Karla Emery, 21, is a student, part-time model, and a demon witch. Well, not exactly. This fall, Emery will return for her second year as a scream actor at Bush Gardens Howl-O-Scream.

  She will be one of the many actors to bring life to Scarlett, this year’s main icon.

  Emery is a student at Hillsborough Community College, attending classes at the Dale Mabry campus. She’s studying for her A.A. in psychology, but has gone back and forth between seeking her degree in musical theater or psychology.

  Emery first auditioned for the event after hearing about the opportunity from prior screamers.

  Last year, Emery played a minor role in the Death Water Bayou house, where she played a voodoo doll.

  When the time came again to hold auditions for this year’s Howl-O-Scream, Emery was invited back. This is an opportunity that is offered to all actors who have previously worked for the annual event.

  Emery recalls that her first day of auditions was very strenuous. “It takes all your will power and might, and you just really have to want it,” she says. One of the key factors in being a great scream actor is being able to improvise.

  The entire auditioning process itself is a crazy experience, according to Emery. The actors are taken to an auditioning room after filling out some paperwork, and are then made to do acting suicides.

  These suicides are all improv, and the actors are given a role to do, then they drop to the ground and must switch to a new role they are given at the snap of a finger. “If you walk out of there sweating and panting, then you know you did a good job,” adds Emery.

  Auditions are held in July and August. Any actors that are not cast for a part the first time are encouraged to audition again.

  After the actors are hired, they are given roles at random, and are given lessons on applying basic make up.

  Actors using stilts or sliders are taught to properly use the equipment. For the actors who aren’t naturally scary, the stage managers are there to help out.

  Emery credits Travis Clayton, her stage manager, for giving her tips on how to work her voice, and what to do differently night after night.

  Apart from just being hired for Howl-O-Scream to scare the daylights out of people, the actors are also given the opportunity to be technicians. In this role, the scream actors help strike the set, put up the houses, and collect props.

  A typical shift for a scream actor is working from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Most end up working the entire night, every day that the event is running. With such a rigorous work shift, the scream actors are given 30 minutes to scare people and then 30 minutes to rest.

  Staying hydrated and keeping her body refreshed is what Emery does whenever she gets her break. “It’s very important to take breaks, because you can really injure yourself if you don’t prepare yourself properly.” Tea, honey, and lemons are brought in by Emery and her co-workers to sip on backstage to lessen the strain on the vocal cords.

  Another exercise used by Emery to prepare for a night of shrikes is to do some vocal warm ups, and she makes sure to rest her voice as much as possible (when she doesn’t have to scream bloody murder).

  This year, however, Emery will be doing more than vocal warm ups as she prepares for the very physical role as Scarlett, the main icon for this year’s Howl-O-Scream.

  Scarlett is a demon witch who turns on the village she was protecting because they killed her husband, and in return, she is now seeking vengeance on the village.

  The village people capture and bury Scarlett inside her house, which turns out to be underneath Bush Gardens.

  Once an excavation crew discovers her burial ground, she rises from her slumber, and brings back past creatures of Howl-O-Scream.

  Emery was told right after her audition that the staff wanted her to be Scarlett, even before the main theme was selected. It was after the promotional work was complete that she realized she had the lead role and was thrilled with the opportunity.

  She initially entered the auditions wanting to be a photo op because of her background in modeling, but left with the lead role.

  With this role, she has to go to the makeup department to be transformed into a demon witch. She says this has made her a workplace celebrity, with some coworkers asking if they can take photos with Howl-O-Scream’s demon witch.

  As a scream actor, she says her favorite reaction is “when you can see the person’s soul leave their body because they get so scared.” However, not all reactions are what she expects.

  Reactions vary, especially from intoxicated patrons. She has learned that at times, you just need to simply ignore people. She also adds that some patrons can become pretty annoying.

  Emery believes this year’s theme is the best ever, and is impressed with how the Howl-O-Scream staff stepped up their game.

  This year, Bush Gardens brought in the creative mind of Rob Cowie, Producer of “The Blair Witch Project” to lead the project.

  Howl-O-Scream runs from Sept. 25 to Oct 3. It runs nightly, Thursday through Sunday, from 7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. When attending, be sure to stop by Unearthed: Scarlett’s Revenge and pay HCC’s demon witch a visit. You will enjoy the scare.