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Haunted Attraction How-To Articles

The following articles cover more general information and industry wide topics.

Employee Vs. Volunteer
Clients often ask me if they should bring in a non-profit organization and use their volunteers as actors in the attractions rather than paying to hire actors. My answer is always no! Before you start the angry email barrage let me explain. Haunted Houses started out in the early 1970’s as fundraisers for non profit organizations. In those days, READ MORE!

Full Contact Haunting: The Next Big Thing Or The End Of Haunting As We Know It?
First published in HauntNation Magazine
Last Halloween, I noticed a disturbing and growing trend among haunts across America. Attractions that allow actors to not only touch but to grab their paying customers. Is this legal, a passing fad or the next evolution of fright attractions? As a Haunted Event designer/consultant, I am constantly on the lookout for industry trends and new approaches to scaring people for money. READ MORE!

The Business Of Fear Q&A for the “Business of Fear” story for CNBC.com.
1.What is it about fear that attracts humans and gets them to spend money on haunted houses?
Haunted houses are for adrenaline junkies. Just like a roller coaster mimics death by violent plane crash, a haunted house mimics a violent death by maniac or monster, both while being relatively secure you will survive to scream again! READ MORE!

Top 5 Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Haunted House Business!
After taking a survey of the top most successful attraction in the country, several characteristics became apparent; characteristics that other haunts should be emulating if they want to reach the elite level of haunting. READ MORE!

Haunted Houses: A $300 Million Dollar Industry (This article was written in 2004 so the numbers may have changed)
According to the National Retail Federation’s (www.nrf.com) Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, consumers are expected to spend more on Halloween this year ($64.82) than last year ($59.06). This 9% increase has been on the rise since it bottomed out at $41.77 in 2003. READ MORE!

Haunting “State of the Union” Published in Parkworld Magazine in September 2010
The haunted attraction industry developed in the United States from single weekend church and civic fundraisers into a half billion dollar industry in only forty years. On the cutting edge of technology, haunted attraction designers are ever searching for new ways to illicit screams of terror and delight from their patrons. As sensibilities and what society deems acceptable changes, attraction designers are forced to weave a daunting path through the limits of good taste while trying to create as terrifying an experience as possible within building/fire codes, insurance restrictions and common sense safety of patrons and staff. READ MORE!