July 29, 2025

NEWS: SLASH at Halloween Horror Nights; Fire at Fear Factory; Candy Trends; and More!

Show Notes
Transcript

This week's headlines: SLASH to Create All-New Experiences for Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood; Want us to visit your haunt? Tell us by July 31st!; Lagoon Show and Nightmare Fuel Return to Halloween Horror Nights Orlando; New Villains for Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland
- Disneyland's Halloween Foodie Guide 2025; Tivoli Gardens Celebrates 20 Years of Halloween Festivities; Fire at Fear Factory SLC; Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Unveils Haunting Lineup of 2025's Special Events; Mars Releases Summerween Consumer Trend Data; Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Official Trailer Debuts; Read more 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 hant 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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This is the final call for Haunted attractions and sponsors.

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The Haunted Attraction Network's annual Haunt a Thon is back

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for its eleventh year, and your haunt could be part

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of it. Running from September first to October thirty, first,

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Hantthon twenty twenty five ill once again celebrate the haunted

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attraction industry with daily videos, podcasts, and short form content

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spotlighting the best haunts across the globe. Whether you're a

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mega haunt or a passionate home haunter, this is your

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chance to be seen by millions of Halloween fans. The

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last day to submit your application and this year the

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Hauntedthon is Thursday, July thirty First. Our sponsorship opportunities include

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haunt features, podcast advertising, vertical video ad integration, and newsletter

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features in the very publication you are listening to now.

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In twenty twenty four, the Haunted Attraction Network delivered forty

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point two million video views across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok,

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thousand monthly website views, and forty five hundred engaged email subscribers,

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and national media features on outlets like NBC's California Live

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and NPR's Marketplace. With a social media reach of over

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five hundred and fifty thousand followers, Hantathon offers unmatched exposure

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to haunted attractions looking to build long term visibility and

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connect with an engage helloween audience. To inquire about our

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sponsorship packages, contact Philip directly at Philip at Haunted Attraction

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Network dot com. What makes an IP popular? Lessons from

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Comic Con for theme parks. What makes an IP popular today?

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It's not just the box officers streaming stats. It's the

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fans who show up, dress up, and wait five hours

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for a free experience at San Diego Comic Con, Percy Jackson,

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Alien and Kpop Demon Hunters proved that passion not just

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numbers powers IP. In this week's episode of Green Tag,

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Philip and Scott breakdown why pop ups are becoming the

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new focus groups, how activations create the data stories that

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boards and licensers want, and what theme park professionals can

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learn from the way studios test, validate, and launch IP

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in the wild. If you're pitching an IP partnership or

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designing a seasonal overlay, this episode is your blueprint. Follow

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the links in our show notes to listen to the

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Green Tag Podcast. Slash is to create an all new

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experiences for Halloween Horror Night Hollywood. The Grammy Award winning

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guitarist and songwriter Slash is returning to Halloween Horror Nights

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at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal Studio, California for his

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seventh year with a trio of original experiences. The House

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Scarecrow music by Slash puts retribution at the forefront as

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Mother Nature seeks vengeance to the homesteaders for their sins

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of the past that will be carried out by farmland scarecrows,

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mute witnesses who have become the guardians of destruction for

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anyone who crosses their path. Slash's cinematic score heightens each

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scene's tension. Halloween Horror Nights will also celebrate the vinyl

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only album release of Slash Music of Universal Studios Hollywood

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Halloween Horror Nights Volume two, A scary soundtrack, will complement

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last year's sold out vinyl only album with a slate

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of original music that Slash has created over the past

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six years for a variety of Universal Studios Hollywood Haunted houses.

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The album, which includes a tribute by John Murdy, creative

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director and executive producer of Halloween Horrorites, will be available

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for purchase. Lastly, this year will feature a themed Slash

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Bar located in Jurassic Cove in bibune cocktails inspired by

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Slash's music, including Dance of the Dead, Beautiful, Dangerous, and

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the non alcoholic option Slash's Snake Pit. The menu will

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also include some of Slash's favorite foods such as chicken

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setee tacos, Thai beef tacos, and ty curry tacos, and

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a slash Hat cake reminiscent of his signature top hat.

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As a longtime fan of Halloween Horrorites that has been

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incredibly rewarding to not have only experienced the event as

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a guest, but to have partnered with Universal Studios Hollywood

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for so many years to create an array of original

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music that intensifies the storylines of these haunted houses, said Slash.

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This year's collaboration with Halloween Horrorites and the chance to

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become one of the event's marquee experiences is truly humbling,

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and I can't wait for guests to join me when

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they step into the Terror. HHN Hollywood run select dates

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September fourth through novem Umber second. You can learn more

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via the comprehensive guide by following the links in our

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show notes. The Lagoon Show and Nightmare Fuel returned to

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Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando,

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Florida announced the return of two entertainment favorites to Halloween

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Horror Nights in social media posts on July twenty fourth.

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Nightmare Fuel and The Lagoon Show a ghost story is

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rising from its watery grave to haunt the Universal Studios

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Lagoon in Hantophonic, a ghoulish journey featuring towering water screens

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and eerie music. This marks the first Lagoon Show since

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twenty twenty two and the new Nightmare Fuel Circus of Decay.

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A once vibrant circus festers into an unending nightmare with

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a sinister spectacle of pyro aerialists and illusions. HHN Orlando

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runs select dates August twenty ninth through November. Two new

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villains teased for the Disneyland resorts Ugi Boogie Bash. Two

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new villains are joining the festivities at the Ugi Boogie

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Bash at Disney Halloween Party in Disneyland, California Adventures in Anaheim, California.

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The Disneyland resort released a social media video teasing the

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new editions. The video begins with shadows of thorny vines

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and green smoke, implying Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty is on

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her way. Next, a futuristic risk attachment falls into frame,

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appearing to be the one syndrome muses to control his

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omnidroids in the first Incredibles film. Oogi Boogie Bash takes

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place thirty one select nights August seventeenth through October thirty

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First tickets are on sale now starting at one hundred

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and thirty nine to one hundred and ninety nine per

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person with certain dates already sold out. Disneyland Halloween Foody

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Guide twenty twenty five. This year's Disneyland Helloween Foody Guide

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is now available, highlighting all the seasonal food and beverage

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offerings available from the Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California during

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their Halloween time celebrations. With more and more haunts adding

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themed bars and dining to their Halloween offerings, hunters may

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want to take inspiration from Disney's creative and varied limited

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time menu items, from pumpkin spice and fall flavors to

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ghoulish Halloween specialties. Almost two hundred seasonal treats are spread

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throughout the park's hotels and downtown Disney Tivoli Gardens celebrates

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twenty years of Halloween festivities. From October third to November two,

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Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark will celebrate twenty years of

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Halloween festivities with glowing jack o lanterns, haunted houses, and

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lively market stalls. Drawing on both American customs and older

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European traditions, including Nordic harvest festivals and Celtic sown roots,

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the park will blend spooky thrills with a cozy autumn

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charm for an experience that appeals to all ages. Over

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twenty thousand pumpkins will be on display, and the park

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will host a Danish Giant Pumpkin Championship, crowding Denmark's largest

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pumpkin of the year. Brave souls can enter two Haunted houses.

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Family friendly shows, rides, and seasonal food and ridges will

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delight children and adults alike. Learn more and book your

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tickets today via the park's official website. A fire at

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Fear Factory SLC on July twenty third, a grass fire

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spread to a small portion of the grounds of Fear

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Factory SLC in Salt Lake City, Utah. Staff and nearby

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locals notice the smoke and quickly called the authorities, preventing

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the spread to further areas of the building. Fear Factory

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lost a Fear Factory lost a small structure in the blaze,

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but the majority of the attraction was unaffected. The Fear

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Factory team thanks the SLC firefighters for their swift action,

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and they plan to work hard to get things back

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on track and ready for our best Halloween season yet.

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The Haunt will run select dates September twelfth through November first.

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Learn more on their official website. Queen Mary's Dark Harbor

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unveils haunting lineup of twenty twenty five's special event. The

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Queen Mary's Dark Harbor in Long Beach, California, is expanding

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its Halloween horror experience this year with a bold lineup

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of themed special events, from day Confused dance nights to

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midnight pillow fights and cultural celebrations. Dark Harbor twenty twenty

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five promises more ways than ever to slay the night

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in style. Each Sunday, The Dark Harbor will pay tribute

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to one of its signature mazes with exclusive giveaways, icon appearances,

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and deep dives into May's lore. Other event highlights include

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Pride Week October eighth and ninth, Sleepover Spectacular October twelfth,

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Goth Night October fifteenth, and Dia de las Muertos weekend

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November first and second. Mars releases Summer Ween consumer trend data.

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New MARS and IPSOS data spotlights how gen Z and

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millennials are driving the rise of the summer Ween phenomena,

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with gen Z and Millennials one point five and one

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point six times more likely to celebrate summer Ween respectively.

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Summer Ween is a movement, and Mars is matching that energy,

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making sure your favorite Halloween products are on shelf whenever

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you're ready to celebrate, said Tim Labell, Mars Chief Halloween

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Officer and President of Sales. Inspired by the fans reshaping

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tradition and were ready to celebrate alongside them with more

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than ninety products in our twenty twenty five Halloween lineup.

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Popular Mars candy offerings are already in stores, such as

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M and M's Milk Chocolate, Pumpkin Pie and Halloween Blend, Snickers, Pumpkins,

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Twigs and Snickers, Ghoulish Green and Skittles Shriekers. One in

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five Halloween celebrants start planning early, two months ahead of

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October thirty first, and those early planners are three times

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more likely to pick up candy as soon as it

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hits shelves. They are also two times more likely to

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celebrate with friends, cook spooky meals, and dress up for Halloween.

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Learn more on Mars's official annual Tricks, Treats and Trends report.

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Five Nights at Freddy's two official trailer debuts. The official

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trailer for Five Nights at Freddy's Two has arrived, Slated

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for a December fifth, twenty twenty five release. This highly

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anticipated sequel will dive further into the lore of the

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new animatronics and more Victims. Stars Josh Hutterson, Piper Rubio,

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Elizabeth Lale Matthew Lillard will all return with a handful

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of new faces, including McKenna, Grace, t O Brionis, Freddie Carter,

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Wayne Knight, Theatis Crane, and Skeet Ulrich. Creative director and

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executive producer of Halloween Horror Night's at Universal Studios Hollywood,

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John Murdy, has already announced that the Five Nights at

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Freddy's franchises coming in a whole new way to the

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event this year, with an unofficial announcement that they are

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planning a maze in an ign video last month. Universal

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has yet to make an official announcement in how the

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IP will be represented this year's AHHN event, but the

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upcoming film release may mean greater exposure in the parks.

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Some upcoming events this July through September include Haunterras Against

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Hate Event three in Louisville, Kentucky. August eight through tenth,

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Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, California, August fifteenth and sixteenth,

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and Creep at Real Oc in Santa Ana, California, September

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twelfth through fourteen.

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

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was produced by me Philip Ernandi, with reporting by Daryl

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Plunky post production by David Swope. This hant News Update

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is a production of the Haunted Attraction Network and you

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can sign up to our weekly newsletter at Hanta Attractionnetwork

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dot com. Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighty

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and controls. Until next time, Haunters Stay Scary. This is

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a Haunted Attraction Network production.

NEWS: SLASH at Halloween Horror Nights; Fire at Fear Factory; Candy Trends; and More!

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