Tewksbury Man is Professional Life Saver and Scare Giver

Freddy? Jason? Leatherface?

When Jim Traynor wakes up in the morning, he doesn’t fret over what cereal to eat, he debates what horror character he will play in the evening. Traynor spends evenings and weekends prowling Spooky World, a haunted theme park in Litchfield, NH, as a variety of creepy characters.

Traynor, a Tewksbury native, He is also a professional haunter, and describes haunting as his passion.

“When I am haunting, nothing else seems to matter. I look forward to October all year,” Traynor said in a press release.

Traynor’s haunting resume is extensive. Only 25 years old, Traynor began scaring 12 years ago at Livingston Street Terror in Tewksbury on the haunted hay ride. He eventually moved up to be part of the management team at the haunted house. Three years ago he moved to Spooky World when Livingston Street Terror closed its doors.

“I’ve … played pretty much every role you can in a haunt industry aspect,” he said. Traynor works at Spooky World as a Monster Midway character, creeping and lurking around those participating in the theme park’s attractions.

Traynor attributes his love of a good scare to his father, who decorated the house every fall and instilled in Traynor the love of a good horror film.

“Halloween was always a big tradition,” he said. “I look fondly back at that.”

Another thing Traynor believes has contributed to his fascination with horror is his love of metal music.

“They kind of go hand-in-hand,” he said. So much in fact, that some of Traynor’s inspiration before he haunts comes from the music he listens to.

“The themes and the lyrics are horror-related subjects—so it’s fun to escape into the music and get into the character.”

Traynor also watches horror movies extensively leading up to October and studies the mannerisms and moves of the villains. He uses all of this research in developing the horror characters he portrays.

Six horror characters in Traynor’s arsenal compare to roles in a play or movie, with main and supporting characters, and are rotated throughout the haunting season. The main character in Traynor’s cast is a psychotic clown, the only one of his characters who speaks, and also the newest he has developed. Called the kidnapper, Traynor said the clown “likes to stalk people and creep them out and try to get underneath people’s skin.”

He also has a variety of characters based on slasher villains and 1980’s horror film icons.

“I’ve always idolized those movies, so I kind of wanted to create the… magic I felt when I watched those movies,” he said. One way he was able to recreate the magic of horror characters was with a good makeup job. Traynor’s brother, a professional clown, taught him secrets behind makeup application. For Traynor, it’s important that he is involved in every part of the process, from makeup, to costume, to the dirty work: haunting

“It’s kind of a pride thing, I take a real pride in my work,” he said. “I like to display my work as a painter would display work in a gallery.”

Traynor said that haunting helps him relieve stress—probably something that is welcome in the life of an EMT.

“It’s nice to escape for a little while … and not think about anything but just having a good time and scaring people and getting dressed up and doing the best you can,” he said.

Traynor said that he is able to enjoy himself and feels like he fits in with the other haunters. They consider themselves a “haunt family” and look forward to getting back together every fall.

“It’s kind of like a family reunion every October. We all get together and have a great time, and scare everybody. It’s fun.”

If you find yourself at Spooky World, look over your shoulder. Traynor may be back there somewhere, lurking. If he does happen to scare you, remember: Traynor has put years of love into his craft.

“I just like going out and scaring people,” he said. “It’s something I find fun and I…just like to terrify people at Spooky World.”

Spooky World will also be open for the Halloween season at Fenway Park.