Fire at Six Flags Haunted House

[Haunting Copy]

Shawn, you had mentioned in another post that you used to be a newspaper editor.

Do you think writing letters to the editor might get some ink?

Sarah

[Jim Warfield]

Letters to the Editor worked for P.T. Barnum and Houdini but who reads newspapers today?
I tend to think mostly elderly people still read newspapers.....
When was the last time a group of senior citizens arrived to pay to see your haunt?
I also think that letters to the editor must have some bone of contention to them, some discussion or argument, difference of opinion to generate some mental activity.
Barnum and Houdini's letters had this.
Barnum was protesting criticism about his display and owning of a very elderly black (slave) woman who claimed to have been George Washington's nanny, Houdini and his brother had a letter war saying how crappy each other's show was as they appeared across the street from one another, of course it was a secret they were brothers and the brother's act was Houdini's old act from the year before.

[shawnc]

Sarah,

A letter would most definitely get printed, since most editors and TV stations are always looking for some kind of local angle to all national or regional stories. It could lead to a follow-up article about your haunt, outlining the many safety features in place. It could make the front page closer to Halloween and you can't buy publicity like that.

Jim, it's true readership has dropped off drastically over the years. But most papers have online editions now, with letters to the editor a favorite part of them. Readers are allowed to post comments, making for some lively discussions. And the talk around the coffee shop and the beauty and barber shops is always what was in the paper recently. Kids might not read the paper but the parents will mention things like this to them, and something about a haunted house will catch their attention while politics won't.

There are other avenues as well. Most local TV and radio stations have news programs and would most likely consider something like this. A fire is always big news and the fact that it was in a haunted house is doubly interesting. A brief tour of your haunt demonstrating how safe it is for a TV station and an on-air interview with the news director at a radio station is again advertising that you couldn't buy. And most TV and radio stations have websites as well.

Shawn

[Haunting Copy]

Now I suppose we should locate some statistics to arm ourselves. Perhaps the IAAPA has numbers? I looked at their site very briefly, but all I saw were links offering stats on *rides*. Again, I didn't look very closely.

Sarah

[Haunting Copy]

Now what we need are statistics.

I wrote emails to both IAAPA and the National Safety Council to request info from them or places where I can get the info. We'll see what they say.

Thank you, Jim and Shawn, for your thoughtful responses.

Sarah