Episodes

This podcast is a recording from a recent panel on personalizing your messaging to guests in preparation for opening your haunted attraction this season. The discussion is divided into three sections—recommendations about messaging for guests before...

“Green Tagged” - The Top News in Theme Parks This Past Week An insider's take on the attraction industry's trending news. August 30th Edition - Welcome to the Green Tagged blog, based on our first podcast episode of Green Tagged, in which we (Philip...

As bad as COVID-19 has been for haunts, it's been similarly bad for our sister industry: Escape rooms. However, many escape games have taken a different tact, launching virtual experiences that come in a wide variety of flavors. These include...

Last year was a very rough year for us. Due to some serious road work taking place, we were forced to cancel our 2019 season. Now, due to COVID-19, many haunts are finding that their 2020 season is hanging into balance. However, if you do have to...

This is the year of COVID cancellations and many Haunted Attractions are closed for 2020. Those that will be opened are doing things a little differently. The Haunt Master members of the Haunter's Toolbox share their thoughts on this year's...

Pretty much every haunted attraction has a Facebook page. However, is there more that you could be doing with your social media presence? The answer is yes. Social media is a powerful tool for haunt promotion and, thanks to COVID-19, it's about to...

Based on the recent announcements that several large haunted attractions have decided not to open for the 2020 season, Scott discusses the options for both haunters and haunt fans to keep the spirit of Halloween alive.

It's becoming more and more clear that, if haunts are able to open at all this year, it's going to be with a good deal of restrictions and limitations. Those limitations will likely include masks for actors and customers alike. While getting...

Scott discusses the three basic phases of post-crisis recovery and how they apply to the Haunt Industry...its more fun than it sounds. PLUS He announces his new email newsletter, "A Shout in the Dark". To join visit ScottSwenson.com and click on the...

This week on Haunt Weekly we're doing the news and what a rough news episodes it is. We slog our way through the first round of haunt closures due to COVID-19. However, we work hard to bring you a great deal of good news too, including at least one...

Steve Koci, many of you know him as Halstaff on the webs, is the author of The Ultimate Guide to DIY Animatronics. In this podcast, learn the best way to get started in moving props and how to animate many different types of props...Halloween Style.

No matter what happens between now and haunt season, the haunted attraction industry is facing an extremely challenging year. Even the best predictions call for smaller crowds, shortened seasons and limited capacity. In 2005, the city of New Orleans...

The haunted attraction industry prides itself on being a welcoming space for anyone who loves scaring. However, as some recent events have shown, that's not always an ideal we live up to. The truth is that we have many of the same issues as any other...

Scott discusses how diversity, in every sense of the word, can improve the creativity and financial success of your haunted attraction.

It's another episode divisible by four and that means we're doing the news and what a news week we have. Has the nation and world begin the process of reopening, haunted attractions and similar locations are starting to open back up as well. As such,...

Like it or not, the haunt industry is almost certainly heading into a period of great turmoil that is likely to be followed by a recession or even a depression. While that means some rough times are ahead, they are also an opportunity to change the...

When a global crisis happens, like COVID-19 and similar contagious pandemics, haunted attractions and entertainment venues can suffer. Customers can become fearful to attend close-quarter events like concerts and attractions. State regulations may be...

Right now is the time of year many haunts are starting to think about actor recruitment, retention and training. It's the time we touch base with our crews, start recruiting replacements and training everyone up. However, this year presents a special...

This week's Haunt Weekly begins with something of a programming note. Originally, we had planned to have Japes Palles on to talk about actor recruitment and training while working remotely. However, some severe weather struck his area and he was not...

Scott chats with his old friend and colleague, Alex Crow, about working together at Howl-O-Scream, his career after Busch Gardens and the future of the seasonal attractions industry. Enjoy their poignant observations and silly stories.

"Remote" brings you into a horror experience without leaving your house. But you'll feel like you're there. Learn how a"Remote" type of interactive digital experience can be used with your customers. Each year we always try to add something unique...

Haunters, just like any profession, have a language and jargon all of our own. But for 228 episodes we've been using a lot of the lingo without making any attempt to actually define what any of it means. This week we are fixing that by going through...

We ask Bart Butler and Michael Edwards from Terror in the Corn about their preseason preparation, scare acting, timed ticketing, surviving a pandemic, outdoor haunting, and more Haunt stuff! This was recorded from our LIVE virtual prepared summit....

Even as the quarantine drags on and haunters find themselves either worrying about the upcoming season or occupying their time with whatever projects they can do, Haunt Weekly marches on. To that end, we started thinking about what haunts might be...