Haunted Attraction Network

What a week to have a news podcast. Though we were hoping we would be able to completely avoid talking about the coronavirus and leave that to the experts, the impacts on the haunt industry are officially far too great to ignore. So, for better or worse, that is the bulk of this week's news episode. I'm sorry it's a bit of a downer and just one more piece of COVID-19 news to throw on the pile, but...

During part of a long car journey from Orlando to Tampa, Scott talks about the important topics to discuss at the first meetings of the season (aka "The February Meetings"). By identifying challenges and changes early in the year, haunt owners and operators can avoid being caught off guard in the Fall.

This week on Haunt Weekly it's time to do the news! Since we had to skip the news last month we actually have two months of content to go through so this is going to be one packed episode to say the last. We have some difficult news from Field of Screams, an update on the Joilet Prison and an interesting Valentine's Day promotion for one haunted attraction. Couple that with some other big haunt st...

Hear Scott's observations from the 2020 HAuNTcon trade show in New Orleans. Also included in this episode is a round table discussion about the importance of creating a team with cast members from Dark Woods Haunted Attraction ( www.darkwoodshaunt.com ) and a really fun interview recorded at The Vampire Bar on Bourbon Street with Deanna and Phil Raybourn of Raybourn Creative ( www.raybourncreative...

HAuNTcon 2020 is in the books and what a weekend it has been. There was much education to be had, parties to attend, drinking to be done and, most importantly, haunt fellowship to be had. As amazing and chaotic as it was, we're going to try and recap it all in under an hour. Impossible you say? That's because you're right. But it won't stop us from trying. We're sorry to anyone we forgot but our b...

When you build and run a haunt, you buy a lot of things. Some of those purchases work out and become worth their weight in gold, others... not so much. Even though we're overgrown home haunters, we've made a LOT of purchases in the past 15 years and, as we reflect on our buying choices, we see some savvy moves and some major mistakes. Today, we're going to tell you both kinds of stories. So, on th...

A Dark Little Gift to my listeners. A rather twisted retelling of The Night Before Christmas!

It's the holiday season and that means presents, cold weather and trips to visit family and friends. But just because this is the season where no work gets done doesn't mean that you can't do things to improve your haunt. Even better, there are things you can do no matter where you are. If you've got a laptop, or even a cell phone in some cases, there is much that you can to improve your haunt and...

Scott has assembled his recorded musings from the year's largest gathering of Theme Park professionals. The IAAPA Expo takes place in Orlando FL every year and draws visitors from around the world.

We've had a pretty serious few episodes so let's take a break shall we? We haunters are a strange, weird and borderline insane bunch. Best of all, we're proud of it. Still, it's sometimes fun to take a step back and look at all of the ways we are decidedly not normal. I mean, working year-round to scare people a few nights of the year is crazy enough. But to throw in all of the things we do to get...

What is HAuNTcon? HAuNTcon will push your attraction business out of its comfort zone and introduce you to game-changing new products, ideas, and concepts. Improve your Haunted Attraction, start a new Haunt related business, or get ideas for next season. It’s more than a tradeshow, it’s an innovative experience where the haunt community creates the future of the industry. The Haunted Attraction Na...

It's another episode that's divisible by four and that means its time to do the news! And what a week do we have for you guys. We have attempted arson, a haunted house run by a retirement community and one of the craziest haunt moves I've ever heard of. Since this episode covers a bit of the end of the season and most of November, we get a good mix of in-season news and stories about upcoming holi...

Based on a suggestion from the "A Scott in the Dark" Facebook group, Scott uses his visit to ChristmasTown at Busch Gardens Tampa to discuss the similarities and changeover process between Halloween and Christmas Events. This episode was recorded on opening night of ChristmasTown 2019.

Last week, we discussed how to find what your pricing should be for your haunt. This week, we're looking at how to increase your prices if you decide you need more pert ticket and how you can make it more palatable to the customer. The simple truth is this: Price increases suck. Nobody likes them. That said, there are ways that you can raise your prices and not lose your customers. In fact, you ca...

Scott shares ideas to recognize and celebrate the cast between haunt seasons...let's keep the after dark family together!

This week on Haunt Weekly, we're talking about pricing your haunt. Choosing the price for your haunt is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make with it and it's one of the easiest to get wrong. Price too high, no one comes. Too low and you can never turn a profit. So how do you do it? That's the topic of this week's episode as we look into some approaches for finding your haunt's tick...

A collection of recordings done over the Halloween Weekend 2019. Scott talks to SpOoOoky Steve, the winner of the 2019 Trick or Tweet story telling competition at Tampa Theatre, gives his view of Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa, chats about closing night at Undead in the Water at The American Victory Ship and reads a piece from his newest book, Awake in the Dark.

Everyone, the 2019 season is in the bag and that means all eyes should be on 2020. But, before we get back to slinging panels and building props, it's worthwhile to take a moment and examine the lessons that we learned. However, this year is a little bit different as we were actually closed due to road construction. So, we have to look outisde our haunt to find things we can learn and, fortunatley...

ScareHouse is on hiatus for 2019 while the attraction relocates, but the team announced two new experiences for this Halloween Season—a remodeled version of The Basement plus a new escape room, Stalked by a Killer. Both attractions are open Thursday through Sunday from October 17 to November 2. Scott Simmons (co-owner and creative director of ScareHouse) has been haunting for 35 years, and the new...

The ScareTrack team experience the Contained Liverpool Press Night! Click and listen too our full review of the TWO brand new attractions at Contained Liverpool. ............................................................................................................................ BUY CONTAINED TICKETS HERE: https://www.containedliverpool.co.uk/ ..................................................

Last weekend we had to record early because we were making the long trip to Houston. Well, we're back and, after having hit nine haunts in just three nights, we have a LOT to talk about. We visited two trail haunts, three scream parks, one tourist attraction and three traditional haunts. It was a wild trip with hours and hours punctuated with trips to some of the best-known haunts in the region. S...

Hush Haunted Attraction in Westland, Michigan, is debuting three haunted houses in a new venue that’s 6X as large as the previous space. The trio of haunted houses—Descent, Coven, and Rosecliff Hall—reside inside a 40,000-square-foot-building for one admission price. Hush opened on September 27th for the 2019 Halloween season and continues every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and on select weeknight...

For the 2019 Halloween season, Cross Road Escape Games unveiled a unique, theatrical horror experience with escape-game overtones—The Séance—which opened on October 2nd and will continue on through though November 3rd. Ticket costs range from $45 to $60 per person depending on the date and time. Each séance group is a maximum of eight people, and guests must be 16 years and older. Madison Rhoades,...

Dead Factory, located in Mexico, Missouri, is a 30-minute, linear walkthrough experience in a 12,000-square-foot building. Guests enter the realm of Dr. Phil Phobia, a deranged neuroscientist who specializes in the wide variety of human fears. Dr. Phobia’s allows guests to get up close and personal with common phobias, which change yearly. Dead Factory is open from October 4th, 2019 to November 2n...

ScareTrack - Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2019 / On-location Review The ScareTrack team experience the 3 mazes at Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2019 Listen now to hear our thoughts on their brand new attraction Creek Freak Massacre ............................................................................................................................ BUY FRIGHT NIGHT TICKETS HERE: https://www.thorpep...