Here is the Haunted Attraction Industry News for July, 19th.
If you would like to receive this in your inbox, CLICK HERE
Theme Parks
The all-new frightfully immersive haunt experience, Dark Nights, is coming to Hersheypark Halloween Event (Hershey, PA) this Halloween season select nights September 17th – October 30th. Guests can brave their way through four haunted houses (“Haunted Coal Mine”, “The Descent”, “Creature Chaos”, and “Twisted Darkness”), and three scare zones (“Midway of Misery”, “Valley of Fear”, and “Darkstone’s Hollow”). The event will also feature all new exclusive food, drinks, and merchandise. The four-acre addition of Dark Nights (with the involvement of EPIC Entertainment Group) represents the largest investment to date for a seasonal event at Hersheypark. Guests must purchase a separate Dark Nights add-on ticket to experience unlimited access to all of the four haunted houses as many times as they dare during a single visit. Scare Zones are included with a general admission ticket to Hersheypark Halloween. Dark Nights Add-On tickets start at $24.95 per person with “Fast Track” access to the haunts starting at an additional $14.95 per person. Bundles that include general park admission and Dark Nights add-on are available as well at the official Hersheypark website.
Dark Nights is in addition to the returning family-friendly Hersheypark Halloween, which will operate more weekends than ever before – September 17th – October 30th. Guests can enjoy family fun and sweet treats on a stroll through “Treatville”, let loose at the Character Glow Dance Parties, experience lights out coasters, and take a flashlight tour through ZooAmerica.
Monsters are taking over Legoland Resorts in California, Florida, and New York this Halloween season with Brick-Or-Treat Presents Monster Party. The North American Legoland resorts will celebrate Halloween this fall with new Monster characters, treat stations, not-so-spooky decorations, entertainment, and the release of an exclusive new 4D movie: The Great Monster Chase! All guests are encouraged to come in costume and boogie down at the new V.I.M. (Very Important Monsters) Dance Party hosted by Lord Vampyre. Tricks and treats will be given away to all the little monsters including candy, pop badges, and a commemorative Brick-or-Treat brick. Brick-or-Treat Presents Monster Party is included in general admission tickets at each park. At Legoland California the party is every Saturday starting September 17th – October 29th; at Legoland Florida the party is every weekend starting September 24th – October 30th, and at Legoland New York, the party is every weekend starting October 1st – October 30th. Prices and hours vary by park.
Listen Here
U.S. Haunts & Events
Valley Fright Nights, The Summer Scare 2022 (Woodland Hills, CA) will take place Thursday – Sunday nights July 21st – August 28th at LA Pierce College. The event will feature 3 haunted houses, scare zones, food, and more. Tickets are on sale now starting at $49 for General Admission and $79 for Express Fright Tickets.
Land of Illusion’s Haunted Scream Park (Middletown, OH) announced their 2022 Entertainment Schedule for the park’s 26th season. The event runs select nights September 9th – October 30th and features 5 haunted houses and the Middletown Haunted Trail, plus other attractions and entertainment. “We’re excited for this year’s incredible lineup providing 8-weekends of hair-raising fun, thrills and chills,” stated Brett Oakley, owner of Land of Illusion. “From themed weekends, entertainment, and concerts by Ashley Martin, Mick Blankenship, and Hairball to a First Responders Night, there’s frightful fun for everyone!” Entertainment, shows, trail, and haunted houses are included with park admission allowing unlimited visits through the houses, and trail on select dates from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Southern Screams is coming to Holy City Brewing (Charleston, SC) for 24 terrifying nights September 30th – October 31st. “We are so thrilled to be partnering with Holy City Brewing to bring frights and fun to the Lowcountry this Fall, and can’t wait for our guests to experience our event – INSANE at Holy City Brewing. What better way to enjoy the Halloween season with friends and family, than to have some delicious food and drinks at Holy City Brewing and get your pants scared off at our haunted house attraction – all in one place!” said Nate Shoemaker, Owner of Southern Screams, in an interview with ABC 4 News. General admission tickets are $20 per person and VIP Admission (which includes a complimentary beer and expedited entry) are $35 per person. Purchase tickets online today.
Escape the Madness opened in Frankfort, New York this past weekend. The venue hosts an Abandoned Asylum Escape Room and “Rage Room” experience – where individuals can let out their anger by breaking things. Escape the Madness will be open Wednesday – Sunday evenings. To book your time slot, send them a Facebook message or call 315-360-6123.
Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group (North Hollywood, CA) continues their 30th season with “The Horror” a one-man performance of madness, monsters, and titillation. This whimsical 30-minute haunted journey through the haphazard trenches of Zombie’s nighttime terrors features Zombie Joe and is directed by Jorge Lozano. “The Horror” will run four nights only – August 5th – 6th, and 12th – 13th at 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.
In a July 12th social media post, The Nightmare Chamber Haunted House (Orlando, FL) announced that they will be canceling their pop-up haunted attraction at Fantasm Orlando this year. The haunt cited “Unforeseen events” as the reason for the cancellation, but did state that they “look forward to hopefully doing something for our fans in the near future.”
Halloween Meltdown, a Halloween-themed punk rock festival hosted by John Waters, returns to Oakland, California’s Mosswood Park October 8th & 9th. Produced by Total Trash Productions, this two-day concert includes performances by Amyl & the Sniffers, Shannon & the Clams, Fuzz, Sheer, Mag, the Spits, Lydia Lunch, and others. In addition to the music, the event will feature a costume contest and a haunted house designed by East Bay musician and horror artist Rob Fletcher. Tickets are on sale now with GA tickets starting at $59 for one-day entry and VIP tickets (which include admission to the haunted house) starting at $99 for one-day entry.
Boxi Park Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida is about to get spooky this weekend as it celebrates Summerween July 23rd & 24th. The park will be decorated for Halloween and will feature spooky food and drink specials. Activities will include kids crafts, trick or treating, face painters, live music, and costume contests.
International Haunts & Events
U.K. horror fans – do you want to play a game? This fall an immersive escape room experience based on the Saw franchise is coming to London to terrify guests. Saw: The Experience will be presented by The Path Entertainment Group in partnership with Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures. “‘Saw: The Experience’ will be an adrenaline-fuelled, theatrical experience bringing to life new twisted games in the world of the iconic horror film franchise,” promise the producers. “Combining the thrill of escape rooms with nerve-jangling horror, players will to be pushed to their limits in this new participatory theatrical experience.” The venue and exact dates for the experience have not yet been announced. Fans can pre-register online at the event’s official website.
Auditions / Casting Calls
The Queen Mary’s new Halloween attraction, SHAQTOBERFEST, in partnership with Shaquille O’Neal and ABG Entertainment, has opened up appointments for their talent tryouts. Eager to be a part of the skeleton crew? You are in luck – the SHAQTOBERFEST team is in need to fill performance roles such as actors and improvisational artists. No worries if you are not an “actor” per se… the job requires no previous acting experience and is a lot of fun. Plus, you will get to spend your days at the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, California! SHAQTOBERFEST is also seeking customer service and operations staff – including cashiers, ticket scanners, parking lot attendants, greeters, line staff, security, and their “Clean Team”. Interested applicants should fill out the online application form. Selected candidates will hear from the SHAQTOBERFEST to schedule an interview/audition.
The Dent Schoolhouse is now hiring for the 2022 season. Available positions include: Scareactors, Makeup Artists, Parking Attendants, Security, Sales, Food Service, Monster Midway Manager, Monster Midway Escape Room Attendant, and Monster Midway Axe Throwing Attendant. Applicants can indicate availability for the Halloween season, Lights Out November event, and Christmas Haunt (December 9th & 10th) when they apply. Come join the team that was voted “Best Place to Work in Ohio” by Ohio Business Magazine in 2020 and 2021. Interested parties can fill out the online application form.
Stalker Farms (Snohomish, WA) will hold job fairs July 20th, 27th, and August 17th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Visit the Red Barn at Stocker Farms during the job fair hours to interview and audition for your role. All interested actors must fill out the mandatory online application form prior to their audition.
Southern Screams (North Charleston, SC) will host scareactor auditions July 29th – 31st from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and August 12th – 13th from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Holy City Brewing. To participate, sign up for an open audition time slot.
Retail
Look out Home Depot, two new players are entering the 12′ tall Halloween decorations club! Walmart has debuted their Animated Giant 12 Foot Tall Posable Pumpkin Ghoul ($299.00) and Lowe’s debuted their Haunted Living 12-ft Lighted Animatronic Mummy ($348.00). Terrify your Halloween guests with the 12-foot tall Pumpkin Ghoul from Walmart. The decoration is animated with a turning waist, and features posable arms and a flickering candle effect in its jack-o-lantern pumpkin head. Lowe’s Animatronic Mummy sold out shortly after its release. Covered in gauze, this towering skeletal mummy moves, makes terrifying moaning sounds, and lights up with eerie, flickering light. With poseable shouders and elbows. you’ll get the perfect haunted stance. This giant animated mummy with flickering lights makes an eye-popping addition to your Halloween decorations.
July 11th Spirit Halloween took to social media to post a link to a cryptic teaser video for “Experiment 1031”. The 6 second video is mostly static with a few mysterious images of people in an abandoned building. The page also includes a countdown timer to Wednesday, July 20th. While Spirit Halloween has not yet announced what the countdown is for, based on past years, there is speculation that the timer is counting down to this year’s new animatronic reveals. Stay on the lookout this Wednesday for more information.
Halloween costume manufacturer Rubies is bringing Ben Cooper to San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Booth #4049 will host a selfie wall filled with vintage Ben Cooper masks and provide attendees with a sneak peek at the new line of Ben Cooper Costumes featuring D.C. superheroes and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ben Cooper was one of the three largest Halloween costume manufacturers in the U.S. from the late 1930s through the 1980s. Its licensed costumes included characters from Marvel, DC, Disney, Star Wars, and even “Alien.” Rubie’s Costumes, the world’s largest manufacturer of Halloween costumes & accessories, purchased the costume maker in 1992. San Diego Comic-Con 2022 is taking place July 21-24 at the San Diego Convention Center. The Ben Cooper Rubies Takeover is sponsored by Costumes.com.
SHARE THIS
Auditions / Casting Calls
Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream (Tampa, FL) – Various Dates
Creatures of the Night (Canby, OR) – Various Dates
Cutting Edge Haunted House (Fort Worth, TX) – Various Dates
Deadmonton Haunted House (Edmonton, AB) – July 23, 24, August 6
The Dent Schoolhouse (Cincinnati, OH) – Various Dates
Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia, PA) – Various Dates July 11 – August 25
Fear Factory SLC (Salt Lake City, UT) – July 30, August 20, 27, September 3, 24
The Haunted Forests (Newfane, NY) – Various Dates
The Haunted Harvest (Chino, CA) – August 6 – 7
Lake Hickory Haunts (Hickory, NC) – Ongoing
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride (Los Angeles, CA) – Various Dates
Red Vein (Ashland, VA) – July 22, August 10, 17, 26
SHAQTOBERFEST (Long Beach, CA) – Various Dates
Southern Screams (North Charleston, SC) – July 29 – 31, August 12 – 13
Stalker Farms (Snohomish, WA) – July 20, 27, August 17
Thrillvania Haunted House Park (Terrell, TX) – Various Dates
Undead in the Water (Tampa, Florida) – July 23, August 13
Upcoming Haunt Events
Summer Haunts
Carnage Haunted House (Columbus, OH) – July 29 – 30
Valley Fright Nights (Woodland Hills, CA) – July 21 – 24, 28 – 31, August 4 – 7, 11 – 14, 18 – 21, 25 – 28
Podcast Episodes You Might Be Interested In
Are You Making These Customer Service Mistakes at Your Haunt?
This episode, courtesy of The Scare Factor, is all about Customer Service Pet Peeves that these professional reviewers see at haunts. Listen to hear what they are and tactics for how to address them.
Touring Max’s Nasty House in North Hollywood
We’re going on-location to Max’s Nasty House, a new immersive production from Ballview Entertainment held at the Brickhouse Theatre in North Hollywood. We’ll learn about the directing of this sandbox environment and the “All Inclusive” ticket options. These elements are something you can try incorporating. Max’s Nasty House shows Thursdays nights through August 18th, 2022. This interview features Director Megan Colburn.
What John Carpenter’s Legacy Can Teach You About Making Monsters
“Man is the Warmest Place to Hide” opened June 25th at Sugarmynt Gallery to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Thing and pays tribute to the 1980s filmography of director John Carpenter. Today we’ll visit the exhibit to learn about John Carpenter’s legacy and what it can teach you about making monsters for your haunt. Featured in this episode are curators Mark Tavares and Erin Haggerty, plus artist Kevin Smith. This exhibit is open through July 17, 2022, at Sugarmynt Gallery in Pasadena.
Haunted Attraction Industry News for July 12th
Read more here.
Flying Cellphones, Oogie Boogie Sells Out, and Nope Arrives
This week we’re sticking to I-5 for a few stories including girl injured by flying cellphone, Oogie Boogie Bash has sold out, Universal Studios Hollywood adds ‘Nope’ Jupiter’s Claim set to Studio Tour, and United has expanded their pilot program. We finish with two stories and a word of caution from China.
Featured Video
This Episode is Sponsored by:
