Haunting The Globe

Subscribe to our main feed "haunted attraction network" to hear all our shows: https://hauntedattractionnetwork.com/newsletter/ . Today’s Halloween Special is presented in two acts, with an intermission. Act 1 is the audio version of Seasonal Entertainment Source Magazine’s Halloween Special- Issue 28. Intermission is music from Chris Thomas and Whispers of a Witch’s Halloween Special. Act 2 is a collection of short stories from haunters about why they love Halloween. Act 1 contains: “Remembering Halloween” by Scott Swenson, “GROWIN’ UP WEIRD” by Lindsey Gwen Robbins, “HALLOWEEN IS SACRED” by David D. Jones, HOWLING FOR HALLOWEEN by Ted Dougherty, EPIC Entertainment by Steve Sheldon and Charity Hill, SURVIVING 2020 by Cody Bailey, HOME HAUNTERS by Brian Foreman, PRANKSTER TO PLAYING GANGSTER – 1930s HALLOWEEN By Hayley Gross, MAKING A GRAVEYARD by Chris and Jeff Davis, JUMP, RUN, SCREAM: THERE WILL ALWAYS BE HALLOWEEN by Matt Schanandore, ATTRACTION MEMORIES by Alan Ostrander, A HAUNT TOUR REMINISCENCE by Nic

Subscribe to our main feed "Haunted Attraction Network" to see all shows.Take a trip with me through Halloween Past and Halloween Present. Today we're going on location to haunted attractions all over the US, including: Kinetic Theory in Los Angeles, The Queen Mary in Long Beach, Forbidden Acres in El Paso, The Maize in Buffalo, Howl o Scream in Tampa, Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, Creatures of the Night at ZooTampa, The Dark Seance and The Tunnel of the Damned, and Sir Henry's Haunted Trail in Orlando.

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 weeknights through November 2nd. Cody Bailey, executive producer of Hush, used the new building as an opportunity to design a themed environment. The environment provides a background for the haunted houses during Halloween, but also allows for year-round revenue opportunities. “Since Hush began, it’s become known for its high-quality set designs, actor-driven experiences, and new technology,” he said. “This year, it’s all indoors, and we're creating an experience that people aren't used to seeing in a haunted attraction—at least not in this region,” he said. Cody has been in and out of haunting since childhood but commit

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, co-owner and creative director of Cross Roads Escape Games, describes the The Séance as a typical séance with “unexpected twists.” It’s an hour-long experience that takes place in one room and features human-size puppets playing visiting spirits. In addition, The Séance has been designed to be portable, so the experience is available for purchase by venues around the world. Madison’s background led her to The Séance in a rather circuitous way. She was an actress in Delusion during its first year, and then she worked at the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor as one of their scenic painters. “I loved both sides of it,” she said.

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 2nd, 2019 every Friday and Saturday night from 7:00 to 11:00 pm. Dead Factory also represents how a hobby can turn into a seasonal business. Brian Foreman and his brother bring their haunt to ‘life’ every year in between working full-time jobs. Brian has been learning the haunted house game for the past 15 years, and he keeps working year-round to create the best guest experience.

“This isn’t just an old warehouse building in some downtown area. It's an actual fort with real buildings that give people a completely different haunt experience.” Those are the words of Matt Schanandore, Creative Director for Haunted Fort, which is a seasonal attraction that takes place every October at Fort Abraham Lincoln near Mandan, North Dakota. The site is a reconstructed military fort from the 1870s and is most famously known as the last home of General George Armstrong Custer before he headed out to the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. Since that time, there have been stories of the ghosts at the Fort, including those of the General and his wife, Elizabeth. The haunted site and its spiritual denizens have served as the basis for Haunted Fort’s themes each year. What’s New for 2019?New this year at Haunted Fort:• Scares and mazes• A craft-beer lounge• Special lights-on, lights-off events“Our mazes are completely new each year. We bring different characters into the Asylum and old-style, granary

An abandoned theme park sat deserted for years after a horrific accident, but now, the chaotic and haunted remains of what was once a fun-filled playland are coming back to life.Slaughterland, located in Binghamton, New York close to the Pennsylvania border, will featurefour attractions—Dark Magic, Wendigo Woods, Frightmares 3D, and Fallen Fairgrounds. Two of these are indoor haunts, and two are outdoor walkthroughs that take place in a creepy forest. This episode features owner Todd Fedyshyn as his journey to creating Slaughterland. Slaughterland will open on September 27th and be open every Friday and Saturday night through October 26th. For information, call 866-7Scream or email info@slaughterland.com.

Welcome back to a new season of Haunting The Globe! In this interview, I chat with Steve Sheldon and Charity Hill, Executive Producers at EPICEntertainment, about Dark Harbor in Long Beach and Dark Horizon in Orlando. Dark Harbor is one of the largest haunted attractions in Southern California and EPIC Entertainment is bringing their 'west coast style' attraction to Orlando for 2019. This is a fascinating conversation delving into the process behind the creation of Dark Horizon.

We recently sat down with Ben Dewitt, the entertainment project manager for Howl-O-Scream, one of Bush Gardens’ flagship events, and asked him to talk about this event and what guests will experience.

Adrian Noriega is the executive producer and creative director of Blackthorne Screamfest. The Screamfest is held at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena (October 28-29) and features music—with six stages scattered around the main stage arena—as well as food trucks and vendors. Outside the arena, gate is a huge campground in which there are two mazes, each individually themed, with monsters wielding weapons and chainsaws running around entertaining guests throughout the night. So, for one price—$25 in advance or $30 at the door—guests enjoy an evening of music, food, and unlimited access to the haunts. All ages are welcome.

We recently sat down and talked to Julie Lamb, who owns The Cromwell Estate along with her partner, Evan Greggory. The Cromwell Estate is a new escape room located in a nondescript warehouse in the Anaheim, California area. They’re planning some special treats for guests visiting during the Halloween Season.

Stowed down a dark Frontage Road between Tampa and Lakeland lies the estate of Sir Henry; guests visiting can choose from two haunted trails and even meet the specter himself. Recently our team made the trip down to Plant City and sat down with Zach Glaros, the owner of Sir Henry's Haunted Trail to get the who, what, when, where, why, and other details of his 2016 event. Photography by Amy Jo.

Haunts are an asset to their communities. We've come across so many haunted attractions that make incredible differences in the world throughout the years- and we're adding another to the pile. Daryl might be a little new to the game, but he's making an enormous impact.Daryl Kirby is the president of Kirby Family Farm, which is an outreach center for at-risk youth and special-needs children located in Lewiston, Florida, not far from Ocala and Gainesville. “We like to say Kirby farm is in the middle of nowhere but close to everywhere,” said Daryl. “We’re less than two hours from all the major cities including Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa, and we’re a 20-minute drive from three different I-75 interstate exits.”We talked to Daryl about the Farm’s Lost Railroad event and about running a non-profit organization to benefit kids.

While Haunted Attractions can give folks a little fright, the idea of being completely vulnerable terrifies most people. From public speaking to even sharing an idea with colleagues, vulnerability shapes our lives for better or worse. Nestled in the resort district of Anaheim, California lies Motel 6 Feet Under – the product of a family who dared to be vulnerable.Carolyn Carpenter, with the support of her family, quit her full-time job to bring Motel 6 Feet Under and her nonprofit ‘BOO’ to life 2 years ago. In a world of chainsaws and extremists, Carolyn’s family sought not only to bring retro back but to have the haunt aid in providing business services and occupational opportunities to underserved adults. Carolyn’s dare to be vulnerable has brought something great into the world and we stopped by this ‘Chainsaw-Free’ haunt to get the updates on year two.

Haunts come in all shapes and sizes, from intimate home experiences to grand historical prisons. Among the myriad of haunts out there, one has stuck in my mind as particularly unique- The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. The Queen Mary herself is a splendid experience. She thrusts solemnly out from the water, a hulking monument to a bustling era; the past clings to the corridors like dew on grass, and weighs down one’s imagination. Playing off the ship’s inherent ambiance, the Dark Harbor Event pits you against the ‘Evil 8’ in mazes both on and off of the ship. Entering the Queen Mary at night, among the lights and frights, for a maze is just something that all these years later, has not yet dropped out of my mind. This past month I returned to meet with Charity Hill regarding this year’s event. Charity Hill is the executive producer of Dark Harbor 2016 and the Assistant Director of Entertainment at the Queen Mary.

In the very first edition of The Haunt Journal we interviewed Scott Swenson, Creative Director of the Vault of Souls in Tampa, on the inroads he was making in audience interactivity with his event. As millennials begin to compose more of the overall attendance, we in the themed entertainment and attraction industry must adapt to new expectations. Millennials expect unique experiences, and this can prove challenging when throughput is an attraction’s bread and butter. Finding a way to manufacture individualized guest experiences is paramount to the sustainability of attractions. Scott is a thought leader in the themed entertainment and attraction space this is his second year of bringing “elegant fear” to life in a highly interactive way. We got Scott on the line to delve into the advances The Vault Of Souls has made for the 2016 season.

Jon Cooke is an attraction designer for Knott’s Scary Farm. He began at the theme park 11 years ago as a scare actor in the mazes. He became part of the production side doing carpentry, set dressing, and prop fabrication, and he’s now a full-time attraction designer focusing on the mazes. He’s also involved in other park elements such as stage shows, stunt shows, and dark rides. As an attraction designer, Jon’s responsible for imagining an attraction and then seeing it through to its full realization. In this episode, we discuss Knott’s Scary Farm 2016, Jon’s Journey into attraction design, and the haunted attraction industry as whole. Thanks to our sponsor Gantom Live and their Real Life Zombie Infection Game- ZTag.

We're exploring Lora's journey of founding and producing Scare Los Angeles. ScareLA™ is the first convention dedicated to Halloween. Situated in the entertainment capital of the world, they celebrate the scare season traditions by giving Halloween an early start every summer. ScareLA is a convention that is breaking conventions. In fact, beyond the presentations, classes, experiences, screenings, and other activities planned -ScareLA will be producing an original haunted attraction just for the convention. Lora's story is a trough of information and inspiration. ScareLA is offering 20% OFF General Admission, Fear Freak, Scare Student, and Party Tickets to our listeners. Use the code "HANSCARE" at checkout to use your code. To receive show notes for this episode and to be notified when future episodes are available text the code "HAUNTING" to the number 33444.

We explore the story of video game developer Drake Kazmierczak about "Horror Legends," an indie game that aims to turn the haunted house experience into a game. Drake is nearly finished developing "Horror Legends" a multiplayer survival horror game; the premise- Three players fight to survive an encounter with a player-controlled monster. Drake has done some out of the box things to promote the game, including setting up a mini-haunt at several conventions and even illustrating a comic book.

Darryl interviews Thérèse Hansell and Hugh Flesher from Rutherford Manor Haunt in Edmonton, recent winners of the "Best Canadian Indoor/Walkthrough Haunt For 2015" from the Canadian Haunters Association. For more information on this haunt visit: www.rutherfordmanorhaunt.comThis interview corresponds to Darryl's article in the May Edition of The Haunt Journal. To get your free digital copy of the journal, check out our new app for tablets, or order a physical copy of the haunt journal go to: http://hauntjournal.com/