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Author: Brian

HAuNTcon 2020: What you need to know for your trip to New Orleans

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:53 — 27.8MB)

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Liz Irving is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Clarion Events (HAuNTcon and the Halloween & Party Expo)

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.

Click here to get up to $35 off your tickets.

The Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Convention (HAuNTcon) will be hosted once again in the historic city of New Orleans, Louisianna from January 17-19th, 2020. View their website here: HAuNTcon.com

A haunted couple in costume at the HAuNTcon costume party.

What’s new at HAuNTcon for 2020?

  • The Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Convention (HAuNTcon) will be hosted once again in the historic city of New Orleans, Louisianna from January 17-19th, 2020. View their website here: HAuNTcon.com
  • NEW advanced educational seminars and workshops will help you prepare your Haunted Attraction or Home Haunt for success next season.
  • NEW Halloween and Haunted House vendors will be setting up booths so you can be the first one to see the hot new products for 2020.
  • If you’re one of the vendors, a new digital way of capturing your customer’s information is now in place. This also makes it easier for buyers as it streamlines the information you want straight to you.
  • NEW entertainment but the same fun and FREE drinks for the first 3 HOURS at the Brewing, Boos, & Booze Costume Party. One of the best costume parties in the Haunt Industry! Get Your Tickets Here.
  • NEW scares added to the 3 Mississippi Haunted Attractions (The Terror Test, Terror on the Coast, & Trail of Terror) that you’ll experience on the bus tour on Thursday. Lights on and Lights off. 8:30 am-10pm
  • a NEW Haunters to Watch award program that any Haunter can enter, or you can nominate another Haunter, for rising above and beyond in the industry. The prize package includes a paid 2-night stay in New Orleans, a FREE VIP ticket to HAuNTcon, and a bunch of recognition in the industry. Hosted by the Haunted Attraction Network.
  • a NEW Haunt Masters program, which is made up of a group of veteran Haunters who will help you navigate the show, help you focus on the right events, and be your mentor while you’re there.
  • And many NEW offers plus the Fashion Show, the Networking groups, the streamlined flow of the showroom floor, and lots more!

How to prepare for HAuNTcon before and during the show.

  • Plan your education track before you go. All of the seminars and workshops will be listed on the website HAuNTcon.com before you leave, create a plan of attack and pencil in back-up classes just in case you change your mind. There are many classes…all included in the ticket price.
  • Save money by going with friends. If you team up, a few people can split the cost of a hotel room. You can also split up and attend different seminars then compare notes after. Divide and conquer.
  • Dress comfortably. There is much walking in New Orleans and the convention center is HUGE! Bring comfortable shoes, possibly a coat or jacket (we needed one last year), and a shoulder bag large enough for catalogs/T-shirts/small merchandise.
  • Respect the vendors. HAuNTcon offers many cool products for your Haunted Attraction, Home Haunt, or your Halloween lifestyle. But be aware of other people waiting to chat with the vendors too. Ask your questions and move on to the next booth. Come back when they’re not as busy (usually early morning or right before close).
  • Pace yourself. HAuNTcon + New Orleans can be lots of fun! But you need to survive the weekend and get the most out of your stay. Try to get enough sleep so you have the brainpower to retain your seminars, stay hydrated to keep you going, and enjoy the cajun cuisine…carefully.
  • Stick to your gameplan. Know roughly where you want to focus on before you go. What costumes, equipment, and props do you need? What do you need to learn for the next Haunt season? What is your budget for 2020?
  • Enjoy your stay. New Orleans is a very historical city. Take advantage of after-hour tours and events.
The contestants at the Artist Battleground SPFX competition.

Click here to listen to this podcast episode.

Marketing Your Haunted House for Today’s Haunt Customer

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:25 — 45.6MB)

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It’s getting harder to get people to hear about your haunted house. You’ve got an awesome haunted attraction but your attendance isn’t growing. There are so many channels like social, radio, TV…where do you spend your marketing money for your Haunt?

We interview Alex Berland and Nick Levanti with Conjured Media and pick their brains about marketing your haunted house in today’s market, where to focus your advertising budget, and how they can help you save time and money.

Haunt season is here. Do you have your marketing and advertising started yet? Bust your butt these next 3 months and then take a breather in November. Yes..you can try to do the marketing all yourself or hire an agency to help. I’ve done both.

Here is a little about Alex & Nick and what you’ll hear inside this podcast. Reach out to them if you have any questions.

Who is Conjured Media?

“Our mission is to elevate the haunted attractions industry by ushering in a new era of growth, achieved with high quality creative and cutting edge digital marketing. The core to our philosophy is our business first approach. We work with our partners to identify what their business needs to grow and how to best implement those solutions through a marketing lense. We don’t like to look at our clients as clients, but rather as partners. For us, success is built on a strong foundation of trust and accountability.”

Conjured.Media

What’s inside this podcast? Listen Now.

  • How to get more customers to see and remember your Haunted Attraction
  • Where to spend your marketing dollars online
  • Why customer relationships are important
  • Marketing and Advertising Your Haunt Checklist
  • Bonus Haunt Consulting Interview

One of their clients. Schmitts Farm. Visit them here.

Conjured Media created this video, the branding, marketing, and the social media management.
Conjured Media created this video, the branding, marketing, and the social media management.

Our other website. To help improve your haunt.

how to start a haunted house business
Start your own haunted attraction business. We’ll help!

Follow the Story: Why your attraction needs a back story and how to create one

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:52 — 47.5MB)

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“An attraction is most effective when it follows a path, when it takes guests on a journey. The story determines an attraction’s physical layout, character development, and technical design. It also points the way for clever marketing, merchandising, and branding. This book gives you the tools to develop a story and to use that story as a blueprint for your attraction’s development.” –Follow The Story Book

Buy this book on amazon $9.99

In this podcast episode, we ask Scott Swenson all the different ways that you can use your attraction’s back story and why it’s important today more than ever.

If you are a Haunted Attraction that has never used a back story with your theme and sometimes you feel that something is missing from the overall experience, creating a unique story around your characters may just be what you need to take your attraction to the next level.

Today’s attraction customer wants more than just a scary walk-through; they’re looking for memorable moments, a story they can tell their friends, and an evolving theme that changes each year. Creating a back story immerses your attendees in a world that they will remember and come back to see what happens with your characters next time.

Follow the Story Book written by Scott Swenson

Follow the Story: What’s inside this podcast

  • Why having a story behind your attraction is important. Your guests will remember it. You can plan your entire theme around it. It can save you time and money by doing it.
  • How to use your story in your marketing. Using your main characters in your advertising and following the story will help your attendees have a better experience which will make it an easy choice to come back to your attraction for more story.
  • Simple ways to start your story right now. You don’t have to change up everything. Here are a few simple and low-cost ways to start weaving your story throughout your haunted attraction, no matter what stage of operations you’re in.
  • What makes great Haunted Attractions great. The attractions that understand where their stories are evolving can stay ahead of the game. They can plan easier for next season, have off season events around their story, and save money by using materials they already have. Large or small…you can start using your back story to help make your attraction better.

Where to find Scott Swenson

What people are saying about Follow the Story

“Scott provides a much-needed jolt of storytelling energy in a compact, readable form. This is a true ‘blood and potatoes’ approach to the many facets of haunted-attraction storycraft, which should help any designer ensure they’re taking full advantage of the tools at their disposal.”—David Ruzicka, Co-Artistic Director for JFI Productions

“Scott is a true master architect of immersive horror experiences, using the classic tools of story and conflict to create blueprints for some of the most influential (and some of my all-time favorite) haunted attractions ever. This guide is mandatory reading for experiential designers of themed attractions.”—Scott Simmons, Creative Director, ScareHouse and The Basement 

Buy this book on amazon $9.99

People who helped make this book:

Author: Scott Swenson

For over 30 years, Scott Swenson has been bringing stories to life as a Writer, Director, Producer and Performer. His work in Theme Park, Consumer Events, Live Theater and Television has given him a broad spectrum of experiences. Co-creator and Creative Leader for the first 15 years of the “Howl-O-Scream” event at Busch Gardens Tampa, during which time he wrote and implemented over 50 haunted houses, shows and scare zones.

Foreword: Ted Dougherty

Ted Dougherty, has created projects for Halloween events in Southern California including Knott’s Scary Farm, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, & Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights. His specialties focus on themed entertainment and immersive/multi-sensory environments through creative storytelling, production and direction.

Publisher: Philip Hernandez

Philip Hernandez is a freelance writer, speaker, producer, and marketer specializing in Seasonal Attractions. Since 2014 Philip has published Seasonal Entertainment Source magazine (SES), a quarterly print publication. Philip operates the Haunted Attraction Network (HAN), the largest global media entity for the haunted attraction industry.  

Cover Artist: Doug Schaefer

Doug Schaefer has been creating effects, props, masks and artwork for haunted attractions, theme parks and collectors for over 30 years. By day Doug designs and builds effects, puppets and illusions at Robot Monkey Lab, Inc (VFXcreates.com). And on evenings and weekends Doug makes even more monsters, in his home studio (ArtGuyDesigns.com), creating a variety of horror and creature art.

Buying Ghosts & Making Haunts with Banshee Manor’s Jonna Summers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:02 — 45.9MB)

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Banshee Manor Haunted Attraction is in Fayetteville, Arkansas is located inside a family fun park called Lokomotion.

Buying Ghosts is a audio drama series in the form of a podcast available everywhere you find podcasts.

Jonna Summers is the one orchestrating both of these fun Haunt projects. You’ll have to listen to this podcast to hear how these two projects are similar.

Banshee Manor Story

Banshee Manor Haunted Attraction

 The McCraulic Clan is notorious for being ruthless, barbaric and pure evil. Rarely would anyone enter the manor’s walls without being brutalized, tortured or murdered, often for sport more than for punishment of perceived crimes.  

The Banshee’s constant screams and cries often shattered the silence of the night foretelling of yet another death and as she mournfully shepherded the poor soul to the other side. The Banshee grew weary of the McCraulics’ and their evil ways and all the death. Oh, so much death.  

The Banshee decided to punish the McCraulics and tortured them with her constant keening, driving them mad. And as her final punishment, she no longer led their souls to their final resting place, instead, imprisoning them with their victims inside.   

To learn more about the Banshee Manor in Arkansas go here: Banshee Manor Website

Buying Ghosts Podcast

Buying Ghosts is the story of Annie Seals and her family, who embark on a business venture of owning a Victorian Bed and Breakfast rumored to be haunted.

Annie hopes to capitalize on the paranormal crowd looking for ghosts. Little did she know the rumors are real and now her family finds themselves trapped with the previous tenants.

To start listening to this audio story now go here: Buying Ghosts Podcast

Jonna Summers

Jonna Summers

To contact Jonna email here here: Send an email to Jonna

Start your own Haunt, or grow the one you have, in our Haunters Toolbox membership. It’s FREE!

Midnight Syndicate: Live at Cedar Point and Making Haunt Music

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:32 — 53.9MB)

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In this podcast we interview Edward Douglas and Gavin Goska and get these key takeaways:

  • What Type of Haunt Music to Use in Your Haunted Attraction
  • How Midnight Syndicate Got Started in Gothic/Horror Music
  • The Reasons They Keep Playing Live at Cedar Point in Ohio
  • Which of Their Soundtracks is their Favorite Ones

Midnight Syndicate is a Gothic – Horror – Haunt musical group that has been producing “soundtracks for the imagination” since 1997. Many Haunters use their music as ambient landscapes inside and outside their Haunted Attractions.

You can find Midnight Syndicate playing LIVE at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio in 2019. If you’re reading this after that, check the schedule on their website. MidnightSyndicate.com

A little sample of Midnight Syndicate LIVE at Cedar Point for Halloweekends

Listen to this Audio Podcast Here.