July 1, 2025

NEWS: Universal's Chicago Haunt; Fear Dome; & HHN Houses

Show Notes
Transcript

This week: Universal Destinations & Experiences Announces Horror Unleashed Chicago; Halloween Horror Nights Orlando Announced 5 Original Haunts; La Llorona, La Muelona, and La Siguanaba Come to Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood; Haunts Return to the Las Vegas Adventuredome with "Fear Dome"; Screams Halloween Theme Park Announces Closure; "Graveyard Games" Now Casting Horror Superfans; Spirit Halloween is Hiring 50,000 Retail Associates; Re 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 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. Universal announces Horror Unleashed Chicago. Universal Destinations

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and Experiences is bringing its year round Horror Unleashed concept

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is Chicago, Illinois, marking its second location before the first

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even opens in Las Vegas this August. The new venue

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will feature haunted houses, themed bars, food, and retail, but

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it is entering a market already packed with high quality

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haunts and lacking the built in foot traffic of Vegas's

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Area fifteen. With no confirmed ip lineup and a harsh

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winter climate to contend with, it is unclear if this

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concept will gain traction with locals outside of the Halloween season.

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The timing suggests the move may be more about investor

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sentiment than guest demand Comcast lost one hundred and ninety

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nine thousand broadband subscribers the last quarter, and with streaming

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accelerating Calable's decline, the company is leaning hard into experiential

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entertainment to diversify. Announcing a second Horror and Leag location,

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despite the Vegas version still untested, helps Comcast project momentum

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ahead of its July thirty first earnings call, but without

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localized storytelling, strong intellectual property, and seasonal flexibility, the Chicago

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expansion may struggle to deliver on its promise a modern

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Halloween event with gaming ips immersion at three hundred and

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fifty dollars previews. In this week's episode of Green Tagged,

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Philippin Scott discussed the parallel strategies of US universals Halloween

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Horror Nights and Winchester Mystery Houses Festival Fright Nights. Universal

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is doubling down on pop culture firepower with the enomously

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popular gaming ips of Fallout and five Nights at Freddy's.

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They are also charging superfans three hundred and fifty dollars

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for Premium Scream Night, a ticketed dress rehearsal with massive

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ips and super fans willing to pay premium prices just

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to attend a dress rehearsal. How can smaller attractions compete?

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Thirteenth four in Winchester Mystery House might have an answer

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With the Festival Fright Nights. The event will transform the

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labyrinthine Winchester Mystery House into a Hellave into a Halloween

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event with three haunted houses and entertainment. The key is

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the immersive storyline, which sets the event in nineteen twenty

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four and utilizes the mansion's backdrop in history, showing that

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smaller venues can out maneuver giant budgets by weaponizing authenticity

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and location. Philip and Scott will unpack with these strategies

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signal about Helloween's next arm race, premium previews, ip one upmanship,

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and how regional haunts can lean into their unique asset

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ahead of chasing billion dollar licenses. Halloween Horror Nites Orlando

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is announcing five original haunts. Halloween Horrorites at Universal Orlando

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Resort in Orlando, Florida has taken to social media to

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announce five new original mazes for this year's event. L Artista,

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a Spanish haunting in nineteenth century Spain, A tortured artist

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moves into an isolated country manner for inspiration, but the

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art comes alive and possesses him Hatchet in chains, demon

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bounty hunters. In this old West town, all hell is

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breaking loose. Red hot lava demons are trying to possess everyone,

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melting everything in their path. Dolls, let's play dead. You're

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about to become doll sized and be hunted by toys

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that have been burnt, melted, and stitched together by a

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twisted little girl. Grave of Flesh. Welcome to your funeral,

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where things are about to go from bad to worse.

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You'll enter your grave and then the underworld, where flesh

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eaters who feed on the dead will hunt you for

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all eternity and Galkan monsters of the North. In a

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remote northern village, a wicked being rises from the dead,

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bringing a horde of monsters and demons from the Fjords

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to wreak havoc on the townspeople. You'll face icy, horned, winged,

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and wolfish fiends that gradually merge into one giant horror.

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Then you'll try to escape the belly of the beast.

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Halloween Horror Nites Orlando runs select dates August twenty ninth,

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through November two. Follow the links in our show notes

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to learn more via the comprehensive guide we've created. The

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third installment of Monstrous announced for the HHN Hollywood Monstrous three,

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The Ghosts of Latin America, is coming to Halloween Horrorites

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at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. Monstrous was

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always intended to be a trilogy sat Universal Studios Halloween

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Horrnites Creative creative director John Murdy. The direction I give

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my production designer every year for the facade is it's

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like we're panning the camera to focus on a different

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part of the cemetery each year. You can see the

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new part of the cemetery coming together. Now. This third

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installment of Latin America Folklore will feature three female figures,

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La Yourona, La Muelona, and Las Sigunaba. Halloween Horrnites runs

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select dates September fourth through November two. The Fear Dome

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Comes to Las Vegas. A brand new haunted attraction is

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opening in the Adventure Dome inside the Circus Circus Casino

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and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, this fall. Fear Dome

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running seventeen select date September twenty sixth through October thirty first.

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The attraction promises a fresh take on the previous Freight Dome,

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which ran for fifteen years until its closure in twenty eighteen.

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This isn't a revival, it's a full scale reinvention, said

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South of Heaven Productions, the team overseeing the event. We

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grew up in Las Vegas. It was important for us

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to bring back an iconic attraction at the iconic property

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Circus Circus. From the immersive haunted environments and cinematic storylines

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to high quality effects and spine chilling thrills, Vegas locals

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and tourists alike won't want to miss this memorable experience.

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Perdome will feature four haunts, Deep Containment, Bill Billy Hollow,

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No Way Out, the Birth of Glass Eyes, and Cotton

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Candy Carnage, along with scare Zones, live actors, a signature

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dark coaster experience, themed merchandise, food and beverages, and special

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guest appearances. More information, including ticket sales, will be available

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soon on the event's official website. Screams Halloween Theme Park

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is closing. In a June twenty seventh social media post,

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Screams Halloween Theme Park and Waxahatchie, Texas announced that it

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is closing. The post thanked his loyal Scare actors, vendors,

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and fans who have supported them for the past twenty

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eight years. No reason was given for the closure yet.

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The post teased a new and exciting event coming to

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the Scarborough site in October twenty twenty five, but no

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further details have been released at this time. The Ohio

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Haunters Convention returns May ninth and tenth of twenty twenty six.

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The long awaited return of the Ohio Haunters can Invention

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has been announced from May ninth to tenth, twenty twenty six,

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at the historic Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. The

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convention is open to all members of the Ohio Handres Association,

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as well as non member industry professionals, haunt owners, actors, vendors,

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and enthusiasts age eighteen and over. The event will feature vendors, seminars,

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a costume party, and more. Ticket information and further details

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will be posted in the coming months to the event's

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official website. Midsummer Screams Haunt Spotlight for twenty twenty five

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is coming on Saturday, August sixteenth, Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, California,

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will take a look at some of Socal's most anticipated

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indie haunts with their Haunt Spotlight twenty twenty five. Panel

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panelists include Rix Boker from Fear Farm in Falan, California,

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Jesus Chewey Garcia from Eulogy Collective in Anaheunt, California, Christy

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Bredvika from the Curse of the Raven in Lamorada, California,

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Joey Giuliano from Sombra Cemetery in Santa Clarita, California, Diego

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Lenares from the Buena Vista Haunt in Burbank, California, and

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Derek Young from Van Oaks Cemetery in Sherman Oaks, California.

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These haunt creators will share their stories and discuss their

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upcoming seasons. Taking place August fifteenth through seventeen at the

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Long Beach Convention Center, Midsummer Scream features three hundred plus exhibitors,

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all of Shadows, mini Haunts, live entertainment panels, and more.

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Tickets for this year's events are on sale now. Graveyard

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Games is now casting horror super fans. Are you a

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horror superfan? Do you know your slashers, classic spooky cartoons,

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horror video games, and urban legends. Like the back of

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your Hand, Do you wait an excited anticipation for the

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next true crime podcast or documentary? If so, Black Light

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Entertainment Co. Is looking for you. Graveyard Games, a new

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Halloween game show, is now casting big personality pop culture

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horror fans aged eighteen and over for its inaugural season.

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Influencers and horror super fans will battle through puzzles and

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strategy based challenges to prove who knows the most about

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this frightening genre. Filming takes place in Los Angeles area

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July twenty four through twenty six. The series is set

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to premiere in October. First learn more or apply via

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the show's online application form. Spirit Helloween is hiring fifty

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thousand retail associates As the Halloween season creeps closer. Spirit

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Helloween announced is hiring more than fifty thousand sales associates

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and store managers to support more than fifteen hundred retail

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locations this year. With the anticipation for Helloween in an

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all time high, we are committed to creating the same

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immersive experience that keeps our fans coming back a year

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after year, said Steven Silverstein, CEO Spirit Helloween. The talent

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and enthusiasm of our associates is the driving force that

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brings Halloween to life each year, and we look forward

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to wel to welcoming new and returning faces for another

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killer season. Employees receive frightfully fun perks, including competitive salaries,

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flexible scheduling, a premium pay increase, program, seasonal retention bonuses

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for returning store managers, and a thirty percent discount on

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Spirit Halloween purchases. Search for available positions and location on

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spirits official hiring site call for Haunted attractions and sponsors.

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The Haunted Attraction Network's annual Hauntathon is back for its

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eleventh year, and your haunt could be part of it.

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Running from September first through October thirty first, hanted On

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twenty twenty five will once again celebrate the haunted attraction

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

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

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haunt or a passionate home haunter, this is your chance

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to be seen by millions of Halloween fans. The Hauntathon

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is now accepting applications from Haunted attractions and sponsors. Our

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sponsorship opportunities include haunt features, podcast advertising, vertical video ad integration,

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and newsletter features in the 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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thirty three thousand podcast downloads from horror focused listeners, thirteen

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

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

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

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hundred and fifty thousand followers, Hantathon offers unmatched exposure for

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Haunted attractions looking to build long term visibility and connected

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with an engaged Halloween audience. To inquire about sponsorship packages,

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contact Philip directly at Philip at Haunted Attraction Network. Some

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upcoming events this June through August include Texas Haunters Convention

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in Dallas, Texas. July twenty sixth and twenty seventh, Haunters

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Against Hate the Event three in Louisville, Kentucky, August eight

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through ten, and Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, California, August

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fifteenth through seventeen.

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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 Fernandez, with reporting by Darryl

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Plunky post production by David Swope. This Haunt 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 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: Universal's Chicago Haunt; Fear Dome; & HHN Houses

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