The art of sliding

When scare seekers wait in line outside Blind Scream Haunted House in Santa Rosa, sliders pump up the crowd with jump scares. "Someone runs, sliding in front of the customers…making almost like a fireworks show lighting up the night," Mateo Crawford reveals. Crawford is a slider and the "fireworks" dancing across the pavement are sparks emitted from his specially equipped shoes. "We have magnesium rods that make sparks while we are sliding," Crawford explains. Sliders need more than spark-emitting shoes. They need extra protection. "You’ve got to have steel-toed shoes to start off with," Crawford explains, "most of us use roller derby knee pads…extra protection for our knees." Before heading out into the crowd, Crawford takes a final moment to get focused watching his favorite "sliders" documentary. "I need to get into my character. I need to get into the mood of Halloween," Crawford shares, "what I usually do is look up the 'Sliders of Ghost town’." And when Crawford slides out of the shadows to scare guests, he gets a thrill of his own. "It pumps up your blood. It gets you moving," Crawford says, "I just feel in love with it." For more information about Blind Scream., visit https://www.blindscream.com. Check us out on: Website - www.localish.com Facebook -   / localish   Instagram -   / localish   Twitter -   / localish   Localish is all about bringing out the good in America’s cities. Our locally-sourced stories transcend city limits so you can live like a local wherever you go. #Localish #GoodPeople #GoodNews