Conventions & Mixers
 

Monsterpalooza takes place this coming weekend, June 3rd - 5th, 2022. Celebrating the art of monsters & movie magic, the event will feature over 450 exhibitors, Monster Museum, makeup demos, celebrity guests, and more. Programming highlights include a preview of "Spooktacular", a documentary that takes audiences behind-the-screams of the legendary horror theme park SpookyWorld (Friday, 9:00 p.m.); "Remembering Matt Rose", a tribute to this top-tier makeup artist from films such as Aliens, Predator, Beetlejuice, HellBoy I & II, and more (Saturday, 2:00 p.m.); and a screening of "The History of Medal and Horror", a documentary exploring - as the title suggests - the history of heavy metal and horror - followed by a Q&A with the director. Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. is the official Monsterpalooza Afterlife Party hosted by Premiere Products, Inc. - including live music, cash bars, and surprise guests. Admission to the afterparty is free with a Monsterpalooza wristband. Tickets for Friday & Sunday Admission are available for purchase online, Saturday admission is sold out online, but a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. 

Haunters Against Hate The Event has announced the theme for their 2nd annual Makeup Competition. On Saturday, July 9th, participants will create their own version of The Nun. Artists who would like to take part in this year's competition should send 2 samples of their work to paul@hauntersagainsthate.com. Selected contestants will be notified via e-mail closer to the event. Paid admission to HAH the Event 2 is required to partake in the makeup competition. Tickets are on sale now starting at $35 for Friday or Saturday Adult Admission, $15 for Sunday Adult Admission, and $65 for All Weekend Adult Admission. VIP All Weekend Passes are $110.

Livestreams

A devastating fire broke out at Creepy Hollow (Alberta, Canada) the evening of Friday, May 24th, completely burning down the haunted house. The fire was contained to the haunted house and no one was injured in the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The family has started a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of a rebuild. As of May 29th, over $3,000CAD has been raised towards their $10,000CAD goal. Although this tragic event will cause a Creepy Hollow Halloween to look different this year, co-owner Glory Reimer says they will still have a Halloween event this year, "Because that’s what we do,” Reimer said. “We don’t quit. We’ll find something else, bigger, better hopefully.”

A new haunted house has opened in the Philippines: Nightmares Manila. With its grand opening this past week on May 27th, the haunt will now run Tuesdays to Sundays from 4:00 p.m. - Midnight. The attraction includes two haunted houses with live actors, four escape rooms, an interactive shooting game, photo booths, a souvenir shop, and a cafe serving hot meals, beverages, and sweets. Its featured haunted houses are the Nightmares Haunted House - a dark walk-through - and the Haunted School House - a Japanese-themed haunted schoolhouse. Visitors must call ahead to make a reservation and then buy tickets online on the haunt's official website. 

Celebrating their 30th season, Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group will present Urban Death: Cannibal Corpse Fridays and Saturdays June 17th - July 2nd in North Hollywood, California. Urban Death - Los Angeles’s long-running cult horror show - is a live horror show of short, wordless scenes designed to shock, delight, and titillate audiences. This time, the scenes will be inspired by the song and album titles of the death metal band, Cannibal Corpse. Urban Death: Cannibal Corpse is directed by Jana Wimer and Produced by Zombie Joe, and features Barry Bishop, Gina Rizzo Bishop, Elijah Cunnaly, Joe Fillipone, Ian Heath, Zeke Jones, Jorge Lozano, Jonica Patella, Jess Sabine, Nick Salas, and Elif Savas. Tickets are $20 when purchased in advance and $25 at the door. Never been to a Zombie Joe's production before? Hear from the cast & crew of their most recent show, The Boogeyman, in our recent Haunted Attraction Network podcast.

Returning for 2022, the Austin Vampire Carnival will present Fear Factory - part nightclub, part haunted attraction. The event will feature scare actors from Austin's best haunted attractions, frightening live performances, spooky vendors, special guest DJ Horus the Entity, and more. Austin Vampire Carnival: Fear Factory will take place at Elysium in Austin, Texas Saturday, June 18th. Tickets are now available starting at $15 for general admission. Vendor spaces are still available for $50. 

Heads will roll this fall at Sir Henry's Haunted Trail in Plant City, Florida. This week the haunt announced that their newest featured trail for 2022 will be Headless, an attraction inspired by the infamous Washington Irving classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. More information will be posted soon on the haunt's official website. 

Hunt A Killer, the company known for their popular mystery, sci-fi, and horror-themed games, is breaking out of its box and has announced an all new murder mystery experience where attendees investigate an immersive and realistic crime scene in person. Hunt A Killer: Investigate LIVE will open in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Stonestown Galleria beginning on July 29th for a limited time only. Hunt A Killer has created two exclusive, never before seen cases that will have players take on the role of a private detective as they explore meticulously crafted crime scenes, realistic locations, and suspect testimonies: Dark Vegas and Gritty Diner. With Dark Vegas, it will be up to attendees to solve the murder of an up-and-coming Vegas showgirl who is found dead in her dingy Las Vegas weekly-rental apartment. In Gritty Diner, attendees will have to solve the case of a beloved diner owner who is found dead in his greasy spoon establishment. Tickets are now available online starting at $40 for one experience and $80 for a 2-case Combo Ticket. 

To celebrate this past weekend's premiere of Stranger Things: Season 4, Netflix opened rifts to The Upside Down on iconic monuments around the globe. The rifts appeared May 26th - 27th in 14 countries through 15 landmarks - including: the Empire State Building in New York City; Bondi Beach in Australia; Duomo Square in Milan; Malecon Barranquilla in Colombia; the Gateway of India in Mumbai; Menara Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Al-‘Ula National Monument in Saudi Arabia; Cologne Media Park in Germany; Xbox Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles; Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland; Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm; the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; Telefónica building, Gran Vía 28, Madrid; and Plaza del Callao, Madrid in Spain. Other locations include Shoreditch, London, and Tokyo, Japan.

Now through June 19th, SugarMynt Gallery (Pasadena, California) is hosting their Spooky Kids Club exhibition. The exhibition will feature special event days each weekend. This week's upcoming special events are:
 

Friday, June 3rd: Spooky TGIF
Join SugarMynt Gallery for a retro throwback night of Halloween episodes from your favorite TGIF sitcoms including “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Family Matters,” “Boy Meets World,” and “Step by Step” along with throwback Halloween commercials of yesteryear.

Saturday, June 4th: SNICK Throwback
Join SugarMynt Gallery for a retro throwback SNICK night full of favorite Nickelodeon content including Halloween and spooky episodes of “Aaahh!!! Real Monsters,” “Hey Arnold!,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Rugrats,” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” Theme Parks  

Granite Insurance will be rolling out a new insurance program designed specifically for the Haunted Attractions Industry. They have developed an advisory board consisting of leaders in the Haunted Attraction Industry to offer customized coverages that are applicable and exclusive to your operation. Haunters will be able to rate, bind coverages, and issue certificates all online. "The Haunted Attraction space is a natural transition for us with the amount of Adventure & Entertainment expertise we have within our organization." said CEO Cameron Annas. "This has been an industry that has struggled from an insurance & risk management perspective for the last several years. We are absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to change that, and help this industry succeed!" From drive-through attractions, escape rooms, haunts, hayrides, and more, Granite Insurance offers coverage for the specific needs of your attraction. Learn more about Granite Insurance by listening to our recent Haunted Attraction Network interview with Cameron Annas. 
 

In anticipation of the Halloween candy rush, Hershey will add three distribution and fulfillment centers this year, and is working to install an additional 10 production lines to boost capacity and meet growing demands. Hershey is looking to ramp up production and add inventory ahead of the busy Halloween season, President and CEO Michele Buck said in an earnings call last month. “We are doing everything we can relative to building capacity, investing in new lines, distribution centers, hiring more people to build our supply as much as possible.” Hershey is experiencing greatest capacity constraints within its Reese’s brand, Buck said in the call. The company also expects several products to “remain capacity-constrained until 2023,” according to prepared remarks.