Transforming dozens of actors into zombies, ghouls and every scary character you can think of keeps Kirsty Mitchell busy – not just at Halloween but for most of the year.

For she is the woman behind the make-up for the Broadwitch Hauntfest.

Every year thousands of thrill-seekers visit Broadditch Farm, New Barn Road, Southfleet, for the award-winning Halloween attractions.

Kirsty, events manager at the farm, taught herself how to apply the make-up, liquid latex, and prosthetics which make the gruesome characters at Broadwitch so terrifying and, helped by a team of make-up artists, creates their look every night of the scare season.

She took time out of her busy schedule to work her magic on KM sales executive Emma Smith ahead of a night out.

Kirsty said: “I’ve been doing this the whole time we have been doing the scares – so for 12 years.

“We have more than 70 actors. Some wear prosthetics, which I paint before so I just have to apply them to the face and fill in the gaps.

“We have 25 really intricate faces but we try to change them at least once or twice during the Halloween events.”

She hasn’t got a favourite character but does prefer the more challenging designs.

Kirsty comes up with all the designs for the haunts, the characters’ costumes and make-up, and decides what needs changing year to year.

For Emma’s night out with friends, Kirsty painted her face to resemble Regan, the possessed girl in the classic 1973 horror film The Exorcist.

Emma said: “There were five of us going out and I decided to be the character from The Exorcist.

“When Kirsty was putting the make-up on it felt really weird –you have no clue as to what she’s doing and people kept coming in scared or saying ‘that looks amazing’.

“It took about half an hour; it was incredible.”

Emma went out in Gravesend town centre after her makeover and people kept stopping her and asking for selfies.

Plans are already under way for next year’s haunts at Broadditch, which promises to be even more terrifying than this year.

¦ The Hauntfest has now finished. For more information about the farm, visit www.broadditch.co.uk.