NEWS: Merry Hauntings from the Haunted Attraction Network

0:07 Coming up your weekly roundup of news from around the haunt industry. Welcome to the show. I'm Philip on the HN Show. We bring you the haunt news, information and education you need to prepare for Halloween. On Tuesdays, we bring you a roundup of news from haunts worldwide. Read more about these stories and so much more in our free weekly newsletter. Subscribe at the link in the show notes. And as always for the news roundup, I'm passing it off to Darryl. Hotel of Terror holds a petition signing event. The owner of the Hotel of Terror in Springfield, Missouri, is once again hoping to challenge this city Council's plan to take control of the property via eminent domain. In twenty twenty three, an outpouring of community support caused the city council to unanimously repeal a bill to seize the property, But now, after two years of unsuccessful negotiations, the council is trying again.

1:03 On December fifteenth, they voted to begin the eminent domain process, with plans to use the property as part of the renew Jordan Creek project. In response, Hotel of Terror announced a petition signing event at their adjacent business, Dungeons of Doom owner Sterling Mathis hopes to gather fourteen hundred and ninety nine valid signatures from Springfield voters to place the issue on a referendum ballot, the same strategy he used in twenty twenty three. Negotiations between the city and Mathis have been ongoing for years, reaching an offer of two million dollars in twenty twenty four, but Mathis did not sign the contract, stating construction updates push the cost to relocate his business to three and a half million. A panel of independent assessors is set to determine the property's value.

1:45 If no agreement can be reached, the matter may go to court. Mathis has thirty days to collect the signatures and appeal the council's vote. Haunt Pay releases the twenty twenty five season data in updated report. Haunt Pay has updated its annual Haunt Industry report to include a new post mortem section using anonymized data from the twenty twenty five season. Their data showed that the average total sales per Haunt increased by more than eight percent this year. Online transactions were fifty four percent higher than those made on sited ticket booths the Saturday before Halloween reigned supreme, with the data accounting for nearly ten percent of all season ticket sales. The full report, which includes refund stats twenty twenty four versus twenty twenty five, change in revenue by haunt size, and more, is available to download at haunt Pay's official website. Trans World announces a Heaven and Hell Costume Ball. Are you Naughty or Nice? Get ready to rise or descend at Transworld's Halloween and Attraction shows Heaven or Hell Costume Ball in Saint Louis, Missouri on Saturday, March third, from eight pm to midnight. Angelic Elegance collides with devilishly wicked chaos and this frightfully fun party. Between the music, the drinks, and the jaw dropping costumes, guests can expect endless chances to mingle, celebrate, and show off their mostly heavenly or hellish look. Tickets are on sale now for fifty dollars sixty dollars after March nineteen. The scares don't stop after Christmas. While most haunts have concluded their holiday run, eight haunts are still operating this coming weekend.

3:15 Continue listening to this newsletter or check out our website to view the over one hundred and sixty haunts that held holiday events this year. Six Flags Magic Mountain delays the new coaster, pivots to family focused IP. Six Flags Magic Mountain from Valencia, California, has delayed its highly anticipated first of its kind coaster to twenty twenty seven, citing the attraction's complexity and a commitment to quality. The project, reported to be of a coma thrill Glider, was part of the company's broader one billion dollar investment plan and would have been the park's first major coaster addition since twenty twenty two. At the same time, Six Flags confirmed the significant pivot towards family focused IP with the announcement of Looney Tunes Land, a fully reimagined children's area opening summer twenty twenty six with upgraded storytelling, expanded green space, new theming, and refreshed dining. Taken together, these moves raise questions about where six Flags is placing its near term bets.

4:10 Coasters are increasingly expensive and time intensive to build, and ongoing tariff uncertainly may be influencing capital timelines. The decision to prioritize Looney Tunes rather than peanuts could also signal a push towards IP diversification tied to Warner Brothers, especially as broader questions remain about how Magic Mountain and knots Very Farm will coexist and differentiate with the same southern California market. In this week's episode of Green Tagged, Philip and Scott explore whether this reflects a temporary pause on thrill heavy investments, a reorientation towards families and reliability, or simply a pragmatic sequencing of projects while the company negotiates post merger integration and external pressures. They also touch briefly on winter and holiday programming that caught their attention, including China's Massive Ice Snow World and Alton Towers Santa Sleepover in the UK, as operated worldwide look for ways to stabilize attendance across unpredictable seasons. Follow the links in our show notes to listen to the latest episode of Green tag Zombie Fun Run five k at Field of Screams benefits the PA Breast Cancer Coalition. Field of Screams in Mountville, Pennsylvania, hosted its thirteenth annual Zombie Fun Run on Saturday, November fifteenth, benefiting the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition the PBCC. Hundreds of runners jumped through fire, crawled through mud, and climbed over obstacles, all while being chased by zombies. This year's event raised eighty four hundred dollars for the PBCC. These funds will be used to provide breast cancer research grants, personalized patient advocacy,

5:40 and support services for newly diagnosed patients and individuals facing stage four metastatic breast cancer. To date, Field of Screams is contributed over eighty thousand dollars to the PBCC. Seeing our community come together, covered in mud, dodging zombies, and fighting for a cause that touches sony families is what makes this event so powerful, said co owner Jim Shop in a press release. Field of Screams is proud to stand with a PA Breast Cancer Coalition in supporting Pennsylvanians who truly need support. We are thankful for all of the participants in our honor to help turn every step, every obstacle, and every runner into hope. The Zombie Fun Run will return on November fourteenth, twenty twenty six. Learn more on their official website. This weekend there are still a few haunts open for their holiday Haunting. California has got the Eulogy Collective in Anaheim, California. Georgia has got the Thirteenth Stories Haunted House in Noon and Georgia. Maryland has got Laurel's House of Horror in Laurel, Maryland. Michigan has got the Factory of the Dead in Saginaw, Michigan.

6:42 Tennessee has got Dread Hollow in Chattanooga, and Texas Haunted houses include Boo in Dallas, Texas, Dark Hour Haunted House in Plano, and Monte de las Muertos and Donna. Some upcoming events this December through March include Halloween and Party Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, January twelveth through fourteen, creep I e Con in Ontario, California, January thirtieth through February first, and the trans World Talloween and Attraction Show in Saint Louis, Missouri, March twenty six through twenty nine of twenty twenty six. And that's all for the news this Week. Today's episode was produced by me Philip Bernandez, with reporting by Darryl Plunky, post production by David Swope. This hant News Update is a production of the Haunted Attraction Network, and you can sign up to our weekly newsletter at Hantattraction neetwork dot com.

7:32 Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighting and Controls. Until next time, Haunters, stay scary. This is a Haunted Attraction Met twelve production.