Introduce Yourself...

[Twin Locusts]

Welcome John! Hope your time on here helps you realize your goals!!

[bourgetHauntedFuneralhome]

hey

Hey I'm new to the site I recently bought a real funeral home that is no longer in service and looking to make a real horror haunted funeral home that would be run all year round for the month of october being a horror house then in the other months make a murder mistery dinner style group rentals that people can use for birthdays or groups outings if u have any advice it would be great I'm located in ottawa ontario and the city really needs this. there is nothing around like it there nothing scary just little wagon rides and stuff that are meant for kids but im looking to make something adult based .

[FearFactoryErie]

Hi everyone!
Name: Henry GQ
Haunt: Fear Factory Erie
Location: 144 west 13th street Erie, PA

Im new to this industry. 2011 will be my first year of doing a pro haunt. My haunt is located inside an old old paper factory/warehouse. the 1st floor is a nightclub. The 2nd and 3rd floor(which consists of 8,000 sq feet each) will be Fear Factory Erie with room to expand onto the roof(wouldnt it be cool to have a maze on a 3 story building overlooking the city !?) and parts of the basement!

i probably spent 2 months reading this forum as well as others before i finally pulled the trigger and decided to do this!(besides the 2 years of kicking the idea around) and believe me i think i read every thread LOL. i have ordered several dvds on "how to's" and will order many more. i also think im one of the most creative people that u can meet in this eeerie city! i will be starting another thread so people can track the status of my build. i know this being my first pro haunt it will be very difficult and expensive. i have leaned on several people in this industry for some help and will pick everyones brains in this forum! and share some of my ideas as well! i hope to bring something that u see in cleveland, pittsburgh, buffalo, akron to this area! and make people proud that erie finally has a pro haunt!

erie is 2 hours from pittsburgh, and an hour and half from cleveland and buffalo! i hope to drag some people out from those areas to check out

feel free to drop me a msg or reply to my thread!

Henry GQ
Fear Factory Erie

[ETHEREAL_FX]

Ethereal FX

Ethereal FX was started by Greg Lewis and Robyn Burns on the central coast of California. Between the two of them more than 30 years of creating haunted attractions, stage shows, movies and more has required them to solve many lighting and control issues that face both the professional and hobbyist.

Ethereal FX was born of the idea that those solutions and that knowledge should be used to allow creative types the world over to create and share their visions. Every Product offered by Ethereal FX is designed and tested in the field to solve problems we encounter trying to bring our visions to life.

That idea of field level research and design means that every nut, bolt, dimension and decision in our products are there because that’s what works best when you’re actually using them, not because some marketing department decided black enclosures were “in” this year. That research and design philosophy also means that we take our customers feedback very seriously.

Beyond the products, we also take on consulting and speaking engagements in an effort to share our extensive business experience and expertise.

www.ETHEREALFX.com

[NilesHauntedHouse]

Niles Haunted House FINALLY on Haunt World!

Name: Aaron Smith
Location: Niles, MI
Haunt: Niles Haunted House Scream Park

First Off, I am not the actual owner to the brilliant Niles Haunted House, just a consultant for the technologically impaired, Pete Karlowicz. Haha. Many of you I'm sure have heard of us, considering we've been around for nearly 40 Yrs now.

I've been with Niles for 7 Years now, and I continue to move my way up into the hierarchy of both the haunt, and the industry. I've followed the owners foot steps for the past several years, attending trade shows, conventions, and even contributed to seminars.

Currently I represent myself as their Marketing Director for Promotion and Sales. From contribution to designing Commercials, managing Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and YouTube, to even Group Sales.

During my Off Season (when I'm not promoting) I attend Grand Valley State University Michigan to further my education under a Marketing Major. Although its hard to manager my time between class work and a business, I manage to get it done. Traveling over 3,000 miles just to attend the Season while were open only proves my dedication.

I'm committed into this industry to either successfully market the Niles Haunted House Scream Park year after year, own "her", or build a dream haunted attraction of my own.

I'm Aaron Smith and I'm proud to be a part of the Industry!

www.haunted.org
(269) 687-FEAR

[nightmare on 3rd Street]

Glad to be here and I hope I and learn a lot from you all!
I,, (for lack of a better explaination) produce and direct a fund raiser haunted house. I obviously dont own it but that is about all that I don't do. We have been doing this for 5 years now and it seems to be growing and growing. I'm pretty proud of the fact that we have become pretty professional and rival some of the best haunts in our state even though we dont have a large budget to work with. We have about 8000 square feet in the basement of our City Hall that we just about have the freedom to do most of the things we want. We had 2300 people thru the haunt this year that we open up for only 4 days. My goal is possibly to open up 6 days in October and bring in an extra 1000 people. I'm just a little afraid we may not have enough of an interest to get that many more people... Anway.. glad to be here!

[MournfulManor]

Mournful Manor

Name: Michael Caneva
Haunt: Mournful Manor
location: Arvada (Denver), CO
age:34

Hello all! My name is Michael Caneva. I am in the Denver Metro Area and am more or less brand new 'round these parts. I've been lurking a bit since August '10, but this is my first official post. While I haven't spent much time lurking around forums since my roleplaying days which ended around 2006, I was a staple of them around 2002-2005 so it feels good to be back posting again.

I've been a Halloween fanatic since childhood and really started to acquire props and decorations in 2005 when we began holding yearly Halloween parties at our house. Things went great this way for about 4 years before we started to notice that we spent more time and money decorating the inside of the house to turn it into a haunted house than anything else. That's when the idea first hit me: Why are we going to all this expense and effort for 50-100 people to be blown away each year when we could open something up to the public?

In 2010, we created and opened Mournful Manor, our home haunted house, with 13 rooms/areas throughout our garage and 1/4 acre back yard. Our focus is on going pro in 2011 or 2012 and on creating a truly high-quality adult-oriented Haunt in the Denver area. I would really appreciate whatever advice or help I can get to move toward this goal. I'll be the first to admit that I only barely know what I'm doing, but now armed with Kelly Allen's "So You Want To Be A Haunt Entrepreneur", a new subscription to Haunted Attraction magazine, and access to this forum and all the knowledge contained herein, I'm confident that it can be accomplished!

[HauntChick]

Hello Haunt World

I'm Catie from Shreveport, LA. I'm the House Manager at the Ultimate Fear Haunted House and last year was my very first halloween. I got involved in July when I began writing the backstory for the UF. (Yes, I'm a writer, a damn good one if i do say so myself. *smiles*)

I fell in love with all the hard work that goes into the preseason and found my absolute addiction in being scared (yes, i'm kinda a big chicken if i let myself relax in a haunt, which is so much fun). So far I've been to The Cutting Edge (Dallas, TX), Thrillvania (TX), 13 Stories (Atlanta, GA), Folklore (Atlanta, GA) and Netherworld (Atlanta, GA). I want to continue visiting as many haunts as possible and learning from the best in the business.

I've made so many close friends through the haunted house business and I look forward to meeting many more! I'll be at Transworld this year, ready to have fun and learn alot!

I'm currently learning about Acting, make-up artistry, everything Management, Costuming, and making latex prosthetics and masks.

[Lisa Mathis]

Hello

I am starting a new haunt in Maryland and have a lot of questions. Thank you for allowing me to share information with you.

[Madhaus32]

Name: Derek Greenwood
Haunt: Night Terrors of Effingham
Location: Rural Southern Illinos
Age: 40
Job: Graphic Designer by day, Haunt Designer and Actor by night

I'm new to the industry, helping to build up a second year attraction. I started out as a home haunter and finally got a chance to evolve. I look forward to putting down a few brewskis with you guys at Transworld this year.

[Hauntcast]

Hey guys, good to be here!

I'm Chris Baker the G-Host of Hauntcast - Radio for Haunters and Halloween Fanatics. What, you've never heard of Hauntcast? That is probably because I've been promoting it mostly to home haunters for the past 2 years. Most of my interviews have been with home haunters such as Chris & Jeff Davis, Brent Ross and Steve Hickman, but I've also interviewed pro haunters Jim Weilock, Bruce Stanton and this month I feature an interview with Randy Bates of the Bates Motel and Pennhurst Asylum. We have many great segments that you should enjoy.
Give the show a listen at Hauntcast.net

I'm also, a veteran home/yard haunter. My haunt is the Village Mire.com which is mostly animatronic and static props. I plan on adding a walk through next year and incorporating more actors. Over the next 3 years I plan on learning all aspects of the haunted attraction industry and eventually opening a pro haunt of my own. I hope to learn a lot from you all.

Stay scary,

Chris

[Johnny Thunder]

I had posted an into in the acting section and overlooked this thread. Apologies!

Been a Halloween/horror/haunted house/home haunt fan for all my life. I made my parents take me year after year to Brigatine Castle & Dracula's Castle, and always loved horror and Halloween. Always loved TOT and have done yard haunting for several years.

This past season took the leap to audition to act in a pro haunt and had the most amazing experience. After being a loyal patron for around 13 years, I had the privilege of acting at The Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride. I'm also a member of other haunting sites and a member of the Hauntcast podcast.

Thanks again for the welcome and I look forward to talking with you all!

[imagineer]

New Here

I guess I should say hi although I don't spend much time chatting online. I have been doing the I-T thing for about 4 years and I enjoy it. But, magic and illusion is where my heart is. Over the past 10 years magic has been in a dump with bad performers and secrets given away online. So I moved on to haunts. I love haunts and had my home haunt back in 97. I stopped when I moved to Atlanta GA where I met with Ben and the gang at Netherworld. They opened my eyes with how technical and artistic this could be. I offered my illusionary skills and was hired.
4 years later I find myself working for the Hex House in Tulsa OK. This will be my second year there and it was fun the first time around (could use a few things though). We are keeping spirits up.
This year we have huge plans for our house so if you're in the area, look us up for a tour and talk shop. We also share ideas so feel free to send us emails.

[Goblin Mom]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Valerie and I live in Walworth, Wisconsin. I have been a home haunter for years. I have been contemplating going pro for the past couple of years but need to learn so much more before taking that plunge because I do not want to become a statistic.

I had the pleasure of going to the TW show for the first time last year and was blown away at the quality of all the props there. And then I seen it!!! This 9’ tall Goblin that I just knew I had to have. I didn’t buy him at the show but went home and contemplated for days what I could do with this creature to justify buying him. (yes, I am a procrastinator big time) Doing a free home haunt and spending more then usual on a costume just didn’t seen reasonable at the time. But then it came to me… I will give this creature a name and rent him out with the actor. This venture turned out to be profitable and so much fun!

I love Kevin’s (Gore Galore) creatures. Thank You, Kevin!

I am happy to be here and learning so much! I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of you going to the TW Show this year! I am so excited! LOL

Val

Here's Gunthur.....
http://gunthur-the-goblin.com/

[Goblin Sis]

Intro

Hi everyone!

Since my mom (Goblin Mom) posted her intro, I figured that it was time for me to do as well.

I have been lurking here for a bit, and have learned so much already. I am new to pro haunts, with my mom. But I worked at a few different haunts over the years doing makeup, and filling in for the actors when needed.

I am a bit different from most on this forum I am assuming though. Growing up, I loved haunted houses, and couldn't wait for Halloween! I am not sure what happened though, I had the living daylights scared out of me at one (guy came out of the lake after we excited the haunt and chased me back to the car... sigh). Now? I get panic attacks and haven't been in one since. I *WANT* to love them again, I need to work on getting over the phobia and get back in there lol

We already purchased our tickets for The Darkness tour, and I can't wait to go! Hopefully with a lights on tour, it will be the first step to getting over this phobia and I can go into a haunt without hyperventilating lol

I know that TW is over a month away at this point, but I am so excited! We went last year for the first time, and it was a fantastic experience. We were only there for Sat & Sun though. This year, we are coming in Tues evening, I believe staying at the host hotel, attending the speed seminars, and have a laundry list of other seminars we are trying to pick from. In addition to all of the plans we have, I think that both my mom and I are most excited to meet so many fantastic people in the industry!

Looking forward to 'meeting' you all!

Tyra