yard, with candy and toy slides on either side for the kids that came trick or treating. Since our theme was Jurassic, we had three crew in blow-up Dino costumes visiting with the kids (all outside) and the Owner of the Haunt dispensed candy from the candy slide.
We will reassess how we will open by next August, depending on the Covid infection Numbers, the rate of vaccinated team members, and how we can possibly change our environment to allow our fans to come, enjoy and minimize any risk and exposure.
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
DS: Mannequins are creepy. This year, with the unfortunate closing of several large retailers, I have managed to procure a significant quantity of mannequins. We haven’t fully fleshed out the plan yet, pardon the pun, but we are planning to do something epic with them.
Me: Lastly, being that this is Women in Horror Month, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
DS: I would tell any woman that it is a fun and fascinating industry in which to be involved. It doesn't matter what your “strong suits” are, they can be malleable to something in this industry. Accept that there are really no boundaries. I would not have thought that I, who never liked even going to haunted houses, would become part of the creative team designing one every year. I never thought that I, who barely wears makeup, would become a reasonably decent horror makeup artist. Or that I, with a retail merchandising background, would be able to adapt that so well to setting gruesome scenes.
The sky's the limit when it comes to accessing your creativity and imagination. It is an unexpected, yet amazing community of which to be a part.
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out all of our reviews and interviews about the occasion:
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