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Makeup Artists Transform Hundreds Into Witch's Woods Characters

BOSTON (CBS) – You can't celebrate Halloween without a good costume.

WBZ-TV's Pamela Gardner met the many spooky characters from Witch's Woods in Nashoba before they fully transformed.

Hairdryers, paint, and spray guns were all blasting onto characters faces. That is the chaos before the show begins.

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Kerry Russell gets a Witch's Woods actor ready to haunt. (WBZ-TV)

Almost 200 characters have to get ready in a very short amount of time. Each character is assigned a different location to be stationed throughout the night.  Some go to the Haunted Hayride, while others walk around the Haunted Amusement park. It's quite an accomplishment to stay on time.

"It's a matter of keeping a time check. And making sure that we are getting all of the scene correct. Throughout the room I have signs. Various resources for pictures to ensure that we are getting an idea of what we need to do," says Kerry Russell, Makeup Director.

All this after working at her full-time job.

"This is definitely not my full-time job. This is my love. This is my after work, go home, make prosthetics, all sorts of stuff," says Russell. "I love make believe. I love fantasy. I love getting dressed up. I love building things, creating new ideas."

Liz Finch, actor and wardrobe director at Witch's Woods, spoke to WBZ as she got her prosthetic and makeup on.

"Well, it's quite interesting. You know, the airbrush comes and it's like, a blast of air in your face, it's like 'OH!' But it's really not too bad," Finch said.

Pamela Gardner transformed into a monster as well.

"So this is our prosthetic. What I've done is put in the adhesive. So that um, it will stick to your face," Russell told Pamela as she was transformed.

Pamela Halloween
Pamela Gardner transformed into a Halloween creature at Witch's Woods. (WBZ-TV)

Russell explains step by step what she is putting on as she is transformed. The process took about 30 minutes total.

Pamela then had a crash course on terrorizing some oblivious attraction-goers from Finch, also in full costume.

That night, she used a special makeup remover to take everything off. That process took about 20 minutes.

For more costume ideas or information on Witch's Woods visit their website.

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