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Pretty much every haunt has had to kick out a drunk and belligerent customer. It's a part of the industry that few like to talk about but everyone is familiar with.This is part of why the haunt industry's relationship with alcohol is so strained. Being drunk in a haunt is just plain dangerous and having to kick out drunk customers is unpleasant and disruptive.Yet, some haunts have made their peace with booze, opening up bars and alcohol-serving restaurants on their premise in a bid to get more cash from customers and to be able to better control their customer's drinking habits.So what approach is right and what should you do if you're considering selling alcohol at your haunt? We have some thoughts for you in this very sobering episode.This week's episode includes: 

Conference RemindersWhy Most Haunts Ban AlcoholThe Alternative Approach: Sell AlcoholThe Problems with That ApproachComparing the House of Shock and The MortuaryHow to Sell Alcohol At Your HauntMost Still Ban, But Trend is Going Other WayWhich Haunts is Alcohol Right For

So grab a beer and give it a listen, this is one episode you do not want to miss!

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This time on Haunt Weekly, it's all about the news! That's right, it's an episode that's divisible by four and that means we're taking a look at all of the latest and greatest news in the haunted attraction/entertainment industry. And boy do we have a lot this week. We start off with some coverage of "Halfoween" that showcases just how big the Halloween and haunted attraction industry has grown and then we shift our focus to this week's big story and a battle over the trademark for the term "Haunted House" as it applies to video games.We then have a pair of theme park updates as we learn the fate of the iconic "Tower of Terror" at Disneyland and the next attraction coming to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Orlando.We then have a couple of special engages as McKamey Manor hosts a one-day event in New Jersey and the New York Metropolitan Art Gallery has a special exhibit featuring a recreation of the house from "Psycho".We then wrap things up with some new openings including a Tim Burton-themed bar in New York, a new haunted attraction in Portugal and yet another escape room opening up near Detroit.All in all, this is one news episode you do NOT want to miss.Also, a special thank you to the wonderful people at HaunTopic Radio for featuring us on their latest podcast and a very big welcome to all of our new listeners. If you have any feedback or thoughts, please feel free to his us up on Twitter and Facebook. We should have a new site soon where you can reach out to us directly here. In the meantime, here's what's in this week's episode:

IntroThank You HaunTopic!Conference RemindersHalloween is a $7.5 Billion Year-Round IndustryZombie Company Atari Wants Exclusive Rights to Make Haunted House GamesDisneyland's Tower of Terror is Turning into a Guardians of the Galaxy RideThe Exorcist Will Haunt Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood and OrlandoMcKamey Manor's New Horror Experience 'Dystopia' Headed to East Coast'Psycho' House Has Been Re-created on the Met Museum's RoofGin and BeetlejuiceA Behind the Scenes Look at the Making of a Dark RidePortugal Haunted House Show Seeks Shivers and Shrieks in Freaky TourNew haunted attraction 'Escape Block X' opening in Westland

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Maze attractions are great. For many, nothing says Halloween more than a corn maze in the dead of a brisk October night.However, many haunted houses incorporate mazes into their attractions, rather than making them standalone. The idea is simple enough, people are afraid of being lost and a maze is a great way to get people confused. Throw in the fact they're simple to build, easy to staff and great for padding out walkthrough time, a maze can seem like an appealing tool.But mazes come with a slew of complications. Not only do they kill capacity, but they raise serious fire code and safety issues that, often times, can't be completely solved.So while maze attractions are great, when your customer isn't expecting to walk into one, the experience is very different and the impact it has on your haunt is, for the most part, not beneficial.If you don't believe us, at least hear out our arguments.This Week's Episode Includes:

Conference Reminders and UpdatesWhy We Like Maze AttractionsWhy We Don't Like Them Inside HauntsThe Reasons Some Haunts Add MazesThe Problems with MazesHow Haunts Can Use MazesWhy Most Haunts Don't Need One

All in all, whether you have a maze or not, this is a topic that relates to your attraction and an episode you do not want to miss. 

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Many haunted attractions bill themselves as an interactive horror movie. Why should one simply watch a film when they can be a part of it?But on that front haunted attractions have some strong competition in the form of horror video games, which actually are interactive horror films.But whether you view video games as competition, inspiration or something in between, there's a great deal that haunts can learn from them. Simply put, video games have evolved a great deal over the past 30+ years in terms of the horror experience they provide and can teach us a lot about how to terrify our customers.So, in this episode of Haunt Weekly, we take a look at horror video games, their history and what we as haunters can take from them to improve our attractions.This week's episode includes:

Housekeeping (Changing of Posting Day)Happy Half-O-Ween!Conference RemindersBackground to the "Interactive Horror Movie"The History of Horror Video GamesWhat Horror Video Games Do WellWhat Haunted Attractions Can Do Better Than GamesWhat Haunted Attractions Can Learn From Games

All in all, this is an episode you don't want to miss and, if you're interested in the Angry Video Game Nerd episode about the Texas Chainsaw Masscre, you can heck that out here.

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For all of the planning, building and other work that goes into a haunted attraction, haunts inevitably run on actors. It's the people in the haunt that make or break it.But recruiting and keeping good actors is no simple matter. Virtually every haunt struggles with this to some degree, making it one of the few things that truly unites all haunted attractions.So how do you recruit and keep actors. To be honest, we struggle ourselves with this but we have learned a few tricks over the years that might help others including where you can meet and recruit great actors and keep them coming back.Along the way, we'll discuss some of the bigger debates around haunt actors including whether to hold auditions and the issue of payment. All of that and a rundown of the upcoming haunted attraction conventions on this episode of Haunt Weekly!This week's episode includes:

Conference Reminders and UpdatesWhere to Find ActorsShould You Hold Auditions?How to Train ActorsPaid vs. Unpaid ActorsHow to Retain Actors

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

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Haunt Weekly fans it's time once again to do the news, this time for the fifth time.This week's episode starts on a bit of a down note as we get dueling reminders about the importance of safety when working on and acting in a haunted attractions. We then shift gears and talk about legal stuff as a long-running case against an Illinois haunted attraction is settled.From there, it's all about the Texas Chain Saw Massacre as we not only have news on an attraction themed after the movie as part of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights and news that the gas station featured in the film is being renovated into an attraction of its own.After that, we turn our attention to Disney and two items of haunted news from there and we wrap things up by looking at a small town in Kansas and whether the gates of Hell itself may be found in the plains of the state.All in all, this is one full episode that you do not want to miss!This week's stories include...

Disneyland Paris Worker Killed in AccidentNew Zealand Sweeny Todd Production Sends Two to HospitalLawsuit Over Alleged Clown Sex Toy Attack SettledHalloween Horror Nights Reveals First Theme Haunt for 2016Texas Chain Saw Massacre Gas Station To Become "Horror Barbecue Resort"Walt Disney World Gets Into Escape Room BusinessTower of Terror Getting an AdditionAbandoned Church in Kansas Rumored to House the Gates of Hell

All of that and much, much more!

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Religion and haunted attractions have always been a strange mixture. Sure haunts have long had exorcism rooms and themes surrounding the devil, but typically haunts have avoided straying too far into to the religious.But while haunting has been reluctant to approach religion, religion has been very eager to approach haunting.Across the nation and the world hundreds of churches and church organizations set up "Hell Houses" every Halloween season. These haunts have a dual purpose of raising funds for the church and scaring patrons into becoming new believers.However, these haunts have not been without controversy. From graphic and intense scenes that play on recent tragedies to alleged hate speech against gays and other faiths, hell houses have routinely become a firestorm of controversy.So this episode we take a deep dive into the Hell House phenomenon, looking at what they are, what their history is and why they are so common and so controversial.This week's episode includes:

What is a Hell House?How a Hell House is Different from a HauntHistory of Hell HousesHell House ControversiesHell Houses vs. Haunted Attractions

Love them or hate them, there's no doubt that they are a controversial and growing part of this industry, making this an important episode you don't want to miss!

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The two of us have been blessed with our haunt experiences, nearly every single time we've been through a haunt we have enjoyed ourselves or, at the very least, had something great to take away. We've been able to tour some of the greatest haunts in the world and have shaken hands with some of the best actors, builders and creators our region and our industry. You couldn't ask for more.However, not every haunt experience has been charming. A handful of haunts we went to were just cheap cash ins that lacked any love, vision or talent. Those left us feeling ripped off and angered, but not particularly devastated. Sure, the haunt wasn't great, but no dreams were crushed nor any talent wasted.However, of the bad haunts we've been to, one stands out. It was a small haunt that was only open for four nights that showed real talent and promise, but was hamstrung by what seems to be owner limitations. Between the non-existant marketing, limited schedule and far too much space with too little time and money to fill it, it was a haunt that showed flashes of brilliance, but ultimately fell very flat.In this episode we look back at the haunt that, well, haunts us. It could have been great, but instead, was deeply lacking and, after a disappointing run, never opened again.This week's episode includes:

The Criteria We Used to Pick Our Worst Haunt EverWhy This Particular Haunt Took The TitleA Walkthrough of the Night We Spent ThereA Couple of Competitors for the Title

All in all, in an industry that loves to talk about its hits, this is one show that you do not want to miss. 

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Haunters have always had a strange fascination with evil. We love using the fear of evil to build a mood and get scares in customers. Our attractions regularly feature grizzly murders, demonic creatures, inhuman villains and much, much more. We even advertise how "evil" we are in a bid to draw more customers.Basically, the haunt industry has long used evil to sell itself and customers have grown to expect nothing less.But sometimes the evil can get a bit too real. What happens when the evil we reference in the haunt has real-life victims in the outside world? What happens when the terror we put into visitors stops being fun and games? If haunting is supposed to be about having fun, why is it sometimes it's anything but?Needless to say that this is a heavy, but we think important episode about the ethics in haunting and when, sometimes, a haunt can go too far for a scare.This week's episode includes:

Ethics in ThemesEthics Within the Haunt ItselfSexual ContentEthics in Marketing and PricingWhat Haunting is Supposed to Be About

All in all, it's a bit of a rough hour with some hard conversations (and few answers). But it's an important dialogue to have here and elsewhere. 

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Rejoice Haunt Weekly lovers it is time for our fourth news episode as we get you caught up on all of the things going on in the haunted attraction industry. While it's true that the ides of march (or close to it) is far from peak season for haunt news, there is still a great deal going on including the announcement of a brand-new year-round Walking Dead-themed attraction opening this summer, more news surrounding The Darkness and its battles with the city of St. Louis and we have a bunch of Room Escape openings, proving just how fast that industry is growing.We also have an update on all of the ongoing and upcoming conferences as well as a news article about haunted attractions based on real-life serial killers and a video game that lets you open up a real haunted attraction (where you get to kill your customers).All in all, this is a bustling episode and we're happy to take you along for the ride!This week's stories include:

St. Louis claims The Darkness Owes Back TaxesUniversal Studios Hollywood to Open Year-Round Walking Dead AttractionThree New Escape Rooms Open Their DoorsAn Escape Room Board Game Available for Pre-OrderCracked Highlights Haunts Based on Real-Life Serial Killers"Real" Haunted Bible Goes on SaleGhost Hunters Rescued from Condemned HouseHaunted French Lighthouse Gets First Tenant in Over 100 YearsBeijing's Most Famous Haunted House to Get RenovationsLoftus Hall Celebrates It's 666th Birthday

All in all, this is a busy show but a news podcast you definitely don't want to miss!

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