Awesome People We Met at Escape: Psycho Circus Day 1

When the Psycho Circus rolls into town, the freaks come out in droves—and this year was no exception. Headliners from all over the US descended on the NOS Events Center in SoCal, decked out in their creepiest Halloween finery. As we do at every festival, we fired up our digital recorders and sought out the most awesome of the bunch.

Name: Daniella & Katie
Age: 26 (Daniella); Katie (22)
Hometown: Monterey, CA (both)
Occupation:
Daniella: College graduate
Katie: College student
Number of Escapes: 2
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
Daniella: “I’m not dead yet.”
Katie: “Not all things are set in stone.”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Daniella: Losing all my teeth.
Katie: Clowns… yet I’m here.
What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?
Daniella & Katie: Dressing up and being something you’re not!

Name: Thomas
Age: 25
Hometown: Pomona, CA
Occupation: Grocery store checker
Number of Escapes: 6
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
“Greatest DJ alive.”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Dying alone in a room full of spiders.
What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?
The ghouls and spooks. I like that haunted shit!

Name: Jenny
Age: 24
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Full-time student
Number of Escapes: 5
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
“Let the good times never fade.”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Demons.
What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?
I love the costumes, and I love dressing up.

Name: Christina & Jessica
Age: 24 (both)
Hometown: Lakeland, FL (both)
Occupation: Waitress (both)
Number of Escapes: 3
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
Christina: “Fly like a butterfly.”
Jessica: “Live like tomorrow will never come.”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Christina: Getting taken underneath a bed and gutted.
Jessica: Being kidnapped and tortured.
What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?
Christina: Playing dress-up.
Jessica: You can be someone you aren’t.

Name: Shantell and Morelia
Age: 19 (both)
Hometown: Upland, CA (both)
Occupation:
Shantell: EMT
Morelia: Makeup artist
Number of Escapes:
Shantell: 2
Morelia: First one!
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
Shantell: “Buried alive”
Morelia: “It was LIT, fam!”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Shantell: Tsunamis.
Morelia: Clowns.
Do you have any favorite Halloween memories?
Shantell: Last year I went to my first Halloween party. I came dressed as a mummy, but I was the only one dressed up at the party—I was literally that movie. So I ended up getting super drunk, and it was the first time I ever got drunk in my whole life.
Morelia: I would say this one, because it’s my first Halloween with Shantell.

Name: Laura, Marquis, Suzy
Age: 19 (Laura); 20 (Marquis); 19 (Suzy)
Hometown: Victorville, CA (Marquis & Laura); Hesperia, CA (Suzy)
Occupation:
Laura: Mall kiosk owner
Marquis: Victoria’s Secret employee
Suzy: Student/raver
Number of Escapes: First one! (all)
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
Laura: “Baddest bitch dead.”
Marquis: “I was always that bitch, and I will remain that bitch.”
Suzy: “I was born to rave.”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Laura: Being a broke-ass ho.
Marquis: Getting eaten by a giant anaconda—snakes are so scary!
Suzy: I’m vegan, so if someone were to kill an animal in front of me.
Do you have any favorite Halloween memories?
Laura: When I was younger, we never celebrated Halloween as a family, which is why I’m so excited to be here right now.
Marquis: Our high school senior Halloween party—it got shut down because it was so LIT.
Suzy: Watching Michael Myers in Halloween.

Name: Andrew & Nicole
Age: 22 (Andrew); 21 (Nicole)
Hometown: San Francisco, CA (both)
Occupation:
Andrew: Buffalo Exchange employee
Nicole: Dance instructor
Number of Escapes: 5
What do you want etched onto your tombstone?
Andrew: “The best man in the world.”
Nicole: “The most glitteriest rave girl dead.”
What’s your worst nightmare?
Andrew: Roller coasters—tall ones.
Nicole: Spiders attacking me.
Do you have any favorite Halloween memories?
Andrew: Nothing particular, but dressing up has always been a great time. I try and top my costumes each year.
Nicole: Making group costumes with my family and just going out trick-or-treating with them.

Name: Rick
Age: 45
Hometown: El Paso, TX
Occupation: Homeland Security
Number of Escapes: 3
What do you want etched onto your tombstone? “Let me disarm you”
What is the worst nightmare that you have ever had? I’ve been raving for 10 years, and not being able to experience this anymore. This is my escape from my regular work and everything.
Do you have any favorite Halloween memories? Last year, in this spot. You guys have the most incredible dancers, and I was able to take a squad pic with them and trade kandi. It was a dream come true for me.