Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing the news!Unfortunately though, it's something of a somber episode as we have news not just of a tragedy in Poland but of the haunt industry losing one of its own. We also have irresponsible escape game owners in Canada and some news about planned haunt openings as well as one haunt that has, almost certainly closed.This Week's Episode Includes:IntroConference RemindersLast Minute HAuNTcon StuffScott Morrow Has Passed Away (https://www.facebook.c...
Jan 21, 2019•52 min
Send a text A recent question on Haunter's Hangout asked is 3K square feet big enough for a haunt. There was a great conversation about it with answers ranging a resounding no to many offering support. As overgrown home haunters, we have a lot of experience building in small spaces. Also, as haunt customers we've been to and enjoyed many haunts in that range. However, we've also been to a few that we enjoyed much less.With that in mind, we wanted to take our own stab at answering the question so...
Jan 14, 2019•54 min
Send a text Virtual Reality (VR) is rapidly becoming big business for haunted attraction. The ease of set up along with the novelty of the attraction and the slate of horror-related experiences makes it so that more and more haunts, large and small, are getting into the VR game.But is it worth it? What are the risks? How do you get started? We explore all of that and much more in this virtually incredibly episode of Haunt Weekly.This Week's Episode Includes:IntroductionConference RemindersWe Hav...
Jan 07, 2019•53 min
Send a text Happy New Year's Eve everyone! As we're winding down 2018 we're also introducing a slightly new and improved Haunt Weekly as we've got some new kit we're learning to use. Hopefully, this week's podcast sounds a bit better than the previous 160. But this is a big episode for other reasons, we're giving you a local haunters guide to New Orleans for those of you coming to or thinking about coming to HAuNTcon. We have all the stuff you need to know including places to stay, how to get ar...
Dec 31, 2018•57 min
Send a text Happy Christmas Eve everyone! However, it's also a Monday and that means it's time to do another Haunt Weekly. Furthermore, since it's another episode divisible by four, it's time to do the news. And what a lot of news we have, we have a lawsuit against a haunted house, updates on several stories we talked about earlier and even some great charity work being done by haunted houses. Most importantly though, we have some REALLY bad financial advice, if you want to throw away your money...
Dec 24, 2018•49 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing things a bit different. I'm recovering from a significant surgery so we're taking the opportunity to not only let Crystal take the lead on the show notes but to do our usual holiday tradition of doing an episode just for us. So what are we doing with that episode? We're targeting Santa Claus. That's right, the fat man in the red suit might be considered a Christmas hero but, in any universe where he is real, he would be consider a villain. So pu...
Dec 17, 2018•55 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're celebrating Christmas... sort of. Ok, maybe we aren't big Christmas people but Christmas haunts are definitely becoming a big thing in the industry. Finally, we were able to go to our first one and have spent a lot of time talking about why this is such a major trend in the industry and what we can do to make it really work. So, without any further ado, we're talking about Christmas haunts, why they're big, why to be cautious and how to make sure that...
Dec 10, 2018•56 min
Send a text When you've been to as many haunts as we have, it all tends to blur together some. We often struggle to remember what we saw in one haunt versus another and really struggle to recall when we saw something. But then there are those moments that really stand out, when we see something so unique and special that we have no difficulty remembering it at all. These moments are getting fewer and farther between, but are still so magical when they happen. Recently, long time listener and fri...
Dec 03, 2018•54 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing the news! This week is something of a catch up week as we cover stories that we either missed or didn't have time to mention last time and also cover some post-season news taking place in our industry. And what a wild week this is! We have a stabbing, a lawsuit over a mock rape and a customer who claims to have had three of his teeth broken inside a haunted attraction. And that's just three of the stories... All in all, this is one jam-packed ep...
Nov 26, 2018•1 hr
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing something a bit different. Rather than just blabbering on about whatever is on our mind, we're taking a look at Black Friday deals and seeing what might be of interest to haunters. Tis the season for saving and that's true for us haunters as well as everyone else. Fortunately, there are some great deals of haunters to be found! So, without any further ado, here's a look at where some of the best deal for haunters are on Black Friday. This Week's...
Nov 19, 2018•59 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing something a little bit different. We're sharing with you the lessons we learned from our 2018 season. The season, overall, went very well and many of the things we tried went swimmingly and will be repeated. Other things we tried went... not so well. However, things that go poorly are often better learning experiences than the things that went well. So, without further ado, here's a look at the key lessons we're taking away from our 2018 season....
Nov 12, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Send a text For us, the 2018 season is in the books. We are brain dead, dead tired and damn near just dead. However, it was a great season in every way, record numbers, amazing reviews and a perfect safety record. So, since we are tired beyond belief, we are going to spend this week's episode talking about the only thing we can talk about, how it went. So, sit back, relax and go on a trip with us through the season that was! This Week's Episode Includes: IntroConference RemindersA Description of...
Nov 05, 2018•59 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're winding down the season by doing the news. And what a month for news it has been, with more than a few stories that will make you scream expletives at the top of your lungs. Stories of racism, antisemitism and a mock rape. Though it's been a very good season for us personally, it's clear several other haunts have had much more rough seasons. So, without any further ado, here's the news. This Week's Episode Includes: IntroConference Reminders Haunted H...
Oct 29, 2018•51 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're talking about something that has been at the core of our lives this season, queue lines. Whether it's the one we're building for our haunt or all of the queue lines we've stood in at the 15 we've been to so far, we've had a lot of time to think about queue lines from the perspective of both a haunter and a customer. So what have we learned? Well, a lot. And that's exactly what we're sharing today... This Week's Episode Includes: IntroConference Remind...
Oct 22, 2018•50 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're talking about kayfabe in haunting. What is kayfabe? It's a wrestling term that's used to indicate the presentation of fictional events and information as real. However, kayfabe isn't limited to wrestling. We see it everywhere. Whether it's the craze over the Blair Witch Project, the "Is this place really haunted?" questions or just simply the feeling of being transported to a different place. So how can you use kayfabe in your haunt? That's exactly wh...
Oct 15, 2018•53 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're recapping what has beeen one of the best weekends of our lives for visiting haunts: The Lost Souls Chicago Haunted Bus Tour. To say it was an amazing weekend is an understatement. Not only were there six great haunted houses, but an amazing bus trip plus some great time with a good friend and friend of the show. In this episode, we're recapping the weekend that was and, along the way, discussing why these kinds of tours are so great for customers and ...
Oct 08, 2018•57 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, it's another episode divisible by four so that means it's time to do the news! But wait! Haunts all over the country are opening, what news can we possibly cover? Turns out a lot actually. We have several stories of haunts being used for promotion, some tales of haunt promotion and at least a couple of stories about some really, really long-running haunts. All in alll, there's a LOT going on right now and we're doing our best to keep you all up to date! Thi...
Oct 01, 2018•47 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing something a bit different: Answering a question that wasn't even asked of us. The question was asked on the Haunter's Toolbox Facebook Group , which you should join and also join their main site , about how far people are willing to travel for a haunt. The asker was looking at land 45-minutes outside of the city and was curious if peoeple would make the trip. There were a lot of great answers in the thread but, considering how many people have a...
Sep 24, 2018•55 min
Send a text Back in episode 95 , we took a look at all of the major retailers in our area and their Halloween sections. Well, it's 51 episodes later and we're doing it again, throwing in a few new stores to boot. So, with that in mind, here's a look at what our local stores have for Halloween, who disappointed us, who enthralled us and where did we spend our money? Stay tuned and all will be revealed! This Week's Episode Inlucdes: IntroConference RemindersWe Are Going to the Lost Souls Bus Tour!...
Sep 19, 2018•55 min
Send a text This week on #HauntWeekly, we're talking about a group we've neglected for far too long: Yard Haunters It's a strange omission for us. Every year we put a lot of labor into our yard display and far more people see it. However, when it comes to talking about haunting, we're all about what's inside the haunt itself, at least on the podcast. So, we're fixing that, with a full hour discussion of yard haunts including how we build ours, some tips and tricks for others getting into it and ...
Sep 10, 2018•53 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing the news and what a news week it is! As we inch closer to haunts opening their doors we're getting a slew of announcements and other news from haunts. Sadly, a lot of those announcements are of haunts not opening this year but many others are big stories about new and creative haunts that are opening up. So kick back and relax as we spin you through a selection of the biggest news in the haunt industry. This Week's Episode Includes: IntroConfere...
Sep 03, 2018•48 min
Send a text The New Orleans 2018 haunt season may well be the most chaotic of all time. The oldest and most famous haunt has closed, another is taking over the location and we have a brand-new scream park opening up. Needless to say, Crystal and I are equal parts excited and nervous about the new season. We've had a relatively stable haunt scene for the past decade so this shakeup is very new to the area. Still, we have a lot of details about this upcoming season and it's been the topic on our m...
Aug 27, 2018•48 min
Send a text This weekend, we took a trip to the Alario Center here in New Orleans to visit the Oddities & Curiosities Expo as it toured through the city. With over 120 vendors we went in hopes of finding some new things for both our house and our haunt. Along the way, we ran into a bunch of our old haunt friends and more than a few of our other strange/unusual buddies. All in all, it was a trip well worth taking though we did have a few suggestions on how the organizers and the vendors could...
Aug 20, 2018•50 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly is a bit different. Caught up in the midst of a major project that's giving us little room to breathe, so we decided to take some of the points and ideas we like to beat on and organize them into a bizarre parody of a book we've never read. With that in mind, we present to you: The Ten Habits of Really Great Haunts. All of this is based on things we've talked about in greater detail before but, as we're gearing up for haunt season, now is a great time to mak...
Aug 13, 2018•51 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, it's an episode divisible by four and that means it's time to do the news. And what a roller coaster do we have this week. Everything from a change of direction at a major haunt to a pair of cautionary tales about taking over historic buildings. So take a break from your haunt work and actor recruitment and find out what else is going on in the haunt industry this time of year! This Week's Episode Includes: IntroConference Reminders Erebus Haunted House Cha...
Aug 06, 2018•49 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're talking about our process for creating a scare, everything from where we get the idea to questions we ask about it all the way through build and testing. While this might seem like a basic topic, a lot of people in the industry, especially actors who are used to working in finished rooms, may never have gone through it. As we work to bring more people into the design process, we felt it was important to spell out our process to help us communicate bot...
Jul 30, 2018•53 min
Send a text Do you like making more money? Sure, we all do. But instead of getting a new degree from a 90s correspondence school, may we suggest something a little more practical? Making more money per customer. Video games may have brought us the microtransaction to the forefront but they also showed us how not to do them, now the time has come for us to learn the lessons from gaming in both how to and not to upcharge customers. So sit back as we walk you through a world of suggestions about ho...
Jul 23, 2018•55 min
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, we're taking a look at one of the less pleasant sides of the industry: Haunt Directories. Directories have the potential to be a very powerful tool for the industry, a way to help people find new haunts in their area or when they travel. However, our current options are, to put it simply, less than perfect. So we're going to take a deep dive, look at some of the current haunt directories and, most importantly, what can be done to improve the situation... Th...
Jul 16, 2018•1 hr
Send a text This week on Haunt Weekly, it's another week divisible by four and that means it's time mto do the news. And what a load of news we have this week! Not only do we have two stories of local importance here in New Orleans, but we have stories of haunt mergers, new attractions opening and some major stories from big industry players. All in all, this is one jam-packed episode with all of the latest goings on in the industry. This Week's Episode Includes: IntroConference RemindersMany Ha...
Jul 09, 2018•48 min
Send a text A wise person once said, what goes up, must come down. So is also true for haunts. But why are you talking about tearing down haunts in Summer? People are building their haunts now, not tearing them down! Glad you asked. That's because the success of a haunt teardown sttarts during haunt construction. Decicions made during the build impact how smoothly the haunt comes down. While most haunts use panel-based construction for easy knock down or renovation, there's a lot more that goes ...
Jul 02, 2018•57 min
