Industry News
Consumer Data
Google has released their data on trending Halloween-related search terms & Halloween resources for 2021. Nationally, the top 5 most-searched costume terms are Witch, Rabbit, Dinosaur, Spider-Man, and Cruella De Vil. Trending costumes include Squid Games, Gorilla, and Brittany Spears. Google Maps' Guide to Halloween features information on Halloween destinations. Nationally, searches for corn mazes increased 270% between September and October, and haunted house searches spiked more than 500%. According to their data, the top 5 most-searched destinations for Halloween activities in the U.S. were Buford Corn Maze (Budford, GA), Field of Screams (Mountville, PA), Piedmont Avenue Pumpkin Patch (Oakland, CA), Howl-O-Scream (Tampa Bay, FL), and Greenspot Farms (Mentone, CA). Other fun Google facts included uniquely searched Halloween drinks and candy by state.
U.S. Attractions & Events
From rock star to scareactor: Robby Takac, bassist of the Goo Goo Dolls, made an appearance as a scareactor at EverHaunt Haunted Attraction in Angola, New York. After the team at EverHaunt helped out with Takac's Music is Art festival earlier this year, Takac returned the favor by acting at the haunt for a day. “I actually did this stuff when I was in high school at haunted houses around town,” Takac said. “It’s kind of in your blood to go out and shock people when you’re in my line of work, I guess when I was a kid, that was my way of doing it.” EverHaunt runs through November 6th. Tickets can be purchased online.
For the first time in its 100-year history, the station at the Railway Museum of San Angelo (San Angelo, Texas) will transform itself into a haunted house for the Halloween season. Scare Station will draw upon the station's history, as guests join 100 years of spirits on their wayward rail journey to the other side. Different rooms feature different eras - such as the early years of San Angelo or the 1920's oil boom. To create this new experience the Railway Museum enlisted the talents of Shelby Bond, a producer & director with over 20 years of event experience, and Emmy award-winning costume designer Felicia Rose. Tickets are $10-$15 and can be purchased online. The event runs October 14th - 31st, 8:00 p.m. - midnight.
The Museum of Future Experiences (MoFE) in Brooklyn, New York is opening a new, spine-tingling experience ahead of Halloween. Underworld Radio, Vol. 1 is a haunting 60-minute 3D audio immersive experience. This "Halloween twist on Southern Gothic" takes visitors on a sonic trip to the eerie town of Eden, Florida to experience three swamp-town tales of terror. Known for immersive ambisonic sound and virtual reality, MoFE's latest offering is their first audio-only show. It boasts "no cheeky jump scares, just good old-fashioned heavy metal spooky s***". The experience is intended for mature audiences as the show contains simulated violence, adult language, and content related to death, violence, and gore. Tickets start at $33/person.
Every year, millions of people pay good money to be terrified at haunted houses. This year the team at Erebus Haunted Attraction hopes to learn more about the psychology behind this choice with their Fear Study. October 15th & 16th, a group of horror researchers came to the event to study the fear-response of visitors. They asked attendees about their beliefs and attitudes, measured their heart rate during the haunt, and even measured their brain waves to better understand the minds of horror fans and how they come to enjoy being scared. Erebus has not yet announced when the compiled data will be released, but we look forward to learning more about their findings!
The creators of Scream Hollow Wicked Halloween Park have opened the Texas Halloween History Museum through October 31st to celebrate the rich history of the spooky holiday. The museum features three buildings of displays chronicling the history of the holiday and various Halloween & horror artifacts. You will find the original piano that played “Nosferatu,” at the Hollywood Theater in New York and an exact replica of the Annabelle doll from Tennessee. There are also plenty of spooky items from Texas too, including a medical gown from the haunted Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston. Tickets are $9/adult and $7/child and can be purchased online at the museum's website.
The National Zoo in Washington D.C. has cancelled their annual Boo at the Zoo and winter ZooLights events due to COVID-19 safety concerns. “We didn’t feel we could do them well for multiple reasons and within our COVID safety parameters,” zoo officials said in an e-mail statement. “Our number one priority remains the safety and well being of our visitors, staff and animals. … We hope 2022 will bring new opportunities.” The cancellation comes in the wake of nine of their lions testing positive for COVID this fall. The lions displayed symptoms of the virus, including nasal discharge and coughing. Zoo officials believe the virus was likely transmitted to the big cats from a human who may have been asymptomatic. The lions have since been recovering.
Fodor's Travel has compiled a list of their 13 favorite amusement park Halloween events across the U.S. From scary to family-friendly, theme parks offer a variety of fun Halloween experiences.
A Green Halloween
The UK department store chain Sainsbury's is making changes to their Halloween offerings to provide more environmentally-friendly packaging and to help eliminate food waste. The chain has cut the amount of plastic in its Halloween range this year, eliminating more than 15 tons from circulation. In addition to reducing the amount of plastic packaging that houses their popular wreaths, signs, and lights, the chain has scrapped their plastic trick or treat buckets and stopped laminating their paper plates and bowls. Additionally, the retailer plans to only sell edible pumpkins while encouraging shoppers to use recipes to create tasty pumpkin dishes, in an effort to reduce food waste. These changes are part of their commitment to reducing their plastic usage by 50% by 2025 and halving food waste across their value chain by 2030.
Terrifying Tunes
On October 11th, LVCRFT released their first-ever official music video, "Every Night" (featuring Jake Killer, Slay Heart, and Olivia Demon Spawn). The new video, directed by Mitchell V. Slan, was filmed on location at Spirit Halloween in Porter Ranch, CA. Entertainer Cory Graves gives a scream-worthy performance as the iconic headphone-wearing LVCRFT Skeleton Reaper alongside some frighteningly familiar animatronic faces, including Spirit Halloween fan-favorite Wacky Mole. “Spirit Halloween and LVCRFT share the same [twisted] passion for all things Halloween, so welcoming them to our store to shoot this video was a no-brainer,” said Drew Griffiths, Senior Director of Marketing at Spirit Halloween. “Our fans know they can expect an experience like never before when entering one of our stores during the Halloween season, but the new ‘Every Night’ music video gives them a glimpse of Spirit Halloween that will certainly haunt their dreams.”
Festive Foods
For years, condiment lovers have used HEINZ Ketchup to add deliciously convincing “blood” to their Halloween creations. This year HEINZ has embraced this use of their products, creating a special edition "Tomato Blood" packaging for their ketchup, opening their first Halloween Store, and offering a HEINZ Tomato Blood Costume Kit. Tomato Blood will be available in stores nationwide and the HEINZ costumes will be available online throughout October. Starting October 21st, Los Angeles-area fans are invited to visit the HEINZ Halloween pop-up store at Santa Monica Place where they can purchase HEINZ Halloween merch and start creating their costume using HEINZ Tomato Blood Ketchup at the store’s interactive “drip stations.” The event will also be livestreamed for those who cannot make it out in person. Halloween fans across the country can join in on the delicious fun by sharing their costumes on social media using #HeinzHalloween and tagging HEINZ on Instagram (@heinz) and Twitter (@HeinzTweets).
Krispy Kreme will become " Krispy Skreme" through Halloween with a spooky new assortment of Halloween treats. Donut varieties - including Abra Cat Dabra, Bewitched Broomstick and Enchanted Cauldron - will appear on the menu alongside the usual sugary fare. Pick up a Halloween Dozen to receive a limited-edition Spellbook box. Saturdays throughout October, Krispy Skreme will offer an extra sweet deal: $1 Scary Sharies Dozen with any dozen purchase. Finishing the monstrous menu is a Caramel Apple Chiller, a tart green apple-flavored chiller swirled with Ghiardelli caramel sauce.
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Haunt Directory Websites
Haunted house searches spike 500% in the month leading up to Halloween. As people search for Halloween activities, they often go to haunt directory websites to find area attractions. It is important to make sure your haunt is listed to maximize your haunt's visibility. Here are a few haunt directory websites you should keep updated with your event's information:
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Upcoming Events: October - November 2021
November 12 - 13: Legendary Haunt Tour (New Orleans, Louisiana)
November 16 - 19: IAAPA Expo (Orlando, Florida)
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Hauntathon 2021
Day 47: Crafting Sophisticated Fear
We're looking at trends for the upcoming holiday season and then discussing crafting Sophisticated Fear Experiences.
Watch on Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram. Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, or your favorite player
Day 46: Fear in 3D: The Experiment Haunted Attraction in Chino Hills
Fear in 3D opened last year to help provide a safe activity for the shops in Chino Hills. But once you haunt, you don’t tend to stop. For 2021, the team has completely renovated the maze to make YOU the experiment.
Watch on Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram. Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, or your favorite player
Day 45: Tunnel of Terror in Orange County
Every weekend in October, Big Wave Car Wash in Anaheim transforms into Tunnel of Terror. Coming up, we’ll hear about the genesis and challenges of this haunted car wash.
Watch on Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram. Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, or your favorite player
Day 44: Terror Vault: The Immortal Reckoning at the San Francisco Mint
Described as a site-specific narrative haunted attraction, Terror Vault at the San Francisco Mint premiered in 2018. For 2021 the team wrote an entirely new storyline and added an immersive bar experience, the Fang Bang. This year’s “The Immortal Reckoning” theme takes guests on a tour of occult artifacts that goes terribly wrong. Coming up on this show, what you can expect from The Immortal Reckoning and the road the team took to get here. Featuring Joshua Grannell one of the Producers of terror vault, also known as Peaches Christ.
Watch on Facebook or Instagram. Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, or your favorite player
Day 43: Haunted Attraction Industry News for Oct 13th
Read more here. Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, or your favorite player
Day 42: On Location: American Horrorplex & Frightmare Farms
We’re joining the scare factor for check-ins at two haunts! First, Tyler meets with Travis at the American Horrorplex in Louisville, Kentucky. Then, Bryan with The Scare Factor’s Team Skelegore interviews Nicole at Frightmare Farms in Palermo, NY.
Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, or your favorite player
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