XIII Gate Magazine

[maliciousstudios]

Has anyone recieved a new one since MHC ?? That was the first one I recieved ....supposed to get more, ( when do they come out ? )

[drfrightner]

I see not one person has answered my questions.

What is more important to you?

When you see the next Hauntworld Magazine you will see as clear as day that we can invest YOUR MONEY into graphcs, layout, and all that jazz... but again what is important to you?

Would you rather a magazine printed at a Kinko on white paper with awesome content that helped your business or fluff with lots of pictures?

What is more important to you layout or content?

Larry

[Spookyfinder]

^

Umm... 25% layout and 75% content. -Tyler

[Slain]

good things...

Slain,

exactly what is it that's so great about it?

Have you seen the edition with Dee Snider on the front?..It has it all.. From celebrities interviews/ Ben at Netherworld, and even and interview with Leonard Pickle.. An all round great mag for the haunt industry....

[maliciousstudios]

Time will tell....( of course we want content its VERY important ) but presentation is important as well. It would be like having a haunted house which had grrrreat actors but average props, facade, and etc. naturally the patron wants the whole package. If your saying that Haunt World is printing the ( whole package ) I think thats great ( cant wait to get my magazine to check it out this month ) I for one I want to see the ( whole package too ! )

But

I dont think theres anything wrong with 13th hour, nor do I think its right to degrade them for bringing a smile to our faces. Its doesnt matter what you bring to the table.... 13th hour brings something new, something different, most have loved looking at the magazine as well as they love yours.

Does the difference make one better than the other ?? I understand the salesmanship even though I think I can speak for the majority I HATE SALESMEN !
Let us view the magazines as they are, the competition will drive one another to surge ahead with the improvements, ( might have drove Hauntworld to become the "whole package" which everyone will benefit from just because you felt compelled to do so.....

[graystone]

Come On Larry

Not you or Hauntworld or anything can make your haunt! The person that makes the Haunts are the owners and crews that bust their ass. I am sorry yes your magazine is nice and XIII is great but NO MAGAZINE is going to make your attraction! Yes I said it Not Even Haunt World Magazine! Shane

[maliciousstudios]

Amen.... and AMEN...... Im not a poet when it comes to writing, I tend to get angry and ball my fists up quickly ( Im getting better ) - Im Bipolar so if I say something that comes off wrong, dont take offense... Im not angry unless I say Im angry....

Like its been said previously .... a magazine is ONLY a magazine, I dont know of too many people who had built their haunt on a magazine. Its the builder who creatively kicks axx.... the magazine is like any other magazine, its nice to look at ( entertainment ) with a idea now and then. But it isnt why the industry exists nor would it bring the industry to a halt if it ceased to exist. I will say Haunt World is a great magazine, but its not the one that drove me nor allot of others.... Its simply a good read, I take it along with others....place them in the bathroom along with my ( MANY ) catalogs and read them untill my legs fall asleep LMFAO

( I KNOW ...TO MUCH INFORMATION ) - Im sad.... hell Ive placed orders sitting on the pot and IM NOT AFFRAID TO SAY IT.... LMFAO... dont lie you have too... Im Pathetic ...lol

[drfrightner]

Shane,

NO one said a magazine is going to make your attraction, nor said anything otherwise. You blow things up into something they are not.

We are strickly talking about just a magazine and I asked a simple question, it isn't the next watergate. C'mon.

Can you ever leave something for what it is rather than blowing it out of context?

Larry

[Haunting Copy]

As they say in the haunted house industry best looking or scariest, which one do you prefer? Hmmm...how about both!

The Darkness for example is both, both scary and cool looking. Anyone can make a cool LOOKING magazine, just hire a graphic illustrator. How about something worth reading, something to help your business, errr content.

Can a scary haunt have great scenes, can a haunt with great scenes be scary? Hmmm...yeah if you know what you are doing!

Paul you should have your copy of Hauntworld magazine in day and then you'll see REAL content and REAL graphics and coolness all around...but...

And here is the REAL but here...

And it is an interesting question...do you really want a ton of money poured into the size, the looks, so the cost of the magazine GOES UP UP UP, or do you just want CONTENT?

What is better a cheaper version on black and white paper, with tons of awesome content that can help your business grow, or some glossy fluff magazine with cool pictures that cost a ton of money to buy, produce and advertise in?

Same question for the haunt industry, do our customers want FLUFF just a bunch of cool props to look at or do they want to be SCARED? I think our customers would take the SCARE PART first and foremost, so that is what really makes a haunt great is that it has both same for the magazine.

To make a truly content RICH magazine you have to know what you are talking about, been there done that, trend setters, risk taker, someone who knows what is going on...

I'm happy for anyone who can provide information that grows this industry, and look forward to as many videos, books and magazines anyone can provide, but not one strictly about the money with no background in the industry.

I guess like anything it is about your opinion and what serves you best.

For me this is not what I want but for others it may hit the mark dead on.

Anyway... so I guess right now, now that we at least in my opinion have now created the best looking magazine ever produced that also includes REAL content to help your business, I ask myself was it worth the trouble?

Was it worth the money? Would YOU the haunt owner be will to pay more, like 13th Hour is charging, would the vendors pay more for someone to produce a magazine on this level (level our latest magazine was just produced on), and I say ummmmm....

You tell me? I'm on the fence because as a haunt owner if I want to see creative pictures I'll look on Yahoo and seach images or surf haunts websites, if I want content does it need the fluff to go with it? If our goal (which it is not) is to be in book stores yes the fluff is very much needed but if I'm simply sending you the haunt owner a copy do you really care?

Interesting question!

Larry

Larry, it's funny. I wanted to send you an e-mail suggesting you cut
back on the number of glossy pages, to cut down costs, LOL.

The content in Issue 17/18 is really good; it has gotten much better
since the early days.

Sarah

[Speculo]

80/20 Rule

Years ago I had a thing I called the 80/20 Rule.

I have since made it more complex but the basic concept was 80% of the people want the basics in a haunt ...darkness, chainsaws, scary actors etc. 20% wanted fancy stuff - detail etc.

Do exit pollling about what people like the most, you will see the truth in this.

Of course if you want the media, and you want to get to 100% you have to do it all.

The problem in Haunting was when you have a mad quest for detail you sometimes lose the basics - you can never negect them!

How does this relate to the magazine question? Very directly. Magazines must have content, be it photos or information first - nice layouts and such are nice, but with out the basics what have you got?

So to answer the question - the Basics i.e. content ARE the most important. But to get to 100% you have to do it all.

Thanks!

[maliciousstudios]

Nicely said,

I for one am interested in seeing what 13th gate has to bring to the table in the next few issues. Like Haunt World cant they get better too ? The magazine was impressive right out of the gate, I will wait a couple of issues before I rake them over the coals.

Larry,

I will promise to read both magazines Haunt World AND 13th gate on the toilet in my bathroom. ( wife has her own bathroom .... lol ) I will add every issue to my library of publications.....LMFAO

( atleast untill my 5 year old steals them and they dissappear into her bedroom for eternity )

Okay time to leave the library, ( damn feet always asleep lol....)

[Speculo]

The REAL interesting thing is who will the VENDORS support? For haunt owners having 6 haunt mags would be great, just like all the shows, but I bet the vendors have a tough enough time supporting HW and HAM, now their $$ are also split with 13th Hour, and there is also Rotting Flesh Radio looking for a few bucks.

Unless these mags are vanity projects, I doubt more than one or two can really survive in the long hall - It comes down to what mag will the vendors feel can grab and hold eyeballs.

A few years back we had 4 mags at one time ( 5 If you count Fright Times, but I think that was pre-Hauntworld...) and Underground Entertainment & Scared Stiff are no more.

Just as Haunts in a market shake out once in a while, we will see a mag shake out, and I expect a Haunt convention shake out soon as well.

For now we consumers can enjoy the glut of shows and mags - but even as we make choices, (costing 100s of dollars) The vendors have bigger choices (costing MANY 1000s of dollars to them...) that will really tell the tale.

We will have to wait and see!

Thanks!

[Haunting Copy]

Magazines must have content, be it photos or information first - nice layouts and such are nice, but with out the basics what have you got?

So to answer the question - the Basics i.e. content ARE the most important. But to get to 100% you have to do it all.

This is a solid principle of, I would say, all information sources, including
websites.

Are you haunters hearin' me?! LOL

I see what must amount to *thousands* of dollars spent in cool graphics
and whistles and bells, but when I look at the copy, it is clear that site
owners do not put a premium on their words.

I hope to work with some of you to make your site 100%, as Speculo
wisely notes.

Sarah

[Dr Spooktakular]

All I can say is that I signed up at TW and HCON to get a magazine, yet none have arrived. The guy promised at HCON that they would be mailed at their cost and it seems that with the big list they got at TW and HCON, very few have actually received a mag in the mail, not a good way to start with false promises. Just my 2 cents.

[Jordan24]

Not trying to be a Larry suck-up here. But as a new haunter I'm really just looking for all the 'info' that I can get a hold of.

HauntWorld does have good content so I will continue to subscibe to them. And even though Haunted Attraction Mag is the ugliest one out of the bunch, they have great content so I will continue to subscibe to them as well.

I guess it really depends on what you're looking for. If you like the nice graphics Celeb interviews, stuff like that, then 13th Hour is the magaazine for you. If you feel you still have the need to learn (althogh you can never learn to much) than HAM or HW would be the magazine for you.

At this point in time 13th Hour seems to be more like a Horror Mag than a Haunt one. But like everyone has said 13th Hour is new, and as time goes by they may change their ways. As they gain more exposure, more experienced haunters like Slain may go and write good educational articles for them. They've only came out with one issue so far, they're very very new. Time will tell.