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Coming up your weekly roundup of news from around the
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haunt industry. Welcome to the show. I'm Philip on the
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Ahn Show. We bring you the haunt news, information and
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education you need to prepare for Halloween. On Tuesdays, we
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bring you a roundup of news from haunts worldwide. Read
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more about these stories and so much more in our
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free weekly newsletter. Subscribe at the link in the show notes.
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And as always for the news roundup, I'm passing it.
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Off to Darryl. A message from Phil Pernandez, publisher of
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the Haunted Attraction Network. I'm pulling two threads this week
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that land on themes we keep circling back to. Who
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were you selling to and what you're selling is changing?
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Families are one of the three groups still spending on
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attractions in the new Universal Kids Resort at twenty Acre
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Kids Park, opening July first in Frisco, Texas, is a
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direct play for that demographic. Universal is testing the kids
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resort concept with a new demographic, much like they are
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testing Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas, and it seems
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that both properties suffer from similar issues. Universal position the
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product is premium, pricing it at twice the local competition's price,
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betting that the IP and brand would justify the premium.
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The early reviews from Texas show a theme park with
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little theming and little shade, struggling to meet guest expectations
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for a universal property. Horror Unleased reduced prices, reduced operating hours,
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and has launched a full seasonal activation plan to bring
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guests back. Let's watch how Universal Kid resort pivots. The
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operators who get premium right don't lean solely on IP
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to do the work. They build a strong core product,
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evoke emotion, and let everything else extend it. Merchandise is
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a great way to extend the experience, although guests increasingly
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want to do it through integrated storytelling. I saw the
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clearest version of this at Iappa Expo Asia in a
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session on how Hong Kong, Disneyland and Ocean Park approached merchandise.
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Both treat the framework the same way. Emotions lead to experiences.
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Experiences become memories, and merchandise extends that journey beyond the
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rides and shows. The point is that shopping should feel
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like the continuation of the attraction, not a separate transaction
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tacked onto the exit. Ocean parks pandas were my favorite example.
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Panda merchandise is their top performer, so the team built
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a whole strategy around it. When yinging one of the
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park's pandas was photographed in a particularly parenting pose that
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resonated with guests, they turned that exact pose into a plush.
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The enrichment toys that the cubs actually played with became
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toys the guests could buy. They personify the supporting panda
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friend's characters, give them traits and small stories so guests
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can tell them apart and form attachments. Then they sustain
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it with seasonal and event based drops, crossover lines that
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connect the pandas to the park's other animals, licensing deals
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with brands like cup Noodles and Unit Low, and strategic
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collaborations like trading cards. The thread connecting all of it
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is that the merchandise captures an emotional moment that already
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had residents. The team isn't guessing what might sell. They're
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watching for the moments guests already responded to to the
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park and on social media, and extending that emotion to
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something a guest can take home. The emotion is the
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product you can't charge premium prices when the core product
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is lacking, and hope the brand IP covers the gap.
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The guest pays for how the place makes them feel.
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Get the feeling right, and the merchandise, the upsell, the
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repeat visit, and yes, the premium price all follow from it.
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Skip the feeling, and no amount of IP backfills it.
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What's the moment in your attraction that guests already talk about?
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Photograph and remember that's the one to capture and build
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into your experience. You're not just selling this scare, You're
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selling the moment they'll remember and everything else extends it.
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Also this week, Stranger Things returns to Halloween Horror Nights
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for the show's final season. H and R. Blood and
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Gets gets a new original house at HHN Orlando. Dollywood
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announced its first separately ticketed after hours Halloween event, and
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show is coming to Sphere in
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twenty twenty seven. Here's what you need to know. This week,
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Stranger Things returns to Halloween Horror Nights. The Upside Down
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returns to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights in an all
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new Stranger Things Haunted House developed in partnership with Netflix.
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This year's Stranger Things House will take guests into the
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fifth and final season of the hit series. Step into
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the center of the ultimate Battle to save Hawkins as
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you encounter your favorite characters and navigate iconic locations including
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the Wheelerhouse, Hawkins National Laboratory, the max Z Military Base,
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The Upside Down, and the Abyss. Beware Dema, Gorgan's and
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other sinister creatures await at every turn, and Vecna is
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there to pull guests into an all or nothing battle
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for survival. Limited release merchandise based on This House and
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more is now available at Universal's online store. Universal Studios
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Halloween Horror Nights run Select Knights August twenty eight through
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November first at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, and
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Select Knights September three through November first at Universal Studios
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Hollywood in Universal City, California. HR Blood and Guts returns
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to Hgen Orlando with a new original house. Your favorite
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Maitre d Macob returns to Universal Orlando's Helloween Horror Knights
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in Orlando, Florida with a new original house. HR Blood
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and Guts presents Helloween Fright Tacular, fifteen years after his
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untimely arrest. Carrie's Favorite creature feature host HR Blood and
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Guts aka Lawrence Larry Kurtzberg, has returned to the derelict
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WKNB station on Halloween Knight to present an all new
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Sinister showcase. Tune into this haunted house, complete with ghouls, gore,
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and all the frights that keep you coming back for more.
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The Murderous Horror host was first introduced in twenty eleven
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with the House HR Blood and Guts presents Holidays of Horror,
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and also appeared at Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas
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as the Feaster Bunny during last spring's Feaster Grievings event.
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Halloween Horror Nights Orlando runs select knights August twenty eight
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through November. First tickets are on sale now at the
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event's official website. Dollywood host its first separately ticketed after
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hours Halloween event. Dollywood from Pigeonforge, Tennessee, has announced its
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first separately ticketed after hours Halloween event, Harvey's Boo Bag,
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taking place during the park's annual Heravice Festival in August sixteenth,
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twenty third, and thirtieth. Guests are invited to step into
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an exclusive nighttime celebration from six pm to midnight, featuring
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treat trails, dance parties, theme snacks, special character encounters, and more.
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Tickets for Harvey's Boo Bash are on sale now for
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one twenty nine to ninety nine guest stage four and over.
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Daytime general park admission plus Harvey's Boo Bash Combo tickets
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are also available. Universal Kids Resort opens for previews. Universal
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Kids Resort, Universal's new twenty acre kids centric theme park,
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and Frisco, Texas open for previews ahead of its July
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first launch. The product is priced twice that of the competition,
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positioning it as the region's premium family offering, But does
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the new theme park justify the premium positioning. The early
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evidence is not flattering. Critics argue that Universal Kids Resort
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suffers from a lack of theming and shade, while opponents
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argue that kids of that age like anything. A family
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of four runs about two hundred and twenty dollars to
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three hundred and twenty dollars before parking in food, against
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fifty to one hundred and thirty at local zoos, museums,
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indoor water parks, and family entertainment centers. Most of which
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are climate controlled or at least shaded. If a child
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is just as happy at a splash pad, a zoo,
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or a free city park, why would a caregiver pay
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twice the going rate for Universal name is Universal Kids Resort,
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a competing product for young families in the region. Follow
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the links in our show notes to read the full
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analysis or watch this week's green tagged video. The Rocky
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Horror Picture Show is planned for the Sphere in twenty
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twenty seven. Prepare to time warp back into the iconic
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madness of nineteen seventy five's The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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is part of a new experience at Sphere, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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In special arrangement with Primary Wave Music and Twentieth Century Studios.
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Sphere Studios will use its advance technologies to enhance the
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original film for a unique immersive experience. Jim Dolan, Executive
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Chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment, set in a press release.
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Since The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered in nineteen seventy five,
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it redefined audience participation and became a cultural phenomenon. With Sphere,
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we have the opportunity to take that spirit of immersion
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to an entirely new level. This new production is part
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of the Sphere Experience sphere slate of original immersive content,
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including The Wizard of Oz a Sphere. The company's yet
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to announce in what ways the original film will be
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enhanced its predecessor, The Wizard of Oz. It Sphere has
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drawn criticism from the use of generative AI to add
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extras and scenery to fit the sixty thousand square foot
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wrap around interior led display, and for cutting nearly thirty
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minutes of runtime from the film, including some musical numbers.
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Expected to open in twenty twenty seven, audiences will have
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to wait in anticipation. Learn about the Sphere in their
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immersive programming at the venue's official website. Upcoming events this
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June through August of twenty twenty six included the Texas
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Haunters Convention July eighteenth and nineteenth, and Irving Texas Haunters
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Against Hey the event August first and second in Louisville, Kentucky.
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In the Midsummer Scream August seventh through ninth in Long Beach, California.
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And that's all for the News this Week.
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Today's episode was produced by me Philip Bernandez, with reporting
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by Darryl Plunky, post production.
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By David Swope.
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This hant News Update is a production of the Haunted
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Attraction Network, and you can sign up to our weekly
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newsletter at Hanta Attraction network dot com. Support for this
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episode comes from Gantum Lighting and Controls. Until next time, Haunters,
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stay scary this It's a Haunted Attraction eight production.