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A Love Story that Started at Halloween Horror Nights
18 years ago, through the haunting experiences of Halloween Horror Nights, love found its way to Greg and Cassie Hemmann.
Greg moved to Orlando in 1998 after getting laid off at an insurance company in Connecticut. To his surprise, the same company offered him an opportunity to come to Orlando. Originally from Oklahoma, Cassie moved to Orlando to be a part of the Disney College program. After moving back to finish school, she returned in 2005.
A year after moving, Greg went to Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios. Back then the event only took place in one park and it was a much smaller event. Greg had always been a Halloween guy and loved getting involved in local haunts back in Connecticut. When he went to HHN at Universal he was blown away.
“It was so awesome and so interactive. I knew I wanted to get involved. After going as a guest for the first couple years, I ended up going in to audition in 2002 and ended up making 18 years of it as a scare actor.” - Greg
Cassie had never been to HHN before, but growing up and going to Six Flags Over Texas, she was familiar with what a theme park haunt event was. While looking to make some extra money, a friend of hers told her she should go and audition for Halloween Horror Nights. Thinking it would be a lot of fun, Cassie and her friend went after work to give it a shot and she was hired.
Greg’s first couple of years as a scare actor were on a street. He was dressed as an 18th century paperboy and remembers being covered in blood.
“I thought I knew what I was doing right away, but the serotonin (I think it is), like high you get from scaring somebody, is unlike anything else. And as soon as you start getting that and you get the fever, so to speak, you know, it's sort of an addiction. When you can really scare a group or scare somebody really significantly, you're just, you know, in the clouds for it.”
Greg and Cassie both had great experiences working HHN and meeting a lot of friends. With most people in their group being in their 20’s and all sharing similar things in common, there was a lot of dating going on back then.
Cassie says, “I think what people don't realize is you spend so much time not on set so you really do get to know all the people that you work with.”
Greg and Cassie met when it was her first year on the job and Greg’s fourth. While they didn’t hit it off right away, they started to date after HHN had ended. 5 years later, they were hitched.
A lot of the people who came to their wedding were friends they’d met at Horror Nights. In the same way Greg and Cassie got to spend time getting to know each other, they met a lot of their friends on stage scaring people as well as backstage on their breaks hanging out.
“We aren't the first couple to have met and gotten married at Halloween Horror Nights. We might be the longest serving at this point, but we were hardly the first.” - Greg
Greg and Cassie see HHN as the outlet that brought their similar interests together. The similarities of what they like to do in their free time, what TV shows and movies they like, it all played a part in creating the kismet moment.
Being that they both worked full time on top of doing Horror Nights, they also found trust in each other during the times their schedules didn’t align or when they were just too burned out to do anything.
“You have to be able to communicate with the other person because when it's 2:30 in the morning and you're exhausted, and the other person just wants to talk you and you’re like, no I just want to shower and go to bed; when your schedules are different, and it’s mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting, it does kind of strengthen the trust and communication you have with the other person. You learn to respect that and listen to each other.” - Cassie
Greg worked Halloween Horror Nights for 18 events and Cassie, 14. They’ve been married for 13 years now but have since retired from being scare actors. Their HHN friends are friends for life but they now attend the event as guests.
“We're currently more like just fans. We still go. We still have friends that work there. We went last night and we're fortunate we live close to Universal, so popping in and out is still a good time for us.” - Greg
Life in Orlando
Both Greg and Cassie love being active and having fun together. From cruising around their neighborhood in their golf cart to playing hockey at RDV Sportsplex, to a lot of outdoor activities like camping and exploring the springs and trails, they find time to enjoy a variety of things that living in Orlando offers.
“I think a lot of people forget, because they think of Orlando as being a city, a metropolitan with theme parks and so much to offer - they forget how much green space we have.” - Cassie
“The beach is only 45 minutes away. We don't run out of things to do. If we're feeling lazy, so be it. But it's never because we can't figure out what to do or where to go or where to eat or where to have a beer or where to go see a movie. There's so much more to do here.” - Greg
Defining the Orlando Life
Greg and Cassie define the Orlando life as never running out of a variety of things to do. Whether you're an extrovert or an introvert, whether you're a homebody or you just want to go explore, they feel Orlando has it all for you.
some photos used in this article were taken by Rachel Sullivan Photography
