This is a great video and I love how completely unfiltered you are. Yes, the value of haunted houses just keeps decreasing. We put on a 20 minute show, and while it's great - it costs $38 out here on Long Island, NY.... and I'm BARELY getting by. If I charged any less, there wouldn't be a haunted house next year. It's just terrible profit margins and we're a tear down every season kind of haunt, so if we rented or bought a building year-round it would be pretty much impossible to make money. If I had the property, I'd be switching over to a scream park / HHN model for sure. Smaller haunts, that combined aren't much bigger than an average sized haunt, that lead you back out into a midway area for a greater perceived value, and more money making opportunities. There's a "scream park" near us that uses this strategy and seems to be making an absolute fuck ton of money.
You’re absolutely right about sharing business info among haunt owner/ operators. However, an Association will never be able to do this. The reason is, an Association allows anyone in as long as they can pay the dues. What you described as the Summer get together needs to be organized privately among 10-20 of the largest most successful haunt owners in the country. This invitation only formula has been done successfully among numerous types of industries.
Larry, Makes me wonder if the traditional haunt industry has to pivot to doing giant festivals in big public venues instead, for just a couple weekends? Was going to say HHN without the rides, but you could bring in carnival rides. Make it a family pumpkin fest by day and HHN event at night with live entertainment (rock bands, sides shows, fire eaters, scare zones, etc.) You’ve already got the name Hauntworld….
I agree that most haunts are too expensive now. Theme parks really are taking over the industry for exactly the reason you described- perceived value. HHN and knotts are very expensive but justify that price by promising 6-8 hours of rides, great food options, awesome shows, and great haunts and scarezones. A night out is sounding better at the moment than paying 30-50 dollars for a 45 minute haunt. Adding more experiences (potentially even under one big ticket) to haunts seems to be a way to go at the moment. People travel from all over the world for HHN, there’s no reason eventually haunts cant start pulling demos from hours away. Just my thoughts. I agree with you that the economy is horrible right now, but I don’t think that’s the main issue
I think we need more large scale scream parks that are like those things, but are exclusively for haunt stuff. They should have things like a number of 20+ minute haunts, including houses, trails, hayrides, etc. Other things like immersive experiences, a number of escape rooms, shooting attractions, midway with different games and carnival rides, shows like magic shows, acrobatics, comedy, performance art, burlesque, and more dramatic shows. Music including actual DJs and bands, not just cover bands. They'll also need a number of scare zones and "spook paths" (which would basically be like scare zones, but with props and animatronics). They should not just be scream parks, but also like festivals. Think of something like Renaissance Fair meets HHN.
I knew this was coming. Put it like this Larry. Im 44 yrs old. Been going to haunts for 30+ yrs and and would do 30+ haunts every season as i got older growing up in Chicago even visiting your haunts multiple times. As i visited these haunts and saw the prices rise i knew it wouldnt last because everything is just a trend these days. Which means trends die eventually and thats how i see the haunted house industry especially the way its evolved over the past 20 yrs and the competition doesnt help. Haunted houses these days are not worth the value they use to be as its just a buiness now and the focus isnt to make sure everyone gets the same experience. Its a pure cash grab. I respect small budget and support mainly small budgets haunts now as they always deliver a good experience and do for the real passion of just scaring people. Anyways im a living testimony to all of this as ive been on the outside looking in all these years just waiting for things to crumble. Last 4 years i do Halloween Horror Nights as it delivers the ultimate Halloween experience for the value regardless of the crowds just being there is the best experience EVER! And honestly the haunt industry has gone so woke now well you already know where that leads. Be in denial all you want brother amd watch the outcome unfold. I knew this was gonna happen before you posted this. Great confirmation!
I live in Louisiana and went to a very popular haunt this past weekend. We paid $85 per person after taxes for the vip (almost $400 total) and we were a little disappointed. It’s normally way scarier and better. This year was blah. We don’t have any theme parks near us so all we have is private haunt owners and depend on them. Sucks bc out here there is nothing and the ones we do have aren’t bad but aren’t noteworthy anymore either. I hope something changes by next season. Not to mention a lot are going more towards animatronics. Which I am not a fan of. There is no personal experience with that.
which haunt did you go to... as for animations we have no choice because we can't hire people anymore. Its not like we don't want to hire actors its we can't.
Beautiful pinball collection 🖤 based on my personal experience, 10 years ago I'd visit every haunt in a 100 mile radius I had expendable income i didn't have kids and yeah the economy was better, it wasn't great but it was better, I wish I could afford to visit The Darkness this season I watch every walk through on YT I can find amongst many other businesses i have zero entertainment budget and I can't cut into groceries or gas, I probably would if I didn't have 2 kids depending on me lol but that's why I, myself hasn't visited any haunts this year and it's been a number of years since I've been able to
How much are you charging is the first question. The reason I don't go to haunted houses anymore is because of the price. The haunts near me are anywhere from $50-$80 for a base ticket. The problem is these haunts are more expensive than some local theme parks. Haunted attractions need to humble themselves. Also you have a million UA-camrs and internet personalities filming through these haunts, why go waste my money when I can watch it on UA-cam and experience it for free. I think allowing UA-camrs in to film the haunts devalues the haunt itself. Also it doesn't feel like Halloween season anymore especially when these haunts start all the way in early September. I would say pricing is the number one issue. Inflation has nothing to do with lower turnout, here's what bothers me about any business that uses this type of model for their business. Ooo lets bring in this million dollar animatronic, but how are we going to pay for it, oh oh we will charge triple what we used to charge and pass it on to the consumer, instead of the business taking on the cost. I've always said you know if you charge less for a service or a product you will not only get more people in the door but you will make more money by doing so. You might not make a huge profit by doing so but lowering the cost by 25% you would have a lot more heads through your haunt which would generate more money. But for some reason businesses thinking they can charge more and make more money are just wrong.
i agree 100%, especially that we are headed for a recession no matter what. Trump really needs to win. WIth inflation being so high, it's adding up. People just don't have the money to spend on extra activities such as haunts. I feel it might be a little rough for a couple years. The idea of a convention for owners / managers is a great idea and would be beneficial for the industry. Thanks for the video and sharing your ideas and observations 😀
You're a Good, Hardworking Man, Larry!
Keep fighting the Good Fight ... There is LIGHT at the end of this Ridiculously Long Tunnel ...
This is a great video and I love how completely unfiltered you are. Yes, the value of haunted houses just keeps decreasing. We put on a 20 minute show, and while it's great - it costs $38 out here on Long Island, NY.... and I'm BARELY getting by. If I charged any less, there wouldn't be a haunted house next year. It's just terrible profit margins and we're a tear down every season kind of haunt, so if we rented or bought a building year-round it would be pretty much impossible to make money. If I had the property, I'd be switching over to a scream park / HHN model for sure. Smaller haunts, that combined aren't much bigger than an average sized haunt, that lead you back out into a midway area for a greater perceived value, and more money making opportunities. There's a "scream park" near us that uses this strategy and seems to be making an absolute fuck ton of money.
You’re absolutely right about sharing business info among haunt owner/ operators. However, an Association will never be able to do this. The reason is, an Association allows anyone in as long as they can pay the dues. What you described as the Summer get together needs to be organized privately among 10-20 of the largest most successful haunt owners in the country. This invitation only formula has been done successfully among numerous types of industries.
agreed
@@Hauntworld I've wished for this for years. We stumble through independently year after year and no one wants to share information. Sign me up.
Happy Halloween EVvvveryone... MuHAHahaha!
Wisconsin Fear Grounds went under this year.
Larry, Makes me wonder if the traditional haunt industry has to pivot to doing giant festivals in big public venues instead, for just a couple weekends? Was going to say HHN without the rides, but you could bring in carnival rides. Make it a family pumpkin fest by day and HHN event at night with live entertainment (rock bands, sides shows, fire eaters, scare zones, etc.)
You’ve already got the name Hauntworld….
I agree that most haunts are too expensive now. Theme parks really are taking over the industry for exactly the reason you described- perceived value.
HHN and knotts are very expensive but justify that price by promising 6-8 hours of rides, great food options, awesome shows, and great haunts and scarezones. A night out is sounding better at the moment than paying 30-50 dollars for a 45 minute haunt. Adding more experiences (potentially even under one big ticket) to haunts seems to be a way to go at the moment. People travel from all over the world for HHN, there’s no reason eventually haunts cant start pulling demos from hours away. Just my thoughts. I agree with you that the economy is horrible right now, but I don’t think that’s the main issue
I think we need more large scale scream parks that are like those things, but are exclusively for haunt stuff. They should have things like a number of 20+ minute haunts, including houses, trails, hayrides, etc. Other things like immersive experiences, a number of escape rooms, shooting attractions, midway with different games and carnival rides, shows like magic shows, acrobatics, comedy, performance art, burlesque, and more dramatic shows. Music including actual DJs and bands, not just cover bands. They'll also need a number of scare zones and "spook paths" (which would basically be like scare zones, but with props and animatronics). They should not just be scream parks, but also like festivals. Think of something like Renaissance Fair meets HHN.
I knew this was coming. Put it like this Larry. Im 44 yrs old. Been going to haunts for 30+ yrs and and would do 30+ haunts every season as i got older growing up in Chicago even visiting your haunts multiple times. As i visited these haunts and saw the prices rise i knew it wouldnt last because everything is just a trend these days. Which means trends die eventually and thats how i see the haunted house industry especially the way its evolved over the past 20 yrs and the competition doesnt help. Haunted houses these days are not worth the value they use to be as its just a buiness now and the focus isnt to make sure everyone gets the same experience. Its a pure cash grab. I respect small budget and support mainly small budgets haunts now as they always deliver a good experience and do for the real passion of just scaring people. Anyways im a living testimony to all of this as ive been on the outside looking in all these years just waiting for things to crumble. Last 4 years i do Halloween Horror Nights as it delivers the ultimate Halloween experience for the value regardless of the crowds just being there is the best experience EVER! And honestly the haunt industry has gone so woke now well you already know where that leads. Be in denial all you want brother amd watch the outcome unfold. I knew this was gonna happen before you posted this. Great confirmation!
I live in Louisiana and went to a very popular haunt this past weekend. We paid $85 per person after taxes for the vip (almost $400 total) and we were a little disappointed. It’s normally way scarier and better. This year was blah. We don’t have any theme parks near us so all we have is private haunt owners and depend on them. Sucks bc out here there is nothing and the ones we do have aren’t bad but aren’t noteworthy anymore either. I hope something changes by next season. Not to mention a lot are going more towards animatronics. Which I am not a fan of. There is no personal experience with that.
which haunt did you go to... as for animations we have no choice because we can't hire people anymore. Its not like we don't want to hire actors its we can't.
Beautiful pinball collection 🖤 based on my personal experience, 10 years ago I'd visit every haunt in a 100 mile radius I had expendable income i didn't have kids and yeah the economy was better, it wasn't great but it was better, I wish I could afford to visit The Darkness this season I watch every walk through on YT I can find amongst many other businesses i have zero entertainment budget and I can't cut into groceries or gas, I probably would if I didn't have 2 kids depending on me lol but that's why I, myself hasn't visited any haunts this year and it's been a number of years since I've been able to
Gas as is $2.68 where I live. I’m not complaining. That’s not fiction.
That’s rare and It was lowered for the election.
How much are you charging is the first question. The reason I don't go to haunted houses anymore is because of the price. The haunts near me are anywhere from $50-$80 for a base ticket. The problem is these haunts are more expensive than some local theme parks. Haunted attractions need to humble themselves.
Also you have a million UA-camrs and internet personalities filming through these haunts, why go waste my money when I can watch it on UA-cam and experience it for free. I think allowing UA-camrs in to film the haunts devalues the haunt itself. Also it doesn't feel like Halloween season anymore especially when these haunts start all the way in early September.
I would say pricing is the number one issue. Inflation has nothing to do with lower turnout, here's what bothers me about any business that uses this type of model for their business. Ooo lets bring in this million dollar animatronic, but how are we going to pay for it, oh oh we will charge triple what we used to charge and pass it on to the consumer, instead of the business taking on the cost.
I've always said you know if you charge less for a service or a product you will not only get more people in the door but you will make more money by doing so. You might not make a huge profit by doing so but lowering the cost by 25% you would have a lot more heads through your haunt which would generate more money. But for some reason businesses thinking they can charge more and make more money are just wrong.
Make and Buy unique original one of a kind props. 👍
Larry is the bomb
i agree 100%, especially that we are headed for a recession no matter what. Trump really needs to win. WIth inflation being so high, it's adding up. People just don't have the money to spend on extra activities such as haunts. I feel it might be a little rough for a couple years. The idea of a convention for owners / managers is a great idea and would be beneficial for the industry. Thanks for the video and sharing your ideas and observations 😀
All entertainment is hurting because of the horrible economy and inflation that is a guaranteed outcome of the corrupt political swamp.
MAGA
They know your a threat and know your shit just haters in general
I agree with the sit down with haunt owners but alot of bridges been burn because of ego.
yes