March 29, 2026

NEWS: Transworld Week is here

Show Notes
Transcript

TransWorld's Halloween & Attractions Show kicks off this week in St. Louis. Whether you're heading to the show floor or following from home, here's what the industry is talking about heading into the biggest week of the year.
Also this week:- Halloween Horror Nights 35 Reveals First Haunted House and Returning Icons- Jana Partners Pushes Six Flags to Explore Sale- Sesame Workshop Sues United Parks to Terminate Licensing Agreement- Carowinds Brings The Conjuring: Beyond Fear to Spring Break with First-Ever Scream Break- HAA Proposes Bylaws Changes That Would Open Board Seat to Non-Owner/Operators- Minecraft World Announced for Chessington World of Adventures in 2027- Funland to Renovate Haunted Mansion Ride- Horror at Hinchingbrooke House Cancelled Due to School Grounds Damage
https://mailchi.mp/hauntedattractionnetwork.com/transworld-week-is-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 off.

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To Darryl trans World. Halloween an Attraction show, takes place

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this week March twenty sixth through twenty ninth at America

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Center in Saint Louis, Missouri. Between pre show haunt tours,

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dozens of paid and free seminars, nightly parties, and a

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show floor packed with over four hundred and fifty exhibitors,

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the week offers more programming than any single attendee can cover.

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See the full guide by following the links to the

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show notes, which breaks down what's happening when, and how

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to make the most of your time in Saint Louis.

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Some quick facts five days of programming. Wednesday's pre show

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tour kicks things off, followed by four days of trade

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show floor access seminars events Thursday through Sunday, three shows

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with one badge. Your pass also grants entry to the

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co located trans World Christmas Show and Interactive Entertainment show

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covering escape rooms, acts, throwing, VR and other experience based entertainment.

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Over four hundred and fifty exhibitors on the show floor,

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with free makeup demonstrations running daily at the Makeup Demo Stage.

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Free and paid seminars spanning haunted attractions, Christmas Installations, interactive entertainment,

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safety certification and business operations. Nightly events including This City

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Museum Party, a Murder Mystery Experience and Heaven and Hell

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Costume Ball and the Moonlight Mingle, After Hours Lounge and

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the AWE Scares Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening, free for

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all attendees, celebrating the in the Haunted attraction industry. You

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Know a Week at a Glance. Wednesday, March twenty fifth,

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has Got the pre show at Tallent Falls. Haunted Tour

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bus to Parts at two pm, returns around midnight. Experience

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STL Interactive Entertainment Tour nine am to four pm. Thursday

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March twenty sixth, show floor opens The Chaos Safety Seminars

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begin at eight thirty am, paid seminars all day, agg

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Retainment Mixer, Interactive Entertainment Mixer VIP Happy Hour in the

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evening City Museum Party at seven thirty pm, and the

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Moonlight Mingle starting at nine. On Friday March twenty seventh,

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the show floor is open again. The HIA State of

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the Industry is at nine am and it's free. Paid

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seminars all day. The HAA Live auction at five point

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fifteen pm is also free. Bloodlines and Blackmail Murder Mystery

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at eight pm, Santa's Beach Bash, Christmas Party at eight

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thirty pm, the Moonlight Mingle at nine. Saturday March twenty

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eight the show floor is open all day, AI Advantage

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Keynote at eight thirty am, paid seminars all day, OSCARES

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Awards Ceremony at five pm. Doors are open and it's free.

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Christmas Show Mixer at five thirty pm is free. Heaven

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in Hell Costume Ball at eight pm, the Moonlight Mingle

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at six to eight pm, and again at eleven forty five.

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On Sunday, March twenty ninth, the show floor is open

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from ten am till two pm. Your last chance to

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shop The interactive floor plan is now live. You can

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map out your route and preview the four hundred and

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fifty exhibitors via the trans World's New Halloween An Attraction

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Show interactive floor plan. Follow the links in our show

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notes to see yours today. Halloween Horror Nights thirty five

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reveals the first Haunted House and the returning icons. Universal

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Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida has announced the theme icons

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and first original Haunted House for the thirty fifth anniversary

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of Halloween Horror Nights, running select nights August twenty eighth

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through November first at Universal Studios, Florida. The event will

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be themed to the Infernal Carnival of Nightmares, with Jack

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the Clown and Doctor Oddfellow returning his co icons for

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the first time in the event's history. The first announced

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houset Jack an Oddfellow, Chaos and Control, tells the origin

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story of their rivalry between the two characters from Oddfellow's perspective.

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During a panel at MegaCon in Orlando, the creative team

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revealed a new lore detail. The box Oddfellow used to

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trap Jack was one of his interdimensional portals, part of

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a mythology the team calls the Oddverse. Mike Alo, Senior

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Director of Entertainment Creative Development and Laura Sol's Assistant Director

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of Entertainment, Creative Development and show Direction, emphasized the event's

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thirty five year commitment to original storytelling alongside licensed horror properties.

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We're not just rehashing what we've done, but telling brand new,

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original content stories every year, which is what makes Helloween

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hor especially here in Orlando, so special, Saul said. Jack

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the Clown currently anchors a permanent themed area at Universal

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Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas and appears inside Monsters Unchained

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the Frankenstein Experiment at Epic Universe, making this the first

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time the character is featured across three Universal venues simultaneously.

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Tickets for Halloween Horror Nights thirty five go on sale soon.

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Caro Wins brings the Conjuring Beyond Fear into Spring Break

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with first ever Scream Break. Caro Wins from Charlotte, North

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Carolina is bringing back the Conjuring Beyond Fear months ahead

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of schedule. The interactive Screamium experience that debuted during Scarrow

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Winds last Fall will return during the new Scream Break

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event running April third through twelve as part of the

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park's Spring Break programming. It marks the first time Caro

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Wins has hosted Scream Break, a spring Haunt event that

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has run another six Flags park since twenty twenty three.

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The Conjuring Beyond Fear is a twenty minute walk through

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built by Plague Productions in partnership with New Line Cinema

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and Warner Brothers Discovery Global Experiences. It puts groups of

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eight to ten guests inside scenes from the horror franchise,

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where they interact with live actors, secure cursed artifacts, and

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work to locke Annabel back in her box. The experience

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drew strong reviews during its debut, with Blake Taylor of

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Attractions Magazine calling it the best experienced Scare Wins has

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ever crafted. John Cook, owner of Plague Productions, said the

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company built all four installations Carowins, Cedar Point, King's Island,

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and Canada's Wonderland in three months. The spring version will

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operate daily from two pm to part closing and remains

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a separately purchased experience. The Conjuring Beyond Fear will also

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return as part of Scarewinds on select dates from September

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three through November one. Minecraft World is announced for the

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Chessington World of Adventures in twenty twenty seven. Merlin Entertainments

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and Mode Dang Studios from Greater London, UK announced Minecraft

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World on March twenty first during Minecraft Live, confirming Chessington

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World of Adventures as the home for the first fully

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immersive Minecraft theme park Land. The fifty million pound project

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will include the world's first Minecraft coaster, interactive adventures, block

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built playscapes, and themed detail in dining announcements. Puts a

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name and a location to one half of the one

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hundred and ten million dollar global investment Merlin first revealed

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in November twenty twenty four, when the company confirmed Minecraft

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themed attractions would be developed in both the US and

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the UK. A US location has not yet been annound.

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Merlin has also enlisted Minecraft creators to consult on the

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lands design, aiming for authenticity to the game's universe rather

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than a Minecraft movie film franchise, which did gross over

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nine hundred and sixty one million in twenty twenty five.

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Minecraft will allow friends and families to play, explore, and

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craft together in a truly epic scale, said Angela Jobson,

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the SVP of Global Brand at Merlin Entertainments. Working closely

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together with Mojang Studios, we are meticulously creating an authentic

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world that the global community of Minecraft fans will want

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to immerse themselves in and experience the game in a

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whole new way. Fun Land to renovate their Haunted Mansion Ride.

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After the twenty twenty six operating season concludes on September thirteenth,

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fun Land in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware will begin a full

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renovation of its iconic Haunted Mansion Dark Ride, with the

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goal of preserving the ride's nostalgic charm and enhancing the

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overall experience. The park is once again collaborating with Jim

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Malonic from JMM Studios, the original creative mind behind the ride.

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This renovation is a celebration of everything that has made

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the Haunted Mansion special since its debut, said Randy Curry,

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a third generation family member. Many of the original effects,

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loved gags, and classic themes that guests know and love

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will remain, alongside thoughtful updates that bring the experience forward

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for a new generation. The reimagined ride is expected to

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debut for the twenty twenty eight season. The park plans

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at post renovation updates and behind the scenes content on

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their social media and official website. Onted Attraction proposes opening

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board seat to non owners and operators. The Haunted Attraction

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Association is proposing a set of bylaw revisions that would

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allow a non owner operator to be elected to its

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Board of Directors for the first time. The changes center

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on the board's eighteenth seat, which would be open to

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a candidate with at least seven years of documented industry experience,

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vetted through the same member qualifications committee processes all the

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other director candidates. If no non owner operator fills the

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seat with a given election cycle, it reverts to a

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standard owner operator position until the next election. The proposed

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revisions also restrict how far the seat reaches into ahaa's

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leadership structure. A non owner operator director would carry the

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same voting authority, term, l limits, and fiduciary duties as

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any other board member, but would be barred from serving

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as president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, or on the Executive Committee.

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The changes require approval from seventy five percent of voting members.

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Haa's annual membership meeting is Friday, March twenty seventh at

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eight thirty am and in Room two thirty one at

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the America Center in Saint Louis, Missouri during trans World's Helloween,

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an attraction show Horror at hinchingbrook House canceled due to

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school grounds damage. After careful consideration, Hinchingbrooks School in Huntingdon,

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UK has announced the cancelation of the annual Horror at

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hinchingbrook House Helloween event. In a statement to press, the

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spokesperson for the cam Academy Trust, which runs hinchingbrook School,

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said that the practical and financial challenges of hosting an

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event of this nature have increased in recent times. In particular,

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the impact on the school grounds has been significant and

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the event leaving lasting damage to the grass areas used

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daily by students. Event organizers released an official statement to

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the public on March ninth. They thank loyal fans for

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the years of support, saying even though the event has ended,

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its impact hasn't. Horror at hingingbrook House became more than

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a scare attraction. It became a community approving ground for

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talent and a place where strangers bonded through fear and laughter.

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Its legacy now lives in memories in friendships forged under

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Strobe Lights in creativity sparked by Chaos and the thousands

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of people who learned what it feels like to be

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fully immersed in fear and wonder. While Horror at hingingbrook

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House has come to an end, the creative team is

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exploring possibilities for future events at other locations. Some upcoming

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events this March through May, including this week's trans World Helloween,

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an attraction show at Saint Louis, Missouri, March twenty six

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through twenty nine, The Spooky Swap Meet in Los Angeles, California,

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April twenty four through twenty six, East Coast Haunters Convention

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in Oaks, Pennsylvania April twenty fifth and sixth, and the

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Ohio Helloween and Haunters Convention in Mansfield, Ohio, May ninth

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through ten.

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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 Ernandez, with reporting by Darryl Plunky,

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post production by David Swope. This hant News Update is

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a production of the Haunted Attraction Network, and you can

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sign up to our weekly newsletter at Haunted Attraction Network

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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.

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Network Production

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