Oct. 15, 2024

NEWS: New Zombie Stunt Experience Debuts at HHN Japan

Show Notes
Transcript

This week: New Zombie Stunt Experience Debuts at HHN Japan; Halloween Wars: Theme Parks Are Fighting for Bigger Share of Scream Economy from The Hollywood Reporter; A Haunting in Hollis shut down by NYFD; 12-year-old boy passed away after being run over by a hay ride tractor at The Haunted Hilltop; The Sunset Strip's Afterlife Transfer Trolley; ScareHouse returns in 2024 with experiences; TransWorld's Legacy Haunt Tour is Nov 8-9; Tickets are now on sale for TransWorld's Halloween & Attractions Show. Read the stories here.

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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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HN 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.

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Over the past two decades, theme parks such as those

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owned by Disney Universal and Six Flags have seen exponential

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growth in attendance and revenue over the autumn season, highly

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due to their increased focus on Halloween events. A recent

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article in The Hollywood Reporter discussed how theme parks are

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vying for larger shares of the overall twelve billion dollars

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Halloween market with seasonal event vents and up charge experiences.

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The Haunted Attraction Network's own Philipernandez was quoted in the

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article saying we can infer the financial success of these

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events from several indicators, including the sheer number of ticketed events,

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up charges, VIP experiences, and exclusive merchandise tied to Halloween offerings.

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It also runs counter to Christmas, which is included with

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most tickets. Despite a trend of decreasing disposable income, high

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quality theme park special events remain an area where consumers

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are willing to spend money. Parks have added numerous up

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charge experiences, such as behind the scenes walkthroughs, VIP tours,

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and Haunt season passes to allow the most passionate fans

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more ways to engage with their favorite Halloween events. Utilizing

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ips such as Disney's use of the Nightmare before Christmas

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or hhn's use of the Walking Dead, Insiduous or a

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Quiet Place has also increased the fandom fervor. Halloween events

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now take place in theme parks around the world, including

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ones that don't celebrate a traditional that don't celebrate at

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traditional Halloween holidays. Bernandez speculates that the success of these

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Halloween events may offer a glimpse into how parks approach

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their businesses moving forward. What theme parks have done is

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taken this shoulder season and turned it into something that's

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more popular than summer and that maybe in many ways,

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is going to be essential to their future. This year's

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Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan

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features a new outdoor im merce of horror attraction based

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on the popular Biohazard franchise known to us in the

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US as Resident Evil. Biohazard Night of Heroes combines acting

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with stage effects and stunts to recreate the video games.

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Guests fight alongside the heroes from the series to defeat

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the Umbrella Corporation's Hellish Zombie Horde in a historic showdown.

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The five minute experience is presented in the round, with

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guests in the center as the action and stunts unfolds

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around them. The show maintains throughputs similar to a Haunted House,

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but with less staff and efficiently balanced actions, scares, and

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guest interaction. The combination of high energy stunts, a well

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known ip and an efficient does design makes this standard

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edition that broadened Helloween's appeal and leverages the popularity of

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the Biohazard slash Resident Evil franchise. Philip and Scott discuss

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some new experiences and details in this week's bonus episode

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of Green Tagg. Follow the links in our show notes

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to hear that or to watch the full Biohazard Night

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of Heroes experience. The New York City Fire Department has

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shut down a haunting in Hollis in Queens Village, New

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York due to a number of fire code violations. This

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past weekend. Inspectors found numerous hazards at the residential haunt,

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including blocked exits, holes in the walls and floor, and

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electrical issues, with the Fire Commission calling the attraction a

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death trap. A full vacate order was issued by the

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Department of Buildings. In a statement to a local news station,

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the FDNY said all of the conditions and violations required

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immediate action as they posed life safety hazards that could

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have been tragic if there was a fire at this location.

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A Haunting in Hollis has not i released an official

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statement regarding the closure. A twelve year old boy died

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in a tragic accident this past Fast Friday at the

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Haunted Hilltop in Harrison, Tennessee, Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts.

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Student Sam Jesson passed away from injuries sustained while trying

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to climb on a moving hayride tractor and falling under

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the vehicle. A chaperone for the group of children Sam

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attended with told deputies that the kid's been playing near

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a hay ride tractor route and were hiding behind bushes

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when trying to scare riders on the tractor, Jesson fell

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underneath the tractor wheels or trying to board a moving vehicle,

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and was pronounced dead on the scene. A GoFundMe campaign

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was created to raise money for the Jesson family, raising

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over thirty thousand dollars as of October fourteenth. Prepare for

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a Goulish good Time on Sunset Boulevard with a launch

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of the Sunset Strips After Life Transfer Trolley, a free

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and immersive Halloween time trolley operating on October twenty sixth,

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twenty seventh, thirty first, and November first, brought to life

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by the Sunset Strip Business Improvement District BID in partnership

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with the City of West Hollywood, California, and produced by JJLA.

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His activation as part of the City of West Hollywood's

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much anticipated annual the Halloween Carnival, which takes over Santa

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Monica Boulevard and Halloween Night, guests of the Afterlife Transfer

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Trolley will climb aboard the Haunted Hearst inspired trolley from

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one of twelve different stops greeted by ghosts on the

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Sunset Strip who share their eerie final words and stories

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throughout the trolley's track. Bars, restaurant and hotels along the

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Sunset Strip will be offering unique Halloween inspired food, beverages,

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and events. Highlights include Hotel Ziggi's sixty Halloween Party on

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October twenty sixth, The London West Hollywood's Wicked Witches Afternoon

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Tea on Fridays and Saturdays, Bar next Doors, Vampire Bloodshot Special,

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and more. An ongoing list of the Sunset Strip businesses

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and activations can be found in their official website. The

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trolley is free to board for guests of all ages.

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Despite previously filing for bankruptcy, Scarehouse in Etna, Pennsylvania returns

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in twenty twenty four with three experiences, The Basement stocked

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by a serial killer escape room, and the vampire themed

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Chipped Fang Immersive Mocktail pop up bar. Although the event

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will feature smaller scale haunts than recent years, it aims

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to maintain the high quality experiences fans expect. After several years,

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the Basement has returned to offer guests eighteen and older

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and Extreme Haunt experience taking place in the lower level

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of an over one hundred year old building. Guests must

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sign a waiver to venture into the series of intense, intimate,

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and r rated horrors that lie within. The new Chipped

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Fang pop up bar in the Strip District features a

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ninety minute interactive experience aimed for the general audiences. Tickets

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include four handcrafted mocktails, entrance into a highly themed gothic

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layer full of surprises and photo ops, and participation in

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an interactive production featuring performers and playful challenges Stoked by

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a Killer. Located with Bold Escape Rooms in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

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offers a year round escape room experience, starting your very

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own horror movie as you try to solve a series

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of fiendus puzzles from the mind of a deranged maniac.

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Tickets for all three offerings for on sale now, starting

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from thirty three ninety five to thirty nine ninety five

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for the Basement, seventeen ninety five for the Chipped Fang,

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and eighty to ninety dollars for Stocked by a Killer

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Escape room for two to eight players. Continue the Haunt

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season into November, with trans World's legendary Haunt Tour taking

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place November eighth to ninth. The tour will lead to

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Ohio to visit the Factory of Terror, the Dent Schoolhouse,

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the USS Nightmare, the Haunted Schoolhouse, and Haunted Laboratory. Tickets

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are on sale now with options to join the tour

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bus or to drive via your personal vehicle. Prices will

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increase after October thirty first. The cut off dates for

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official tour hotel deals is October seventeenth and October twenty first.

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Registration is now open for trans World's Helloween and Attraction Show,

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taking place February twenty seventh through March second of twenty

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twenty five at the America Center in Saint Louis, Missouri.

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Trans World's Helloween and Attraction Show offers an expansive marketplace

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where the industry gathers to network, get new ideas, and

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purchase products. The event will once again co locate with

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trans world Interactive Entertainment Show and trans World's Christmas Show.

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General admission prices start at ninety nine dollars. Early access

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passes start at one ninety nine, VIP passes start at

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four hundred and thirty, and VIP and unlimited Seminar passes

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start at seven hundred. Prices will increase after Thursday, February

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thirteenth at eleven fifty nine pm. An upcoming event this

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November is creep It Real Festive in Santa Ana, California,

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from November twenty second and twenty third. Have you been

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listening to our sixty one day Hauntedthon happening now through Halloween,

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where we celebrate haunted attractions daily via short and long

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form videos and podcasts. Some of the latest ones include

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Let's Get Wicked twenty twenty four, the Show about Hong Kong, Disneyland, Biohazard,

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Night of Heroes, The Full Experience Halloween Horror Night's Universal

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Studios Japan, The Aftermath Hurricane Milton's impact on Florida's attractions.

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Followed these videos and other shorts on our YouTube channel, Instagram,

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or by following the links in our show.

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Notes, And that's all for the news this week. Today's

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episode was produced by me Philip Hernandez, with reporting by

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Daryl Plunky post production by David Swope. This HANT News

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Update is a production of the Haunted Attraction Network, and

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you can sign up to our weekly newsletter at Hantattractionnetwork

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dot com. Support for this episode comes from Gantam Lighting

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and controls. Until next time, Haunters stay scary. This is

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a Haunted Attraction Network production

NEWS: New Zombie Stunt Experience Debuts at HHN Japan

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