Haunt Weekly

It's a simple fact of haunting, while everyone loves scaring the ever-loving hell out of the customers, there's a lot more that goes into a haunt than just putting on a costume and scaring people.So this begs a simple question: How many hats do you have to fill when building a haunt?We actually started thinking about this weeks ago during HAuNTcon as we talked about all of the roles that a head haunter has to fill. Whether it's architect, engineer, marketing expert or human resources.We're not saying that each job has to be done by a different person or that they all have to be the same person, but each task needs someone dedicated to. For example, if you don't have a costume designer, who do actors go to when they they need to know what to wear?So, in this episode we run down those crucial roles and, hopefully, get you to think about who is going to fill each set of shoes as we go along.This Episode Includes:A rundown of all of the "decision makers" you need in your hauntWh

12 is divisible by 4 so that means it's time for us to do the news!While February might not seem like a time bustling with news for the haunted attraction industry we have a couple of major stories this week as we learn of one year-around haunt closing and another lynchpin haunt that is staying put despite rumors it was leaving.The industry has also been getting some interesting attention from the mainstream media as we have a pair of articles one focusing on the plight of year-round haunts and other focusing on one of the best-known haunting urban legends.All in all, this is an epode you do not want to miss!This week's episode includes:Legends - A Haunting in Old Town closes its doorsSo why aren't there more year-round haunts in the U.S.?The Darkness to stay put in St. Louis... for now...Was the "No End" house ever real?New documentary takes a look inside The BlackoutEngland's most haunted house is up for saleSam Raimi does effects for a car commercial?All in all, it's been

When opening up a haunt, one of the first questions that has to be answered is whether the haunt will be a touch or a no touch haunt.This decision is crucial because it affects nearly every decision that will come later including the design of the haunt, the marketing of the haunt and the actors you get for it. It can even impact your insurance and even your zoning.So with this episode Haunt Weekly, we sit down with Kyle, our resident expert on touch haunts, and discuss the differences between the two, the benefits and drawbacks of each and how to operate a touch haunt safely.This week's episode includes:The Benefits and Drawbacks to Touch HauntsWhat Can Go Wrong at Touch HauntsHow to Mitigate the Risks at Touch HauntsVarious Ways to Incorporate Touch into a HauntRules Touch Haunts Should IncorporateAll in all, whether you want to open a touch haunt or not, this is an episode you do not want to miss!Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hau

This week on Haunt weekly, we make our triumphant return from HAuNTcon and present our thorough recap including a breakdown of the classes we attended and some of the highlights of what we learned.As a result, this episode has a little bit of everything going on. Expect to learn a bit about haunt marketing, makeup tips, fireproofing, fire code compliance, haunt design and much, much more. It's a jam-packed episode that even ran a few minutes long (sorry about that) but it's hard to condense three days of learning into just one hour.If you're interested in the talk I gave, Copyright and Tradmark for Haunters, I have the slides, video and handout on my site here. If there's interest, we'll make our notes available as a Google Doc though neither of us have notes from talks that had robust handouts.This week's episode includes:Overview of What HAuNTcon IsDiscussion of Pre-HAuNTcon Visit to the InsanitariumBlow-by-Blow of the Classes We AttendedWrap-up and Final ThoughtsAll in all it

This week on Haunt Weekly, we are at HAuNTcon. However, since the conference is ongoing you'll have to wait until next week for our wrap up and other wonderful content.However, we aren't ones to disappoint, we have a great show this week as we bring on what we hope will be our semi-regular guest, Kyle. Kyle is, without a doubt, one of the most experienced and talented haunt actors we've met. With seven years of experience he's done everything from our home haunt, to charity haunts, to mega haunts. He's worked nearly every kind of scare and played nearly every kind of character and he's done it all over the country.So when we have some actor-heavy topics, he's the guy we're calling in for back up and this week it's about the basics of distract and startle, how to get customers to let down their guard so you can share the !@#$ out of them.This week's episode includes:The Basics of Distract and StartleHow to Use Lighting and LayoutSeveral Example ScaresLots of Gr

It's that time again! Another month has passed and it's time for us to cover the news. This week's episode is mostly about the biggest story in the haunted attraction industry this month: HAuNTcon. We will be in attendance at HAuNTcon (one of us will be speaking) and in this episode we have a full rundown of not just what we'll be doing there, but all of the things going on at the convention and some suggestions for classes to attend and tours to go on!In addition to that we also have some of the latest news in the industry including another legal victory for a haunted attraction, Silicon Valley getting involved the haunt industry and much, much more.In this episode we cover:HAuNTconA High School Escapes Liability for Haunt-Related InjuryScareBNB Becomes a ThingSyrian Refugees Claim New Home is HauntedSeveral Haunts Opening for Valentine's DayEx-Bioshock Developers Working on Horror Game w/ Blind ProtagonistAll in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss. The next episode will

The most common question actors have when they start a new role is "What do you want me to do?" Sadly, the answer isn't always straightforward. Sometimes, what the haunt owner or supervisor wants is not necessarily what is best for that actor or the room. That's because there is a wide variety of scares actors can do and not every actor is right for every scare.So whether you're a big guy looking to intimidate, a theater major looking to get all Shakespeare or a sneaky one who likes to tip toe around customers, we have you covered in this episode.In this episode we cover:Hidden Actor ScaresDrop Panels"Dot" RoomsSudden RelocationsActor LungesCreepy ActorsBackground ActorsScares We Don't RecommendAll in all, if you either are a haunt actor or direct them, this is an episode you do not want to miss!Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com

Websites. Your haunt has to have one. So how do you make sure your website doesn't suck? Here at Haunt Weekly the only thing we've done more than build haunts is develop websites and it's time for us to have a serious sit down about this issue because, let's face it, our industry stinks in this area. So, from two web workers to the industry, here's how we can make our web experience better for everyone.In this episode we cover:Why You Need A WebsiteThe Elements Your Site Should HaveWhere Most Haunt Websites Go WrongHow to Build Your WebsiteMaintaining a Social Media PresenceAll in all, this episode is a brief overview of everything that you need to set up a professional haunted attraction website that will drive ticket sales and real excitement about your haunt. Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com

It's time to talk some business. When it comes to running your haunt, you're trying to operate a year-round business that's only open for about 6 weeks. You need to attract as many customers as possible and bring in as much money from each of them that you can.How you do that is through price differentiation, lowering your price to customers who demand it while offering more to those who are wiling to pay it. But how do you prevent your high rollers from cheaping out or your lower-end customers from just walking away? That's what this show is all about it. In this episode we cover:The Basics of Price DifferentiationWhat Price Differentiation is ImportantUpscaling (Offering Premiums)Downscaling (Offering Discounts)All in all, if you're in the business of haunting, this is one episode that you do not want to miss!Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com

It's episode 4 of Haunt Weekly and that means it is time to get caught up on the news! We have a lot to go over this week as we're covering all of the news stories from early November to mid-December, meaning we have six full weeks of stories to go through.In this episode we cover: A Major Legal Victory for Haunted Attractions in the U.S.A Maryland City Openly Courting an "Upscale" Haunted AttractionAn Expansion to a Haunted Park in WisconsinA Slew of Christmas-Themed Haunted AttractionsThe Controversy Over a Haunter's Zombie Nativity SceneThe Reign of Terror of Wrinkles the ClownAn an Upcoming Comic Series on The Haunted MansionFor more details check out our Show Notes and, if you have any feed back or stories to suggest for our next news episode, leave us a comment below! We need your suggestions! Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com

Previously we discussed haunt safety much but now we get to the nitty gritty: How to build and design a haunt.Obviously, this is too much to unpack in one episode so think of this as a whirlwind tour the basics of haunt construction and design. Why construction first? Because most haunts are built the same way and that technique has a huge impact on design.This episode covers:Overview of Haunt ConstructionPanels: The Basic Unit of HauntingAssembling Panels into a Larger StructureBasics of Haunt DesignScare Placement and PositingOnce again, this is not a thorough overview of the topic. Rather, it's a whirlwind tour through several subjects that will likely get their own show in the not-too-distant future. Still, if you're new to haunting, this episode will let you know what you are in for!Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com

When it comes to running a haunted house, nothing is more important than safety. At the end of the night, you want every customer and actor to go home safely.So, in the spirit of safety first, we're making our first real episode of Haunt Weekly a whirlwind tour of basic safety. While we're going to delve into a lot of these issues more deeply later, this episode covers the basics of:Designing and Building a Safe HauntFire Code BasicsKeeping Actors SafeOutdoor Haunt SafetyUsing Safe PropsTo be clear, this is not a thorough conversation on any of these and there's a LOT more to be said. But if you're new to haunting, this should be the first podcast you listen to.  Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com

Welcome to the first episode of haunt weekly! In this episode we introduce ourselves, Jonathan and Crystal, and we talk a bit about our backgrounds, what we want this podcast to be and, most importably, how you can help.----more----Our goal is to make this the podcast that the haunt industry wants and needs so your suggestions, advice and help will be invaluable. So leave us a comment, give us your recommendations and stay tuned for the first full episode next week! Get in Touch and Follow Us!Facebook: @HauntWeeklyTwitter: @HauntWeeklyYouTube: @HauntWeeklyEmail: info@hauntweekly.com