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HAUNTWORLD MAGAZINE NEWS BLOG
Fri, December 31, 2021
Hauntworld takes you behind the SCREAMS at Orlando's ONLY year around Haunted House. Watch as our scary crew travels thru this multi-story haunted house. Follow Hauntworld on Youtube and share our videos. Keep Following Hauntworld for all the latest in haunted house news!
Journey through Mortem Manor, two floors of an old victorian themed haunted attraction filled with scares, thrills and fun. Featuring live actors, animatronics and state-of-the-art special effects. Mortem Manor is open year-round just outside Orlando! Learn more about Mortem Manor at www.mortemmanor.com/
Journey through Mortem Manor, two floors of an old victorian themed haunted attraction filled with scares, thrills and fun. Featuring live actors, animatronics and state-of-the-art special effects. Mortem Manor is open year-round just outside Orlando! Learn more about Mortem Manor at www.mortemmanor.com/
| Posted by Larry 7.59 AM Read Comments ( |
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Wed, December 15, 2021
Hauntworld is launching a new series of taking you the haunt seeker behind the SCREAMS at America's Scariest Haunted Houses. First up on deck is The Darkness Haunted House in St Louis Missouri. The Darkness is one of America's best haunted houses and features two floors of fear, Terror Visions 3D Haunt, Gift Store, and next door mini golf and escape rooms. Learn more about them at www.TheDarkness.com
Follow them on Instagram @scarefest
Subscribe to Hauntworld youtube page for all the upcoming videos. On deck next is a tour thru IAAPA Show, Creepyworld and Mortum Manor of Orlando Florida. Now sit back and SCREAM inside of one of the nations best haunted houses The Darkness. Follow Hauntworld on Instagram @Hauntworld and subscribe, like and comment on this video below.
Follow them on Instagram @scarefest
Subscribe to Hauntworld youtube page for all the upcoming videos. On deck next is a tour thru IAAPA Show, Creepyworld and Mortum Manor of Orlando Florida. Now sit back and SCREAM inside of one of the nations best haunted houses The Darkness. Follow Hauntworld on Instagram @Hauntworld and subscribe, like and comment on this video below.
| Posted by Larry 1.24 AM Read Comments ( |
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Sat, November 13, 2021
The tradeshows are slowly coming back! Transworld and IAAPA got canceled back in 2020 and Transworld got delayed 3 months into late May 2021. Transworld is back on target for March 17-20, 2022 in St Louis learn more click here: HAASHOW
Finally IAAPA show will happen for the first time in two years! IAAPA show will be smaller due to travel restrictions and the attendance is predicting out at about 50%. Either way IAAPA show is back! Should haunted house owners attend the IAAPA show 2021? We're going to offer you the same opinion we always give haunted house owners? YES and NO! Should haunted house owners attend this show every single year? The answer is NO but should they attend once every couple years YES! Why not attend the IAAPA show every year? Well honestly its not much different than the haunt show, a lot of the same stuff every single year. However at least with the haunt show you're looking for monsters, masks, make up, costumes and more at IAAPA you must look harder to find stuff you might be interested in. When you visit IAAPA every single year, you'll find not much changes, and the education is not relevant to you. But c'mon already its ORLANDO have some FUN not to mention IAAPA is over 600,000 square feet of pure amusement.
IAAPA is without ANY DOUBT the biggest amusement tradeshow in the WORLD! If you haven't ever attended IAAPA you will find all kinds of products and resources you didn't know was available. More of the IAAPA vendors should display at Transworld but they don't, so you must go to them this weekend in Orlando.
We're NOT expecting to see much we haven't seen before at IAAPA, but if you haven't been in a while or ever, you're in for a real eye popping experience. Prepare to find every food vendors, game or ride supplier, video games, animations, cool props, to all kinds of equipment you can utilize at your attraction. Haunted Houses owners need to diversify, take your experience and open escape rooms, mini golf, axe throwing, something that generates year around revenue. If this is something you're interested in doing GO TO IAAPA this week and while there hit up Disney and Universal the perfect one two reason for attending. If you're now offering games then you will find people who sell prizes. Do you want to sell light up toys its all there. IAAPA is the amusement playground. Hope to see you!
Learn more about IAAPA at www.IAAPA.org
IAAPA show runs from Tuesday thru Friday the 19th of November, in Orlando Florida. COME SEE BLACKLIGHT ATTRACTIONS at BOOTH 4467 on the Main Isle
NOTE: Hauntworld will cover the 2021 Tradeshow and produce a highlights video and post several photos on the Fright Forum Message Board. Keep checking back!
Watch a video from our friend Carpetbagger
| Posted by Larry 8.21 AM Read Comments ( |
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Fri, October 15, 2021
Haunted House Review America's Best Haunts of 2021
Join Hauntworld's 600,000 Followers on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HauntworldHauntedHouse
Every October, thrill seekers travel the country looking to visit the scariest haunted attractions in America. Hauntworld.com is the World’s biggest directory of haunted attractions with over 4,000 haunt listings. Hauntworld has been publishing it's TOP 13 SCARIEST HAUNTED HOUSES list for nearly two decades. Today many websites publish haunted house best of lists, for click bait, despite never attending or researching any of the attractions on their list. Hauntworld is the leader, creating content for the haunted attraction industry, publishing the industry's only magazine, Hauntworld Magazine, and how to videos with educational content for attraction owners. Hauntworld knows the haunted attractions and which haunts will make you SCREAM!
Haunted Attractions have drastically changed over the last 5 years, adding escape rooms, outdoor scream zones, horror arcades, scary photo opps, haunted midways, axe throwing, pumpkin festivals, hayrides and more. So, which haunted houses give thrill seekers the most SCREAM for their money? This year’s list includes the best of the best from theme park attractions to your locally owned & operated haunted attraction. Most theme park Halloween events aren’t very scary, but there are a few that take fear to another level. A newere phenomenon is travelling scream seekers, and they use Hauntworld.com to plan their annual road trips across America, visiting the scariest haunts in the country.
So carve your Halloween pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, decorate your yards with skeletons & ghosts, and pack your bags, because Hauntworld is taking you on the scariest road trip across Haunted America!
Hauntworld now presents the scariest and best places to celebrate the season of Halloween. The only list that matters to find the top 13 scariest, best, biggest, and best places to SCREAM this Halloween 2021.
1) 13th Gate
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
13thgate.com
13th Gate includes amazing set design, animations, and character actors who actually act out the parts of each scene.
13th Gate is one of the longest indoor haunts in the country at over 60,000 square feet and features everything from Hollywood level sets to LIVE Snakes!
2) Headless Horseman Hayride
Ulster Park, New York
headlesshorseman.com
Headless Horseman is a massive SCREAMPARK with the countries best haunted hayride, several haunted houses and unique gift stores.
3) Haunted Overload
Lee, New Hampshire
hauntedoverload.com
Haunted Overload is probably the single most creative Halloween experience in the country, with massive one of a kind creations. Your trip thru the forest will never be the same.
4) Field of Screams
Mountville, Pennsylvania
fieldofscreams.com
Field of Screams is a very intense haunted attraction with an all-volunteer dedicated staff of actors, massive hayride, haunted houses and a giant haunted midway.
5) The Darkness
St. Louis, Missouri
thedarkness.com
Some rank The Darkness the best haunted house in America due to its amazing set design and the industries largest collection of monsters, animations and special fx along with a huge gift store.
6) Pennhurst Asylum
Spring City, Pennsylvania
pennhurstasylum.com
One of the most notorious abandoned asylums has been transformed into one of the scariest haunted experiences in America. If there is such thing as real fear this place has it!
7) Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights
Orlando, Florida
halloweenhorrornights.com
Probably the most famous haunted event in America, Universal Orlando shows all other theme parks how to do fright right! Universal features haunted houses, rides and more.
8) Hellsgate
Lockport, Illinois
hellsgate.com
Created by the Zombie Army near Chicago this haunted house features amazing detail but a cast of monsters second to none. Hells Gate is a throw back haunted house when haunts where scary!
9) Knott's Scary Farm
Los Angeles, California
knottsscaryfarm.com
The longest running Theme Park haunted event is bigger and better than ever. The highlight is ‘The Hanging’ a show where they mock a celebrity.
10) Bennett's Curse
Baltimore, Maryland
bennettscurse.com
Bennett’s Curse features some of the biggest collection of monsters, animations and high end costumes and masks. Prepare to take a trip to the Underworld at Bennett’s Curse.
11) The Dent Schoolhouse
Cincinnati, Ohio
frightsite.com
Your worst nightmare is going back to high school where your long lost teachers are back to torture you from the other side. Dent Schoolhouse will leave you scarred for life.
12) Disney Haunted Mansion
California & Orlando
disneyhauntedmansion.com
Disney’s Haunted Mansion is the original haunted house and today is still as spooky as ever with ghosts around every turn. You can’t visit Disney without a trip to the haunted mansion.
13) Spookywoods
Archdale, North Carolina
spookywoods.com
Spookywoods is more than just a haunted screampark, with zip lines, trains, tram tours and so much more. Spookywoods is fear by night and Halloween fun by day.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
13thgate.com
13th Gate includes amazing set design, animations, and character actors who actually act out the parts of each scene.
13th Gate is one of the longest indoor haunts in the country at over 60,000 square feet and features everything from Hollywood level sets to LIVE Snakes!
2) Headless Horseman Hayride
Ulster Park, New York
headlesshorseman.com
Headless Horseman is a massive SCREAMPARK with the countries best haunted hayride, several haunted houses and unique gift stores.
3) Haunted Overload
Lee, New Hampshire
hauntedoverload.com
Haunted Overload is probably the single most creative Halloween experience in the country, with massive one of a kind creations. Your trip thru the forest will never be the same.
4) Field of Screams
Mountville, Pennsylvania
fieldofscreams.com
Field of Screams is a very intense haunted attraction with an all-volunteer dedicated staff of actors, massive hayride, haunted houses and a giant haunted midway.
5) The Darkness
St. Louis, Missouri
thedarkness.com
Some rank The Darkness the best haunted house in America due to its amazing set design and the industries largest collection of monsters, animations and special fx along with a huge gift store.
6) Pennhurst Asylum
Spring City, Pennsylvania
pennhurstasylum.com
One of the most notorious abandoned asylums has been transformed into one of the scariest haunted experiences in America. If there is such thing as real fear this place has it!
7) Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights
Orlando, Florida
halloweenhorrornights.com
Probably the most famous haunted event in America, Universal Orlando shows all other theme parks how to do fright right! Universal features haunted houses, rides and more.
8) Hellsgate
Lockport, Illinois
hellsgate.com
Created by the Zombie Army near Chicago this haunted house features amazing detail but a cast of monsters second to none. Hells Gate is a throw back haunted house when haunts where scary!
9) Knott's Scary Farm
Los Angeles, California
knottsscaryfarm.com
The longest running Theme Park haunted event is bigger and better than ever. The highlight is ‘The Hanging’ a show where they mock a celebrity.
10) Bennett's Curse
Baltimore, Maryland
bennettscurse.com
Bennett’s Curse features some of the biggest collection of monsters, animations and high end costumes and masks. Prepare to take a trip to the Underworld at Bennett’s Curse.
11) The Dent Schoolhouse
Cincinnati, Ohio
frightsite.com
Your worst nightmare is going back to high school where your long lost teachers are back to torture you from the other side. Dent Schoolhouse will leave you scarred for life.
12) Disney Haunted Mansion
California & Orlando
disneyhauntedmansion.com
Disney’s Haunted Mansion is the original haunted house and today is still as spooky as ever with ghosts around every turn. You can’t visit Disney without a trip to the haunted mansion.
13) Spookywoods
Archdale, North Carolina
spookywoods.com
Spookywoods is more than just a haunted screampark, with zip lines, trains, tram tours and so much more. Spookywoods is fear by night and Halloween fun by day.
The FEAR doens't end... Here is our list of the next best haunts 14 thru 31.
14) Creepyworld Haunted Screampark - Fenton, Missouri - creepyworld.com
15) Woods of Terror - Greensboro, North Carolina - woodsofterror.com
16) Realm Of Terror - Round Lake Beach, Illinois - realmofterror.com
17) Double M Haunted Hayride - Ballston Spa, New York - doublemhauntedhayride.com
18) Sinister Tombs - Eastview, Kentucky - sinistertombs.com
19) Fright Kingdom - Nashua, New Hampshire - frightkingdom.com
20) Basement of the Dead - Aurora, Illinois - basementofthedead.com
21) 13th Floor Haunted House - Denver, Colorado - 13thfloorhauntedhouse.com
22) NetherWorld - Atlanta, Georgia - fearworld.com
23) Howl o Scream - Tampa Busch Gardens - buschgardens.com
24) Ever Haunt - Angola, New York - everhaunt.com
25) Factory of Terror - Canton, Ohio - FOTOhio.com
26) Erebus - Pontiac, Michigan - hauntedpontiac.com
27) Spookyworld - Litchfield, New Hampshire - NightmareNewEngland.com
28) Lake Hickory Haunts - Connelly Springs, North Carolina - lakehickoryhaunts.com
29) Azra Haunted House Chamber of Horrors - Madison Heights, Michigan - azrahaunt.com
30) Haunted Nightmares - Winchester, Virginia - hauntednightmares.net
31) Haunted Club Farm - Virginia Beach, Virginia - hauntedhuntclubfarm.com
Halloween doesn’t stop there… now here is our list of best haunts 32 thru 60. Did a haunted house in your city make our list? PLEASE SHARE THIS PAGE!
32) Land of Illusion Screampark - Middeltown, Ohio - landofillusion.com
33) Frightmare Farms - Fulton, New York - frightmarefarms.net
34) Spooky Ranch at Rockin R Ranch - Columbia Station, Ohio - spookyranch.com
35) House of Horrors - Buffalo, New York - houseofhorrorsbuffalo.com
36) The Warehouse Haunted Attraction - Weber City, Virginia - hauntedbewarehouse.com
37) Nightmare in the Gorge - Minden, WV - aceraft.com/event/nightmare-in-the-gorge
38) Twisted Fields of Terror - Prince Frederick, Maryland - twistedfieldofterror.com
39) Chambers of Hell - Hauppauge, New York - chambersofhell.com
40) A Fright Haven - Stratford, Conneticut - frighthaven.com
41) Factory of the Dead - Saginaw, Michigan - factoryofthedead.com
42) Mount Mayhem Haunted House - Phoenix, Arizona - mountmayemhaunt.com
43) Rolling Hills Asylum - East Bethany, New York - rollinghillsasylum.com
44) The Dead End Hayride - Wyoming, Minnesota - thedeadendhayride.com
45) Fear Forest Haunted House & Hayride - Warren, Ohio - fearforest.com
46) The Hill Has Eyes - Franklin, Wisconsin - hillhaseyes.com
47) Hotel of Horror - Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania - hotelofhorror.com
48) The Dark Side Haunted Adventure - Ixonia, Wisconsin - darkrideproductions.com
49) Kreepy Hollow Haunted Attraction - Bishopville, South Carolina - kreepyhollow.net
50) Fortress of Fear Screampark - Alliance, Ohio - fortressoffear.com
51) Soul Takers Acres - Warsaw, Indiana - soultakersacres.com
52) Haunted Shadows Lake Trail - Colony, Texas - hauntedshadowslaketrail.com
53) Midway Wicked Woods - Statesville, North Carolina - midwaywickedwoods.com
54) Rochester Horror Fright at the Farm - Goodhue County, Minnesota - rochesterhorror.com
55) Carnival of Horrors Haunted House - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio - carnivalofhorrors.com
56) Hanna Haunted Acres - Indianapolis, Indiana - hannahauntedacres.com
57) Enigma Haunt - Boca Raton, Florida - enigmahaunt.com
58) The Haunts at Zombies Realm - Yankton, South Dakota - zombiesrealm.com
59) Camp Fear - Hiddenite, North Carolina - campfearnc.com
60) Barrett's Haunted Mansion - Abington, Massachusetts - bhmansion.com
About Hauntworld.com: Hauntworld was the first industry website with magazine to rate haunted houses nationwide. Hauntworld is the only media outlet which produces haunted house how-to articles both online and inside our industry magazine, Hauntworld Magazine. Hauntworld provides the haunted house industry with information & education and helps haunt seekers find haunted houses worth traveling to each year, or find haunted houses near you at www.Hauntworld.com. Plus join Hauntworld's 600,000 Followers on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HauntworldHauntedHouse
| Posted by Larry 11.14 PM Read Comments ( |
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Tue, October 12, 2021
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HAUNTED HOUSE OWNER
by Hauntworld.com Staff
Get Ready to go Behind the Screams -
Videos below show different behind the screams at haunted houses.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like in a day of the life of a haunted house owner? I will detail what it's like to own and operate a haunted house, and what the daily grind is all about. As you search the web to find your favorite haunted house to visit each Halloween season, haunt owners nationwide are working all day and night with the end goal to make you SCREAM. In fact, most for-profit haunted house owners work on their attractions YEAR ROUND! Haunted House owners attend a full schedule of events throughout the year such as tradeshows, conventions, learning seminars, and more.
Every year, a company called Transworld holds the annual Halloween & Haunted Attractions Tradeshow and Escape Room Conference. Haunt owners from around the world gather in St Louis every March to see over 400,000 SCREAM feet of monsters, costumes, masks, animations, props, inflatables and more. Many haunt owners even start planning new scenes and screams PRIOR to the Transworld Show, then come together with vendors to make the purchases to finalize their vision. After the show is over, haunt owners head back to their attractions and start the construction process to transform their haunt into a bigger and scarier event than the year before.
Haunted Houses have changed drastically over the last decade, as many haunts have put more focus on hauntertainment rather than traditional scares. Many haunted house attractions have added midways, mini escape rooms, a horror mini golf, a horror arcade, massive gift shops, roaming monsters for photo opps, and more. Some haunts have added pumpkin festivals, video mapping shows, and carnival style games to entertain guests. In many markets, serious haunted attraction owners have created spin off companies with year-round Escape Games, and have literally taken over the escape room industry by building very elaborate and fully immersive escape games. The point is...haunted house owners have really branched out from the origins of the haunt industry. A typical haunted house owner might also own Escape Rooms or Axe Throwing, BUT their core passion remains the Haunted House.
After the yearly planning/purchasing phase, Haunted Attractions typically take 5-6+ months to physically get ready for the season. Haunted Houses take a brutal beating each season from the numbers of haunt guests screaming through the doors. Just to repair a haunted house from one season to the next takes weeks, not to mention developing & building new scenes. When you order new monsters, animations and more from vendors at the Transworld Haunt Show it takes time for these vendors to manufacture the products. In most cases, haunt owners start seeing new props and animations delivered in mid-Summer and these must be installed and fitted into the attractions. Many times these props are bigger than the maze pathways they must travel thru to their new home, so it's never easy. In our own haunts, it's even taken us a couple days sometimes, to move just one prop into scene... cutting down the props, re-welding, then a final install. At The Darkness Haunted House in St Louis, we actually fully renovate before March each year, so we can showcase it during the March Transworld Show. Our team of 10-12 fabricators will work day and night building new scenes to meet the early deadline. Each year at The Darkness we might create 4-5 new scenes, plus scatter new props and animations throughout the attraction too.
Haunt owners never stop expanding and creating. It's in our blood. If you ask haunters what's their favorite part...creating & building new scenes OR operating the attraction each October, they will tell you...creating! Haunted house owners are a group of very passionate creators, do it yourself-ers. To build a World class haunted house you must have creativity skills, management skills, carpenters, techs, welders, painters and the ability to train people to make you SCREAM! Beyond the creativity, Haunted House owners wear many other hats too including box office management, line management, concession stand operations, parking lot management, security detail, retail gift shop management, retail buyer, digital marketing, videography, safety manager, and more. The typical day in the life of a haunter during October might typically consist of never sleeping.
Even throughout the season, these Haunts need constant updating, constant repair and constant staffing & staff training. Marketing in the past was a lot easier, but today you must constantly update social media, and monitor all digital marketing. Haunt owners might also spend a few hours a day replying to customers' questions by email and on social media. Haunted attractions need very large staff to make them operate, parking lot, security and 50-150 actors. As a haunt owner, you’re constantly hiring more monsters then training them to make people scream! Haunt owners would also spend part of their day making repairs to sets, animations, or an outdoor haunt might need gravel for areas hit by heavy rain. As you get closer to the time of the haunt's nightly opening, you must get all actors in character with make up or masks and costumes. (To coordinate and prepare 100 actors in only two hours or less is not easy.) Simultaneously, you must start walking the haunt turning on air compressors, digital fx, show lights, fog machines filled, microban sanitizing complete, prep the cashiers with start cash, prep security duty with 2-way radios, and on and on. Proper delegation is key, but still you must ensure all tasks delegated to others are complete. Finally, the time to open comes!
While open, a haunt owner must manage every detail. Maintaining the perfect balance between through-put of guests and wait times is critical. Haunt owners must also manage the parking lot, safety, security, crowd control, cash management, staff management and more. Then, after every operational week, there's time-consuming payroll, constant restocking of both staff-supplies as well as gift shop items and concessions, and of course haunt upkeep or repairs before the next night of operation. As you can see, a haunted house owner wears many hats. Lack of sleep each October is normal for a haunt owner. The best day of the year for a haunt owner is always the last day of the season. And as you get older (as in my case) you need more and more time to recuperate to do it all over again. People think of Halloween as one month a year, but for a haunted house owner who opens in September, it's actually only 10 months away until another season. The day in the life of haunting never stops!
Find a Haunted House Near you here at Hauntworld
Happy Halloween
Our Next article: Hauntworld Annual Top 13 Best Haunted Attractions list
by Hauntworld.com Staff
Get Ready to go Behind the Screams -
Videos below show different behind the screams at haunted houses.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like in a day of the life of a haunted house owner? I will detail what it's like to own and operate a haunted house, and what the daily grind is all about. As you search the web to find your favorite haunted house to visit each Halloween season, haunt owners nationwide are working all day and night with the end goal to make you SCREAM. In fact, most for-profit haunted house owners work on their attractions YEAR ROUND! Haunted House owners attend a full schedule of events throughout the year such as tradeshows, conventions, learning seminars, and more.
Every year, a company called Transworld holds the annual Halloween & Haunted Attractions Tradeshow and Escape Room Conference. Haunt owners from around the world gather in St Louis every March to see over 400,000 SCREAM feet of monsters, costumes, masks, animations, props, inflatables and more. Many haunt owners even start planning new scenes and screams PRIOR to the Transworld Show, then come together with vendors to make the purchases to finalize their vision. After the show is over, haunt owners head back to their attractions and start the construction process to transform their haunt into a bigger and scarier event than the year before.
Haunted Houses have changed drastically over the last decade, as many haunts have put more focus on hauntertainment rather than traditional scares. Many haunted house attractions have added midways, mini escape rooms, a horror mini golf, a horror arcade, massive gift shops, roaming monsters for photo opps, and more. Some haunts have added pumpkin festivals, video mapping shows, and carnival style games to entertain guests. In many markets, serious haunted attraction owners have created spin off companies with year-round Escape Games, and have literally taken over the escape room industry by building very elaborate and fully immersive escape games. The point is...haunted house owners have really branched out from the origins of the haunt industry. A typical haunted house owner might also own Escape Rooms or Axe Throwing, BUT their core passion remains the Haunted House.
After the yearly planning/purchasing phase, Haunted Attractions typically take 5-6+ months to physically get ready for the season. Haunted Houses take a brutal beating each season from the numbers of haunt guests screaming through the doors. Just to repair a haunted house from one season to the next takes weeks, not to mention developing & building new scenes. When you order new monsters, animations and more from vendors at the Transworld Haunt Show it takes time for these vendors to manufacture the products. In most cases, haunt owners start seeing new props and animations delivered in mid-Summer and these must be installed and fitted into the attractions. Many times these props are bigger than the maze pathways they must travel thru to their new home, so it's never easy. In our own haunts, it's even taken us a couple days sometimes, to move just one prop into scene... cutting down the props, re-welding, then a final install. At The Darkness Haunted House in St Louis, we actually fully renovate before March each year, so we can showcase it during the March Transworld Show. Our team of 10-12 fabricators will work day and night building new scenes to meet the early deadline. Each year at The Darkness we might create 4-5 new scenes, plus scatter new props and animations throughout the attraction too.
Haunt owners never stop expanding and creating. It's in our blood. If you ask haunters what's their favorite part...creating & building new scenes OR operating the attraction each October, they will tell you...creating! Haunted house owners are a group of very passionate creators, do it yourself-ers. To build a World class haunted house you must have creativity skills, management skills, carpenters, techs, welders, painters and the ability to train people to make you SCREAM! Beyond the creativity, Haunted House owners wear many other hats too including box office management, line management, concession stand operations, parking lot management, security detail, retail gift shop management, retail buyer, digital marketing, videography, safety manager, and more. The typical day in the life of a haunter during October might typically consist of never sleeping.
Even throughout the season, these Haunts need constant updating, constant repair and constant staffing & staff training. Marketing in the past was a lot easier, but today you must constantly update social media, and monitor all digital marketing. Haunt owners might also spend a few hours a day replying to customers' questions by email and on social media. Haunted attractions need very large staff to make them operate, parking lot, security and 50-150 actors. As a haunt owner, you’re constantly hiring more monsters then training them to make people scream! Haunt owners would also spend part of their day making repairs to sets, animations, or an outdoor haunt might need gravel for areas hit by heavy rain. As you get closer to the time of the haunt's nightly opening, you must get all actors in character with make up or masks and costumes. (To coordinate and prepare 100 actors in only two hours or less is not easy.) Simultaneously, you must start walking the haunt turning on air compressors, digital fx, show lights, fog machines filled, microban sanitizing complete, prep the cashiers with start cash, prep security duty with 2-way radios, and on and on. Proper delegation is key, but still you must ensure all tasks delegated to others are complete. Finally, the time to open comes!
While open, a haunt owner must manage every detail. Maintaining the perfect balance between through-put of guests and wait times is critical. Haunt owners must also manage the parking lot, safety, security, crowd control, cash management, staff management and more. Then, after every operational week, there's time-consuming payroll, constant restocking of both staff-supplies as well as gift shop items and concessions, and of course haunt upkeep or repairs before the next night of operation. As you can see, a haunted house owner wears many hats. Lack of sleep each October is normal for a haunt owner. The best day of the year for a haunt owner is always the last day of the season. And as you get older (as in my case) you need more and more time to recuperate to do it all over again. People think of Halloween as one month a year, but for a haunted house owner who opens in September, it's actually only 10 months away until another season. The day in the life of haunting never stops!
Find a Haunted House Near you here at Hauntworld
Happy Halloween
Our Next article: Hauntworld Annual Top 13 Best Haunted Attractions list
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