Behind the masks

Dancer, doctor, actor, screamer

Having worked in an ER, Madison Holcomb isn’t fazed by real blood. The fake kind tastes terrible, though, says the 20-year-old LSU student with a double major in pre-med and theatre. Holcomb performs at The 13th Gate haunted house downtown, and just before new visitors arrive, her co-workers do their worst. “They squirt fake blood in your mouth or wherever it needs to be,” says Holcomb, who also dances ballet and modern. “But that’s when all the actors get excited.”

The dancer has put her dexterity to morbid use as a caged victim hanging her arms creepily out from behind the bars, but after devastating her throat with hours of screaming last year, she consulted her voice instructor at LSU. “Now, I can scream night after night and not get hoarse.”

Holcomb’s only regret is missing actor Kellan Lutz. She was playing dead when the Twilight heartthrob passed through the haunted house last October. The Illinois native is a victim again this year, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I don’t think I have it in me to be a killer,” she says. “I mean, I have little brothers—I can torment them. But I don’t think I can scare someone bigger than myself.”

Student by day, voodoo queen by night

By day, 23-year-old Mercy Jones is a red-blooded American girl loving the college life. Originally from Saginaw, Mich., she attends Baton Rouge Community College, where she studies biology.

But recently, her nights took a decidedly macabre turn when she won the role of voodoo queen Marie Laveau in the 13th Gate’s newest attraction, Necropolis 13.

How did you land this gig?

I was at work one day and, out of the blue, I just had the urge to be a zombie. I told my friends that I wanted to be a zombie, and they laughed at me, but on my way home from work I passed by the 13th Gate and saw the sign [saying] “Audition here.” I went the next day, auditioned and have been working there ever since.

Are you a Halloween fanatic?

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. As a kid, every year I would go as a witch—every year!

How does it feel to work at such a popular attraction?

It’s great! Sometimes when I’m wearing my 13th Gate t-shirt, people stop me because they noticed me from when they were there. I love acting there!

Did you already have an interest in working in theater?

I’ve always loved the idea of becoming someone else just for a short period of time. The makeup, the costumes and getting into character are always so much fun to me. I have the pleasure this year of playing a leading character, which is Marie Laveau, sort of a voodoo icon in New Orleans. She has a thick accent, which is fun to try and re-create, and a lot of hard work.

In five years, do you see yourself in a science lab, or on a stage?

I love biology, but I have a passion for the stage. I would be happy either way, in a lab or the stage performing. It is a nice thought, though, to be on stage acting, so you may catch me on the stage, but who knows right now?