Jessica Jackson portrays a broken porcelain doll at SpookyWorld. Based on the reaction Dollie’s gotten, Jackson says, “Apparently a lot of people are absolutely terrified of dolls.’’
(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)
G FORCE | JESSICA JACKSON
Her job is a horror
Jessica Jackson portrays a broken porcelain doll at SpookyWorld. Based on the reaction Dollie’s gotten, Jackson says, “Apparently a lot of people are absolutely terrified of dolls.’’
(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)
At SpookyWorld/Nightmare New England, the Halloween theme park that reopened this fall in Litchfield, N.H., among the things going bump in the night is Dollie, a disfigured porcelain doll designed and portrayed by Jessica Jackson of Stoneham. Jackson, 22, an English major at Gordon College, joined the cast in 2007 and is one of 150 costumed actors either roaming the park grounds or cast in one of its themed exhibits. She’s also played a singing wench at King Richard’s Renaissance Faire. Jackson checked in by phone.
Q. What drew you to SpookyWorld?
A. My boyfriend knew I was into performing and told me they were looking for actors. At first it was pretty fun, but then I really started getting into it.
Q. He works at the park, too?
A. He’s actually playing several characters this year. One is Punch the Clown, another is the Slicker Slasher, a guy in a yellow raincoat splattered with blood. Sometimes he’ll put the coat on in his room and start making weird noises. I’m like, OK, you’re creeping me out here.
Q. Did you audition for the job?
A. What got my foot in the door was having my own costumes. The difference between being a walk-around character, which I am, and a house actor is having to bring your own show with you.
Q. What got you more into it, as you put it?
A. The first year we were indoors, at the Bayside Expo Center. Last year we moved to Canobie Lake Park, which was more fun atmospherically but very restricted in what characters we could use. They were concerned about maintaining a family-friendly atmosphere there.
Trips to SpookyWorld, past and present. Page 26
Q. No traumatizing younger kids?
A. Exactly. I did a couple of witch characters and a Halloween princess.
Q. This year?
A. This year, they basically told us to scare the pants off everybody.
Q. What kind of reaction have you been getting?
A. Apparently a lot of people are absolutely terrified of dolls. For my character, who remains totally silent, it’s all in the walk. I do a stiff-legged walk with my hands flopping around and my head to one side.
Q. How far will you go to scare someone?
A. I chased two teenage girls halfway across the park until they ran behind some buildings. I have no idea where they went after that.
Q. Do you do other characters?
A. I occasionally do a dead bride. I wear an ’80s bridal dress with blood spattered all over it. The makeup job makes it look like her entire jaw and throat have been ripped off. It’s pretty nasty.
Q. How long does it take to get in costume?
A. The porcelain doll takes about 20 minutes. For the bride, makeup alone takes half an hour.
Q. As a child, was Halloween a big deal for you?
A. Always. I love dressing up. My mother was a seamstress and made all our costumes. There are five kids in our family, and we all went trick-or-treating together.
Q. When did you get too old to be ringing doorbells?
A. Too old? (laughs) I’m never going to be too old to go trick-or-treating.
Interview was condensed and edited.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
