Haunt After Hours

This week we discuss haunt themes - what is overplayed, what would we like to see?

Nannie Jannie Brings a feel good story of the week, as she discusses the young "hauntrepreneurs". 

Big Ant actually shares two stories this week about people doing questionable things. One guy was a busy driver hauling mentally ill, lost the passengers and picked up a group of people waiting at a regular bus stop. Took them to the mental institution that was awaiting their arrivals. Can you imagine the mess? "No, I don't belong here!" "Ya, that's what they all say buddy!" Listed to the show - this is a great story! 

As a haunt with several attractions we have done all sorts of themes. We discuss the pros, cons and ideas for future themes. 

Cody with a K gives us a sneak peak inside his crate of toys. 

Molly Poppins shares a marketing tip of the week - making a haunt video! 

Heartless Heather shares an eerie experience that she had babysitting as a teenager. A creepy girl came over to play, this was before cell phones. The girl was familiar with the house and the child, but when pictures were developed of the girls playing the parents had no idea who the girl was- she was never seen or heard from again- but the creepy pictures still exist. 

This is a fun episode! Be sure to listen and Share! 

In this weeks episode creator of "People in the Sand," Gary Duffey, joins the podcast to pitch a movie idea for our affiliated haunt Ranch of Horror. This is our 1st roundtable meeting- but we are excited to see how the project progresses moving forward.

Nannie Jannie- shares a story about her dedicated cast members.

Big Ant - shares a funny story about firefighters being called to a nudist camp on Halloween.

Gary Duffey- Pitches his big idea.

Cody with a K- Shares fog machine tips and tricks

Heartless Heather- a marketing tip that brought over 360,000 views to their website last season and a creepy story about her 1 yr old and it's obsession with the cemetery in their neighborhood.

In this weeks episode creator of "People in the Sand," Gary Duffey, joins the podcast to pitch a movie idea for our affiliated haunt Ranch of Horror. This is our 1st roundtable meeting- but we are excited to see how the project progresses moving forward. 

Nannie Jannie- shares a story about her dedicated cast members. 

Big Ant - shares a funny story about firefighters being called to a nudist camp on Halloween. 

Gary Duffey- Pitches his big idea. 

Cody with a K- Shares fog machine tips and tricks

Heartless Heather- a marketing tip that brought over 360,000 views to their website last season and a creepy story about her 1 yr old and it's obsession with the cemetery in their neighborhood. 

Our crew had a blast in St. Louis, for the 2021 Transworld show. On board was Heartless Heather, Molly Poppins, Nannie Jannie, Big-Ant, Cody with a K, Sober Dave and his wife Bobbie. 

We found new friends at Zagone Studios Halloween Masks, Costumes and Costume Accessories. One of the 2nd generation owners, a man well over 60 has skin smoother than a babies bottom! We want to get him on the show sometime to share his skin care secrets! 

We purchased a boxcutter and a scalpel prop from NewRuleFX.com - Special Effects Props Supply & Breakaways. Heartless Heather, scared 4yr old Creepy Casen with the scalpel prop. Check out the video on our Facebook page! (1) Haunt After Hours | Facebook

While in St. Louis, we learned if you have a medical emergency after midnight DO NOT rely on 9-1-1! 

Big Ant named Molly this weeks Boo of the week! You wont believe what she did to make the list. Listen to find out. And if you have Boo of the Week stories, share them with us! We want to hear! 

Cody with a K gives Gore Galore big props for their props, he especially enjoyed the chainsaw they had displayed at the show! Haunted House Props, Giant Costumes, Giant Puppets, Actormatronics | Gore Galore (gore-galore.com). 

We also have to give a big shout out to Scare Innovations – Making America Scared. For making good on their product. We had a small problem with a product we purchased and they took care of it on the spot- no questions asked! Great customer service! 

Our group went on a few excursions outside of the trade show. We enjoyed the City Museum, but felt a little gypped by the Six Flag experience- listen to the episode to find out why. Let us know your thoughts [email protected]  

Heather has a tip for people who make a living marketing for other people- LISTEN to their wants and before you shut it down- think about if it!

Molly's marketing tip- Geofencing! If you haven't heard of geofencing you're definitely going to want to listen. This may be one of the best marketing tools for your haunt. Though, it is a little expensive you can usually bundle it with other forms of media, our haunt bundles radio, social media and geofencing with our local radio stations. 

We really want to discuss the organ but we don't want to get into any kind of trouble! Seriously though, how fun was it?!

In this weeks ghost story, Heather shares an experience she had in her husbands apartment, with her husband and brother present. 

Molly chimes in and shares an experience she had ghost hunting with Heather and Cody- spoiler alert something supernatural actually called Heather out by name and told her to leave! They didn't have to say it twice though- she was already in the van waiting for the rest of the crew. 

This is fun episode! Be sure to share! 

This week we are talking about Transworld- it is Cody with a K's first time attending and he has high expectations! 

Molly introduces us to the 7- P's of marketing.

Heather shares a story from Springfield, LA that she first seen on Unsolved Mysteries only to learn that many people have inquired about the episode and producers are saying no such episode exists. 

Don't miss this weeks episode. Check out our facebook page @hauntafterhours. 

Send a message if you have an idea for the show! 

Intro- Heartless Heather 

Show Topic - Character Bios

You Might Be a Boo- Tony discusses how a character cast for The Headless Horsemen Attraction showed up dressed like a clown. 

Nannie Jannie - gets schooled by 4 yr old Rynnie May on her Haunt Characters - proving that everyone needs character guidelines at the very minimum. 

Creating Character Bios- Heartless Heather Suggest that every character no matter how big, or small a part they play should be provided a bio to help them get into character. Do the customers need it or even care? There are a few customers that show interest. Cody with a K suggests annual trading cards with character pics and bios. This is a cool idea we are excited to see implemented. Do you have a system like this? We want to hear about it! email [email protected]. 

Molly Poppin's Marketing tip of the week- How to utilize merch to help spread word of mouth advertisement and the crew discusses Merit badges for customers AND actors- we're thinking letterman jackets for the ALT Kids! Learn more about merit badges for the haunt industry by checking out scareitbadges.com 

Cody's Crate of Toys- Today Cody introduces us to spark gloves - cool gloves attached to a battery pack that spark- how freaking cool, right?! these can be found at https://www.halloweenfxprops.com/spark-gloves-full-system/. Cody also shares with us his baton taser-  that can be found at =https://m.facebook.com/141815106632382. Nannie Jannie gives the baton a 10 out of 10- find out why! 

Paranormal Story of the Week- Heartless Heather, passes the story to Molly Poppins this week as it is her own personal brush with death. Picture this you're caught in a rip current for over 45 mins. You're exhausted and you look up to the heaven to plead with the creator "if you exist, I need you now!" A man arrives puts his arms around your chest and instructs you to kick. You have been trying to stay afloat for over 45 mins, you're exhausted! He says listen "I know your tired but if you don't kick when I tell you- we both go". Molly knew she had to kick to save them. When she was on shore and done being checked out by the paramedics - she asked to thank David, the man who saved her life, only to learn - there was no man out there with her! If that gives you chills - the story gets crazier! 

Next week we will be discussing Transworld expectations - what's the show going to be like post 2020?

In this episode we talk about customers who seem to go above and beyond to ruin their experience. 

Sober Dave fills in for Big Ant in the You Might Be a Boo segment- where the heckling customer deserves an Academy Award for best performance and gets this weeks - boo title! 

Nannie Jannie shares a fun story about how Sober Dave got his name-  spoiler alert- Dave doesn't drink- he just plays a drunk hillbilly who escorts recruits to a quarantined town to try to save surviving humans from a zombie apocalypses. 

We all share an experience with a customer who just pushed limited to far! 

Molly Poppins shares her Marketing Tip of the Week-working with local restaurants and bars- allowing customers to continue a fun night out even after the haunt.  

Cody with a K's compares two different poppers to show how effective the poppers are. He uses them as scare tactics in que line entertaining and on character grams. They are great for making sure the customers stay six feet away. 

Heartless Heather shares another paranormal story, this one is not a ghost story. This is a real live "UFO" maybe FO encounter in 1997ish. She also compares some experiences from her childhood that are actually mentioned by other people around the world, in fact a whole movie "The Fourth Kind" highlights a few things she has personally experienced. 

Next week we are discussing character bios? Do they matter? Do the customers care? Does it help actors get into character? 

We all know an entitled cast member - this episodes sheds light on how to work with the entitled cast.

1:00 You Might Be a Boo- Big Ant shares a story he found online about a man who volunteered in a corn maze and got locked in! 

4:00 Let's Have a Talk About It- Nannie Jannie shares a story about her granddaughter who just so happens to also be an entitled cast member - but she's only 6 and has a passion for the haunt industry already. 

7:00 The Entitled Cast 

17:00 Molly Poppins shares her marketing tip of the week- cross promoting! Not everyone is on bored with cross promotion though. 

22:00 Cody with a K's Crate of Toys- Cody had a really cool toy custom made for a line entertainment prop. It's a common toy, that we are all familiar with, that was transformed into a unique one of a kind prop. 

27:00 Ghost Story- Heartless Heather shares another creepy story from her past- she doesn't have video proof this time but reports of what she experienced have been experienced by others around the world. Are you familiar with Hat Man?

32:00 Down The Rabbit Hole- now we are going down the rabbit hole to share a few other ghostly experience and creepy shows you can watch that are based on true stories. 

We know everyone is sick and tired of hearing about Covid, this week we delve into how Covid impacted the haunt industry in both a negative and a positive way. 

Intro

:41 You Might Be a Boo - Big Ant share haunt stories of cast members who just don't get it- tonight's character actually quits in the middle of a scare! 

3:34 Let's Have a Talk About It- Nannie Jannie shares feel good stories of haunters in the making or haunters in action. Tonight we are introduced to Creepy Casen a 4 yr old haunter in the making. 

6:09 Topic of the night- Tonight's episode we discuss the negative, and positive (yes, we believe there are a few positive) effects that Covid has had on the haunt industry. 

21:27 Molly Poppins Shares Marketing Tips- tonight we focus on the unique way Ranch of Horror in California, Louisiana and Missouri marketed their haunts through out the year, kept their characters working year round and kept their social media accounts buzzin' during the off season. 

24:25 Kody's Krate of Toys- Cody with a K, is known for his prop collection, tonight he shares a prop that got two grown fire fighters to leap with fear- a good four feet! 

27:34 Heartless Heather's Ghost Story- Every week Heather is looking for a ghost story to share. Tonight, she shares a personal story, of what appears to be a ghost figure caught on camera. 

32:00 Sign Off- We will tell you what's in store for next week! 

If you like the podcast please share!