Scare actor trades ice sales for Halloween mayhem at Jungle Island's Horrorland

By day, Marcos Morillon sells ice wholesale. By night during Halloween season, he transforms into one of the sinister characters frightening visitors at Horrorland, the annual scream park at Jungle Island.

Morillon is a scare actor at Horrorland, which has returned to South Florida for its seventh year. He plays "The Mayhem," a character he has developed with his own appearance, personality and backstory.

"It does not look like I'm in Jungle Island," Morillon said. "It looks like I'm in another dimension."

The transformation takes more than putting on a costume. Morillon said colored contact lenses help him make the switch from his day job to his Halloween alter ego.

"It's the contacts," he said. "That's the switch. I get one kind of like a white and a red eye."

Morillon's fascination with horror goes back to his childhood. He said his mother was also a horror fan who would decorate their home for occasions such as Friday the 13th.

Now, Morillon has turned that passion into a second job, joining other scare actors who spend the Halloween season entertaining,  and terrifying, Horrorland visitors. But balancing the seasonal gig with a full-time job can be challenging.

"You have to learn how to manage your time," Morillon said. "It's not easy. There's only 24 hours in a day and it's not enough."

From his day job to a Halloween alter ego

Horrorland Creative Director Luna Santos said Morillon has become one of the attraction's signature performers.

"Marcos is not only just an important character here, he's an icon character of the Horrorland with his Mayhem," Santos said.

Santos said many of the performers see Horrorland as more than a seasonal paycheck. The attraction gives scare actors a chance to step away from their everyday lives and become someone, or something, completely different.

"It's like a little vacation in your brain because you're hanging out, but you're still working," Santos said. "So you're still getting paid, but you're still having a good time."

Halloween has also become big business. Americans are expected to spend more than $13 billion this year on costumes, candy, haunted attractions and other Halloween expenses, with haunted house ticket sales generating about $1 billion nationwide.

For Morillon, however, the paycheck is secondary to the chance to scare people.

"I don't do it for the money," he said. "If I were to do it for free, I would do it for free."

Horrorland at Jungle Island is open on select nights through Nov. 1.