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This week on Haunt Weekly, we're looking at the (limited) history of Halloween in Japan, including why it was hated for so long and why things are now starting to turn the corner slowly.

It's an interesting look at a nation's experience with Halloween with a lot of great analogs for haunted attractions in the United States.

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Conference Reminders
4. Origin of the Topic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fopB4-zJDUU)
5. Why Halloween Was Hated in Japan
6. Why Things are Turning the Corner
7. Lessons for Haunted Houses
8. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

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This week on Haunt Weekly, we're mixing Jonathan's hobby with his day job and discussing not one, but two separate Supreme Court rulings that are going to have major impacts, including in the haunted attraction industry.

Though one of the rulings deals with copyright and the other with trademark, the rulings both send the same message: It's getting more difficult to use exemptions under IP law.

So, what did the rulings say, and how could they impact haunts? That's what this episode is all about. 

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Primer on Intellectual Property
4. The Copyright Decision
5. The Trademark Decision
6. Final Thoughts
7. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

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Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
Email: [email protected]

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This week on Haunt Weekly we're doing the news and boy do we have a LOT of news to go over. There's the closure of two, if not three haunts, a new IT-themed escape room in Las Vegas and much, much more.

So please, sit back and relax while we tell you all the haunted attraction news that is fit to print.

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Conference Reminders
4. Fear Fair Closes After 22 Years - https://www.facebook.com/fearfair/posts/pfbid02u8rKpom5kZqW18QoYTCjaYubhMxmaNxSVvZYBukMaZ4XEKDydmgNFrcRaVkohvjTl
5. West New York Haunt Struggles with Neighbors - https://wyrk.com/the-haunted-forests-neighbors/
6. Shadows Edge in Nebraska to Close After Season - https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/popular-omaha-haunted-house-is-closing-after-the-2023-season
7. Visiting the New IT-Themed Escape Room - https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/we-went-crazy-with-this-one-inside-the-it-themed-escape-room-2786327/
8. Ghost Train Ride Opens in the UK - https://interpark.co.uk/latest-version-of-ghost-train-at-thorpe-park-opening-26-may/
9. UGA Students Launch May Haunt - https://www.onlineathens.com/story/entertainment/2023/05/09/athens-area-family-brings-halloween-early-with-hauntfest-event/70197398007/
10. Statesville Haunted Prison Hosts Garage Sale - https://www.facebook.com/StatesvilleHauntedPrison/posts/pfbid031J5ftrFo1EMiQhTeZZJnkC8hzJyEcxkbuAvgAg4ww6kgfuQkeCoyJehHnhuGFGmul
11. Haunters Against Hate's Paul Lanner Wins Award - https://bearworldmag.com/haunters-against-hates-paul-lanner-discusses-protecting-lgbtq-youth/
12. Closing

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

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This week on Haunt Weekly, we're talking about the marketing, social media and other promotional elements that get us excited about visiting a haunt.

We cove a little bit of everything, from marketing, word of mouth and some good business decisions.

So sit down, relax and let's focus on the positive (for a change).

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Ten Things That Get Us Excited About a Haunt
4. Things That Do Not Get Us Excited
5. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

Get in Touch and Follow Us!

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Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
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This week on Haunt Weekly, we're letting you do our homework for us.

You all had such a big response to our question of the week, we're making a whole episode about it. We asked you what made your eyes roll when going through a haunt and, well, there were no eyes left unrolled.

So sit back and relax as we look at all the things that made your eyes go straight back...

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Housekeeping
4. Intro to the Topic
5. What Makes Your Eyes Roll When You Go Through a Haunt
6. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

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Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
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This week on Haunt Weekly, we are continuing our focus on storytelling by looking at some of the biggest clichés and tropes in haunted attraction storytelling. 

To be clear, we're not saying don't use these tropes, but definitely build off them and make them your own. They can be useful, but they aren't a story unto themselves.

So, with that in mind, here's a look at some of the biggest tropes our industry leans on (perhaps a bit too much).

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Work We Did on Our Haunt
4. Intro to the Topic
5. 9 Common Tropes or Clichés in Haunting
6. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

Get in Touch and Follow Us!

Facebook: @HauntWeekly
Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
Email: [email protected]

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This week on Haunt Weekly, we're doing the news! 

For a spring month, there sure is a lot. We have another haunt owner being arrested, several updates in the story about the Hotel of Terror (Update: The City Council decided to repeal the eminent domain) and much, much more.

So sit back and relax as we cover all the haunted attraction news that's fit to print.

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Conference Reminders
4. Work We Did on Our Haunt
5. Former Haunt Manager Accused of Raping Teen Girl (https://wjactv.com/news/local/psp-former-manager-of-clearfield-haunted-house-accused-of-repeatedly-raping-teen-girl)
6. A Review of the UK's Newest Dark Ride (https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/every-alton-towers-ride-reviewed-26636706)
7. American McGee Abandons Alice (https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3757659/alice-asylum-proposal-rejected-by-ea-american-mcgee-ends-project/)
8. LA Museum of Death Reopens (https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/the-museum-of-death-resurrects-itself-in-hollywood/)
9. Pennhurst Asylum Hosts Special Event (https://patch.com/pennsylvania/limerick/pennhurst-school-feeble-minded-now-tourist-stop-spring-city)
10. Fear Factory Erases Lunch Debt (https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/fear-factory-makes-a-killer-donation-to-fight-hunger-in-utah/)
11. UFL Students Open April Haunt (https://news.ufl.edu/2023/04/swamp-haunters/)
12. Hotel of Terror Updates (https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/05/costly-hotel-of-terror-election-up-in-air-as-council-considers-repeal/70184205007/)
13. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

Get in Touch and Follow Us!

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Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
Email: [email protected]

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This week on Haunt Weekly, we're revisiting ChatGPT as we ask it to write us a series of potential backstories for haunted attractions.

The results, to put it mildly, were mixed. A couple of stories were at least OK and a couple failed absolutely miserably. But hey, at least we can laugh at ChatGPT's failures without worrying about hurting its feelings.

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Question of the Week
3. Work We Did on Our Haunt
4. 5 AI-Generated Haunt Backstories
5. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

Get in Touch and Follow Us!

Facebook: @HauntWeekly
Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
Email: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on Haunt Weekly, we're bringing on a very special guest: ChatGPT

We decided to sit down with the AI and ask it a slew of haunt-related questions. It did everything from telling us lines that actors should say to discussing the roles for women in haunting.

So, how did the AI do, and what can we learn from it? That's what this week's episode is all about. 

1. Intro
2. Intro 2
3. Question of the Week
4. Conference Reminders
5. Basic Haunt Questions
6. Difficult Haunt Questions
7. The MOST Difficult Haunt Question
8. Closing

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss, unless you are a robot. 

Get in Touch and Follow Us!

Facebook: @HauntWeekly
Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
Email: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on Haunt Weekly, we're looking at the dead ends that the haunt industry appears to be going down. To be clear, not all haunts are doing these things, but they are all trends that don't end anywhere good.

So whether your haunt is investing in uninteresting technology, marketing tho long things or trying to expand in the wrong direction, this week's episode is for you.

This Week's Episode Includes:

1. Intro
2. Housekeeping
3. Question of the Week
4. Intro to the Topic
5. Escape Rooms
6. Virtual Reality
7. Holiday Events
8. Extreme/Blackout Haunts
9. Bigger and Bigger
10. Bonus One from Crystal
11. Conclusions

All in all, this is one episode you do NOT want to miss!

Get in Touch and Follow Us!

Facebook: @HauntWeekly
Twitter: @HauntWeekly
YouTube: @HauntWeekly
Email: [email protected]