Universal invited Orlando Sentinel reporter Patrick Connolly to be a ‘scareactor’ for an evening at Halloween Horror Nights. He shares what he learned about the art of scaring: Makeup, character development and the science behind the surprise.

Scare zone: Vanity Ball (1:47)

Character: Harvest victim (3:14)

Professionally bloodied up (4:06)

The rules (7:20)

Did anyone try to slug you? (9:51)

How hard was it? (12:52)

Best part (16:07)

Worst part (16:40)

Time to take the makeup off (18:15)