With his pink, button nose he smells your fears and with his big, floppy ears he hears your screams! The Beaster Bunny is coming to town for you! Get your pictures with NecroManor Haunted House's very own "Beaster Bunny" at their Louisiana Boardwalk location Friday, April 8th and Saturday, April 9th from 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Pictures are free and will be posted on the NecroManor Haunted House Facebook page after the event. 

 Pirates of Emerson (Pleasanton, California) has announced their 2022 haunt season schedule. The walkthrough haunt will operate 21 nights between September 30th - October 31st. Timed tickets will be available in the coming months.

Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group is continuing their 30th season with the world premiere of Los Angeles playwright/composer Dan Waldkirch's musical comedy, The Unsackable Man, a wild re-imagining of Moby Dick set on a football field. The show is directed by Denise Devin and features Steven Alloway, Larray Grimes, Dekland Jones, Zeke Jones, Tosca Minotto, Jonica Patella, Gina Rizzo Bishop, Nick Salas, and Laura Van Yck. The Unsackable Man runs four weekends April 8th - 30th, 2022. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 

A new haunted attraction may be coming to Franklin Township in Pennsylvania this Halloween season. Haunt actor and Halloween enthusiast Kory Rabenold approached supervisors in the Township last week to pitch his idea to build a small barn on his property for a haunted house and haunted woods. Rabenold said he would like to host haunt events from the last weekend in September through the first weekend in October. Supervisor Jason Frey and Board Chairman Fred Kemmerer both reacted favorably, suggesting that Rabenold pitch his plan to the township's zoning officer for approval.

Hudson Haunted House (Hudson, Ohio) opened for a successful 2nd annual St. Patrick's Day event this past weekend on March 18th & 19th. 

After having only a display for 2020, in 2021 Rotten Apple 907 (Burbank, CA) celebrated its 30th anniversary by returning to a walkthrough attraction with the theme "Evil in the London Fog". The home haunt welcomed over 4,000 guests over a 6-night run and raised over $6,000 for Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter. 
 

Competitions
 

The Opening Ceremony for the 3rd annual Haunt Comp will take place Saturday, March 26th at 2:00 p.m. PDT via Zoom (Meeting ID 945 2857 0064). The presentation will include a history of haunts, information on Haunt Comp partners (Midsummer Scream, Knott's Scary Farm, and The Essential Art Department), and a reveal of this year's theme. In light of the rescheduled opening ceremonies, sign-ups have been extended to 11:59 p.m. PST on March 26th. A full list of eligibility requirements, rules, and judging criteria can be found on the competition's website. 
 

Trends
 

With all the available options for people's entertainment dollars, how do haunts continue to grow? In a recent HAN interview, Mark McDonough, President of Creative Visions shared his perspective on the future of the haunt entertainment industry. He advised smaller haunts to look to expand their offerings with activities such as ax throwing, escape rooms, concessions, and merchandise, which can become a bigger part of a haunt's revenue stream. These additional activities can allow for a greater focus on the quality of the individual guest experience over throughput quantity - something McDonough sees as increasingly important with today's consumers.

With over 17 years of experience, the team at CFX has noticed an interesting trend: due to social media and the expansion in eCommerce, regular consumers now have access to the same materials and supplies as haunts. Overall this has lowered the barriers for people to create characters and raised awareness for silicon masks among general consumers, all leading to benefits for haunts. "You can go out and you can buy an off-the-shelf mask, match it up with some good wardrobe, and all the sudden you have an icon character that everyone will remember," said CFX team member Josh, "People being exposed to silicon masks has really opened up the industry and set an expectation for any live events that are happening now".

Haunt Vendors
 

Granite Insurance is working with an advisory board of haunters to offer insurance solutions for the haunt industry. They hope to offer incentives for safety practices and policies tailored to individual haunts’ activities and eventually streamline the process through an online portal.

This past year Midnight Syndicate celebrated 25 years of producing dark symphonic soundtracks for the haunt industry. In an interview with the Haunted Attraction Network, composer and producer Edward Douglas discussed Midnight Syndicate's evolution through the years - from their beginning providing music to Cleveland haunts, to their live show at Cedar Point, to creating custom music for Halloween Horror Nights 30. A life-long horror fan, Douglas is inspired by haunts and the haunt community, "I always felt that in the haunt industry, it's always been about helping each other. That's been our attitude since day one. So, if we can create something, that's going to inspire a fellow artist with the creation or make it more effective, make it more what they see in their head, that's great. That's what it's always been about for a Midnight Syndicate, working together with the haunt industry hand-in-hand."