NEWS: The Haunt Industry Descends on St. Louis

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. If you're heading to Saint Louis next week, you already know trans World's Halloween and Attraction Show is the single biggest week on the industry calendar. If you're not, your Facebook feed has probably been made that impossible to forget vendors who've been quiet all year suddenly posting product releases.

0:54 Forums are full of haunters asking tips, and there's more information than anyone can handle. The returns to America Center March twenty fifth through twenty ninth, with over four hundred and fifty exhibitors, dozens of seminars, nightly events, and co located shows covering escape rooms, Christmas installations, and interactive entertainment. The Haunted Attraction Association is put together a full guide to help you make the most of the week. Find it by following the links in our show notes. Between pre show hunt tours, dozens of paid and free seminars, nightly parties, and a show floor packed with over four hundred and fifty exhibitors, the week offers more programming than any single attendee can cover. Some quick facts and an event overview five days of programming. Wednesday's pre show tour kicks things off, followed by four days of trade, show floor access, seminar and events throughout Sunday. Three shows. One badge.

1:49 Your pass also grants entry to the co located trans World Christmas Show and interactive entertainment show covering escape rooms, acts, throwing VR and other experience based entertainment. Over four hundred and fifty exhibitors on the show floor, with free makeup demonstrations running daily on the Makeup Demo stage, Free and paid seminars spanning haunted attractions, Christmas installations, interactive entertainment, safety certification and business operations. Nightly events including the City Museum Party, a Murder Mystery Experience, the Heaven and Hell Costume Ball, and Moonlight Mingle after Hour's Lounge, the OSCARS Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening free for all attendees, celebrating the best of the Haunted attraction industry with the week at a Glance.

2:34 On Wednesday, March twenty fifth, the pre show Talent Falls Tour BLUs departs at two o'clock and returns about midnight. Experienced Saint Louis Interactive Entertainment Tour from nine am to four pm. On Thursday, March twenty six, the show floor opens. Chaos Safety Seminar starts at eight thirty am, Paid seminars all day, agg Retainment Mixer, Interactive Entertainment Mixer, VIP Happy Hour in the evening, and the City Museum Party at seven thirty pm, along with the Moonlight Mingle at nine. Friday March twenty seventh, the show floor HAA State of the Industry at nine am is free, Paid seminars all day. The HAA Live Auction at five point fifteen pm is free as well. Bloodlines and Blackmail Murder Mystery at eight pm, Santa's Beach Bash, Christmas Party at eight thirty pm, and the Moonlight Mingle at nine. Then on Saturday, March twenty eighth, the show floor is open again, the AI Advantage Keynote at eight thirty am, paid seminars all day, the Oscar Awards Ceremony at five o'clock pm. Doors are open and it's free. Christmas Show Mixer at five thirty pm is free.

3:45 Evan and Hell Costume Ball at eight pm, and the Moonlight Mingle at six to eight pm and eleven forty five pm. And finally, on Sunday, March twenty ninth, the show floor is open ten am to two pm. It's your last chance to shop. In other theme park news, Travis Kelcey was named the six Flags Brand Ambassador for twenty twenty six. Guests visiting six Flags Park this year will be seeing a lot more of NFL star and three time Super Bowl champion Travis kelce who is signed on as an official brand ambassador for the company in twenty twenty six. As part of the deal, Kelsey will share digital content across his own social media platform promoting the parks, while six Flags will feature Kelsey's name, image and likeness in broadcast media, streaming platforms and in park marketing.

4:32 The announcement builds on Kelsey's existing relationship with Six Flags. In October twenty twenty five, he joined activist investment firm Jana Partners and other investors in a group that acquired a roughly nine percent stake in the company worth an estimated two hundred million dollars. Financial terms of the ambassador arrangement were not disclosed, though Kelsey's role as an investor provides additional context for that partnership. Learn more on this week's Green Tagged podcast, and this week's episode of Green tag also tackles what listeners have been asking about for weeks, the impact of the Middle East situation on tourism and the attraction industry. AYAPPA has canceled its Middle East expo, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and the inflationary ripple effects of higher oil prices could squeeze discretionary spending. Scott and Philip disagree on whether that helps or hurts regional parks like Six Flags, and they talk through what parallel planning actually looks like for the operators right now. New state lease terms put Old Joliet Haunted Prison's future in question.

5:36 The Old Joliet Haunted Prison a seasonal haunted attraction operated by Thirteenth Floor entertainment group at the former Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois, may not return in twenty twenty six. According to a report from the Joliet Herald News, a new lease agreement between the State of Illinois and the City of Joliet now requires state approval for all activities on the property, and thirteen Floor is not curly and approved use under these terms. The city notified the company in January that its agreement had expired and that it must remove all property and equipment from the site. The Joliet City Council had approved the three year lease renewal with the state in December without any public indication that the new terms would affect the Haunted attraction. Thirteenth Floor told the Herald News the decision came as a surprise, noting the attraction has grown into a fall tradition that brings tens of thousands of visitors to the city each year, creates meaningful jobs for local residents, and supports local businesses throughout the season. The company said it hopes to work with the city to continue operating at the site over five seasons. The attraction has been recognized by the Haunted Attraction Association as a top haunt and holds a four point four star rating across nearly seventeen hundred Google reviews.

6:49 Limited time savings on Universal Horror Unleashed tickets. Universal Horror Unleashed from Las Vegas, Nevada invites guests to experience the terror this spring with a limited time savings of up to fifty dollars on select tickets now through April thirtieth. General admission tickets to the year round horror experience at the Area fifteen district in Las Vegas start at thirty nine dollars for Nevada residents and forty nine dollars for non residents during the promotional window. Universal Horror Unleashed brings the production value of Halloween horror nights to a year round space. The venue features four walk through horror experiences including Universal Monsters, Blumhouses, The Exorcist, Believer, The Texas Chainsaw, Massacre, and fan favored original Scarecrow The Reaping, plus four themed zones with live entertainment, droving characters, and themed bars and dining.

7:40 A second Universal Horror and Leased location is planned for Chicago Slasher's Ax Throwing in Ales hosts their second annual Purge Night Tournament, released the Beast at Slasher's Ax Throwing in Ales in Costa Mesa, California. During their second annual Purge Night Ax Throwing Tournament on Sunday, March twenty second, Purge inspired costumes and masks are encouraged. Complementary I Purged buttons will be given to all participants. Open to all experience levels, competitors have the chance to win prizes, trophies, and free beer. Practice starts at six thirty pm and the tournament begins at seven pm. Tickets are on sale now for forty five dollars per person. Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group presents Zju the Board Game Friday and Saturday's March twentieth through April eleventh. Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group in North Hollywood, California presents the all new production Zju the Board Game, a playable, immersive experience enter a devilishly daring competition that flings audiences into a high stakes race through a gauntlet of horrifying worlds that make up a treacherous life sized game board, guided by the eccentric Sadist boardmaster players must outwit a coven of macob Horrors and the all powerful Witch to reach the finish line. Alive in this immersive Nightmares Bible is the only strategy for the ultimate title, Zju Grand Champion. Due to mature themes, Zju the Board game is intended for audiences over eighteen

9:10 years of age. Tickets are on sale now starting at twenty dollars online or twenty five at the door. Only five audience members participate per show. Wicked New England returns to Salem with a two year expansion. Wicked New England from Salem Mass returns for its second Halfway to Halloween Festival on Sunday, April nineteenth, twenty twenty six, at the Old Town Hall, expanding outdoors into Derby Square for the first time. The inaugural twenty twenty five event filled both floors of the Hall with a vendor marketplace in stage presentations. For year two, the programming grows with kids trigger treating from participating vendors, a traveling museum from heirloom Halloween showcasing, antique Halloween artifact, photo ops with Bora, the Witch and the cast of hocus Pocus Live, and all new parody musical along with a VIP ticket tier. Barrett's Haunted Mansion and Halloween New England return to the stage lineup, joined by the Wicked ghost Hunters, a behind the scenes look at hocus Pocus Live, and a mass vow renewal from Salem's Black Hat Society. With the success of the first Wicked New England event in twenty twenty five, I want to continue to grow, celebrate, and shine a light on what New England has to offer during the Halloween season, said founder Jeff de Powley. Tickets are available at the event's official website. Transworld Vendor Spotlight videos are short form, professionally produced video features filmed live on the show floor at Transworld's Helloween and Attraction Show. Each spotlight has one

10:41 new product or best selling item in a focused, approximately thirty second interview style format. These videos are editorial features distributed through the Haunted Attraction Network, the leading news resource for the Haunted attraction industry. Each vendor Spotlight includes placement across the Haunted Attraction Network work including Haunted Attraction Networks, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, newsletter, LinkedIn, and website, plus the opportunity to be tagged as a collaborator. The cost is three hundred dollars. Book yours today by contacting Philip at the Haunted Attraction Network dot com. Some upcoming events this March through May of twenty twenty six include trans World's Halloween and Attraction Show in Saint Louis, Missouri, March twenty six through twenty ninth, The Spooky Swap Meet from Los Angeles, California, April twenty four through twenty six, East Coast Haunters Convention from Oaks, Pennsylvania April twenty fifth through twenty sixth, and the Ohio Helloween and Haunters Convention in Mansfield, Ohio, May ninth through ten.

11:45 And that's all for the news this week. Today's episode was produced by me Philip Rnandez, with reporting by Daryl 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 Haunted Attraction Network dot com. Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighty and controls. Until next time, Haunters Stay Scary. This is a Haunted Attraction Network production