[0:20] Hello, everyone. I'm Jonathan. I'm Crystal. And this is Haunt Weekly, a weekly podcast with the Honor to Traction on Dame community. Whether you're an actor, owner, or just plain aficionado, we aim to be a podcast for you. And we return to you this week with episode 444, a number that I have it on good authority is divisible by checks, notes, four, which means it is time to do the news. News. And we do have a lot of news to go through, but first things first, please check us out and like us, subscribe, and do all the things at the places we exist. We are hauntweekly.com, Haunt Weekly on Twitter, I mean X, whatever. Turns out even the IP attorneys aren't calling it X. Found that out late last week. Twitter, youtube.com slash hauntweekly's YouTube channel. And also find us wherever you get your podcasts from. That includes iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. It's not iTunes anymore. It's Apple Podcasts. It's Google Podcasts. Wherever you get your podcasts from, we're there. Guarantee you probably should update the template at some point. And they get places that actually still exist. Might be a good idea.

[1:29] So anyways, housekeeping notes. Let's do all the standards. I don't think we have any this week.

[1:34] No, we did a lot of housekeeping, but nothing. Nothing to report here.

[1:38] Um work we did for the haunt none directly right we did a lot of indirect work in fact we did you mentioned all the housekeeping we did yes we have cleaned and have gotten two of our rooms and functioning our main two of our main rooms in functioning order which is huge a for mental health but be also for just running everything we're going to be running over the next few months in the house plus it was the work we could best do since we were hit by a heat wave this weekend and literally had heat advisories yeah the entire weekend over here in new orleans oh they've started early that's not boding well for us no it is not um we've also now officially entered into hurricane season it's worth noting yeah so woohoo um yeah that's a thing too but yeah so we spent a lot of of time doing that you in particular i spent a lot of time uh i i spent a lot of time uh doing a cameo as bernie baxter yeah um if i get permission from the filmmaker to share the scene they've already he's already they've already put together the portion i'm in it's basically a uh they're doing this like the old um old timey or i guess like sven ghouli the horror host type thing yeah where Bernie is now playing the role of a horror host, which actually makes a shit ton of sense, if you know anything about the character.

[3:08] So, yes, I'm doing a horror host segment where I'm throwing back to the film, which is what they are actually making.

[3:15] And I was actually one of the first seen a shot, which is why I had to get permission to share anything. Right. Because the actual filming is happening later. I think later this month, actually. I don't know when it's happening, but the reason to get it out of the way was because it's only going to get hotter, and it was out in our garage.

[3:36] And I had to be in full Bernie get-up for it. Yeah. Which, I mean, literally, we did it. My part was done in two takes. I'm very proud of that. It would have been one. If I hadn't flubbed what I was throwing back to it. It's complicated. I won't get into it. But I flubbed in my own parts. We had to do two takes. But even those two takes, which probably took like 10 minutes. Yeah. If that, right? Right. Took the silicone mask off afterward. And it was already dripping sweat. It isn't slobber as I did it. Yeah. It was a disgusting mess. But yes, I got to play Bernie for a few minutes. And what will be a very brief scene in an upcoming local film. Yeah. Yeah, if Cameo is still a thing, like the service, it would be fun to have Bernie on there. I don't think you would get many people, but it would be fun. Yeah, and honestly, we could do it and donate all the proceeds to charity. Yeah. Like pick, make, hunters against take. Yeah. Yeah, that's what we'll say. It's Pride Month, too, so this all makes sense. Yeah, maybe we should do that. Open up Cameo for Bernie Baxter. Do like $10. Yeah. I know, it's something small. Anything we make, we donate to Hunter's Gunner's Head, because this ain't going to be our profession.

[4:49] Yeah. But anyways, that could be fun. Speaking of which. Happy Pride.

[4:55] Yeah. You jumped the gun a little bit, but that's okay. It was all tied in. It was all tied in. I was just connecting loose ends. Yeah, Happy Pride Month. To those who celebrate and to those who are upset about Pride Month, I wish you a very uncomfortable one. Yeah.

[5:11] So that's about all there is to say about that. But, yeah, we missed our local Rocky Horror Troupe did their Pride Month midnight screenings of Rocky Horror, the 31st and the 1st. However, I just found out they're also doing it at the end of the month. Ah. So we still can catch that. And I think I might actually seek that out just because that would be a great time for us to catch Rocky Horror. Yeah.

[5:37] Well, on that note, every week we ask a question a week. Last week, we asked you, what was your most entertaining haunt-related injury? And y'all had answers. Y'all had some thoughts on this. Take the lead, Crystal. All right. Rachel Boudreaux said, my favorite was when I fell out of the cemetery catwalk. I was climbing down the actor's station ladder to cover a scene while the actor went to the bathroom. I went to hold onto the styrofoam mausoleum facade for balance when I climbed down and it broke. Okay. So that's just adding ambiance to the mausoleum, honestly. But a giant water bottle was hooked onto the backpack, and it dragged me down all the way to the ground. Pretty sure it popped my hip out of socket. Ouch. And definitely blacked out for a few seconds. Also, this is your favorite one? Most entertaining. We use most entertaining as the question. I can't say it's not entertaining. And it's a fun cautionary tale to the actors. Long story short, too late.

[6:41] Make sure your handholds are reinforced before putting your entire weight on it. Yeah, this is an industry that we are very good at making very flimsy things look very strong. Yes. I can see why that would be a problem. So, yeah. And this was something when we went to Rise, they use ladders like this a lot. They could drop people in and out of scenes. And as someone with that weird fear of climbing, not heights, I'm fine being up there.

[7:08] And honestly, I don't mind climbing stairs. It's just ladders and things like that. And it's only the climbing bit that ever gets me. I'm like, oh, this is hell. The whole time I'm looking at it. I'm sorry. This is hell. I mean, it's beautiful, but this is hell. It's a beautiful hell. What the hell? Sam Farrell, a behind-the-scenes worker we had, twisted their ankle and running between rooms and couldn't put weight on it. Before we could halt the show, a group came into the room. where they immediately switched gears and pretended to be a lost customer.

[7:37] That's an improv for you. No. That's pretty cool. That's a creative way to make it work. I hope they were okay and they healed neatly. Yeah. Joe Posowski said, Oh, well. So one year I was a guy but had a small part where I would growl and scream, run, to one of the other actors before the mad butcher would come out running. I screamed run and gave myself a hernia. Had to have surgery three months later. This wasn't covered in the Zenith screaming. No, it was not. I just want to be blunt. I know we have hyped that so many times on the show, and for good reason. Yeah. It is something you absolutely 100% should watch if you were going to be doing this type of screaming work. Mm-hmm. That didn't come up. No. The potential of hernia was not mentioned. I just have to say that right now. No. I don't seem to recall that in the full thing. No, but it also sounds very painful, and I'm not sure exactly how you did that, but good job.

[8:38] Reggie Wood, I used to run and jump at customers through a laser tunnel, and my setup allowed me to climb over their heads, which resulted in me getting punched in the balls one time.

[8:50] Look, I'm just going to say, if you put your balls and punching distance at customers, that's kind of an inevitable thing to happen. I mean, I'm not saying it should happen, but it's kind of an inevitability. Maybe we keep genitalia away from punching distance from customers from now on. Yeah. And finally, for this week, Isaac Schwalier said, man, hurt hands from smacking walls, lots of knee pain from age. Hear you there but nothing is more awesome than wearing a visually restrictive mask and nailing your shoulder hips arms or shins on corner of a wall or table no kidding and like you guys know haunt tables and walls have no give because they can't they are built to be knocked into exactly and he also went on to mention that after listening to the recent episode about how we got started, he went back to our first couple of episodes and said we weren't cringe or anything, and I wanted to say thank you, because I was not going to do that. I just hoped we weren't, and figured we were. We're also the typical, stereotypical creatives, where we hate anything we did that's older than a year or six months, a year, something like that, or more than a few iterations back. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

[10:14] That is very true. Like, one thing that's been very interesting in, like, the history of Bernie Baxter as a character, it started out with literally the cheapest mask I've ever purchased. And I do mean that literally ever purchased. It was a witch mask that we got on sale at Walmart for $5 that just happened to look androgynous enough. Because it was an old person mask. It looked androgynous. We used it for a male character. And then we upgraded to a $20 mask. Yes. Then we upgraded to a $60 to $70 mask, one of the more professional masks. In fact, it was the DOA mask, which is pretty well known in the haunt community. And then we upgraded to a full-on, we got it from Shattered FX. I don't remember where we got it from. Yeah. Mask that was hundreds of dollars. And so apparently, like, next Bernie mask has to cost at least $2,000 in order to keep this trend going. I think Bernie may be retired by then.

[11:11] I also think we've hit the cap of what we're going to spend for Bernie. What we can ever spend for Bernie. Yeah. So this week's question, since it's a news week and it's the beginning of Pride Month, is what made you feel most included at a haunt? I'll say this. I mean, obviously, we can't talk about the haunt we ran. But one of the things I really remember from when we would volunteer at other haunts was when we'd be asked to go out to the post-haunt activities. Yeah. That always really meant a lot to me. Mm-hmm. Even if it meant going to the shittiest 24-hour diner in the known universe at 2 a.m. Yeah. To get somehow cold hash browns. Yeah. Don't ask me how they were cold. They were cold, though. And not appetizing food. Yeah. What would you say did it for you? So that's feeling most included in a haunt community. Yeah. Going through as a customer.

[12:18] Oh, so it's a cringe answer. Okay. Well, what is it? It really is, but it kind of still makes the point because there was a female presenting succubi who hit on you. And I'm like, okay, well, you know, go through. And then she hit on me, too. And I was, like, happy that I, for representation of non-binary sexuality, you know. You, like, so I was happy about that. You know, and that's always, and that's funny to me because it's like, why wouldn't a succubi hit on literally everything that comes through? The whole point of the character is to lure everyone to their death. I mean, that's the whole point, right? Yeah. And so, yeah, of course. you know, it's not going to be terribly picky about gender. No. There is going to be no such preference. So, yeah, honestly, it makes perfect sense within the character. Exactly. And I was just glad that it was built into the character. And that,

[13:23] you know, they were comfortable playing the same game with you. Yes, exactly. All right. On that note, it is an even-numbered episode, so we will shift to doing conference reminders. And I guess, Crystal, you want to start this too? Sure. All right. All right, June 7th and 9th, it's Midwest Haunters Convention in Rosemont, Illinois. It is at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center.

[13:45] The people behind 13 Chicago Haunts. A haunt tour will feature Disturbia Evil on Erie Nile Screen Park and 13th Floor. So many great haunts there. Another haunt tour featuring Hell's Gate has been announced. Keep in mind that they are still letting out things. So check out MidwestHauntersConvention.com as they release that info. Yes. If you're going to Midwest Haunters Convention convention, the Haunters Against Hate Awards luncheon is June 7th, also at Rosemont, Illinois at Moretti's featuring Judith O'Day, Japes Pallas, Sven Robert, and so many others. Roberta McClellan. Roberta McClellan, yeah, sorry. Don't know why that didn't type out. I don't know either. Anyways, tickets are $50. They actually just finished. Oh, they did just, oh. They finished selling yesterday. Oh, man. But if you're going, have fun. That is like perfect timing, though. That means you had like the exact right number of seats if you sell out like the week before it happens. Well, they had to get the number two right. Okay, so they just closed up settling. So yeah, but if you're going, it sounds awesome. Yep. Moving on. All right. June 21st and 23rd, Michigan Haunt Fest in Munith, Michigan at the Oaks Campground. Demos and make and take Saturday raffles, costuming and makeup classes.

[15:11] Michiganhauntfest.weebly.com All right. All right, then, finally for this week, June 13th and, I mean, July 13th through the 14th, it's Texas Haunters Convention in Mesquite, Texas, at the Mesquite Convention Center. You can trade so floor, haunt tour with Dark Hour, Game Night, and more. TexasHauntersConvention.com for more information.

[15:32] Okay. Well, on that note, I see you're Googling some stuff real fast. Yeah, but. Okay, we'll move on, though, right now. Just move on.

[15:44] Yeah, okay, sorry, you distracted me there. That's fine. Sorry. All right, well, anyways, as we have said previously, this is a news week. And so I guess I'll just lead into the first story, which is basically this is from a Haunted Illinois posting on the Haunted Haven Facebook. Basically, in Rock Falls, Illinois, Haunted Haven, haunted attraction, unfortunately, was completely destroyed by a fire. Yeah. is the long and short of it. There was a fire that happened about two weeks ago, happened in mid to late May.

[16:21] Firefighters got on the scene at 1 14 p.m. The two-story barn had a severe fire at the top floor. They began fighting the fire. However, the barn ended up completely collapsing at 1 30 p.m. And crews had not cleared the scene until 6 10 p.m. So about five hours exactly from when they arrived on the scene. They did not say what the cause of the fire was. There's been no information on that. However, the big news there is that the haunted attraction is launching a GoFundMe, which we will be linking to in the show notes, in addition to the news article about it. As of right now, the GoFundMe has been going on, let's see, it's been going on since, sorry, I had to pull it back up.

[17:13] So I had it open, but then it went away for some reason oh yeah it was created may 21st it is still ongoing it has raised just shy of 1500 of a 15 000 goal so they need all the help that we can give them and we're going to kick in a little bit after this episode is recorded uh and definitely encourage others to do the same from all i've read on social media and in the comments in the news this is an incredibly beloved local haunt that has been a great outlet for a lot of people. So hope that they were able to find a way to do something this year. Yeah. Cause this is also, I mean, even though it's a May fire, that's fairly late in a lot of Haunt's construction and rebuilding cycles. So yeah, this is a tall order to get something together for September, October. Yeah, it is. Any thoughts?

[18:07] No, it's just a sad story. It is an incredible. I did notice that I recognize some of the names of people who donated. Yeah. So some friends of our haunt are some friends of Haunt Weekly are definitely there. Yeah, exactly. Well, you can see the names yourself, though. Just go to the. There's no reason to pull them out. No, but go to the GoFundMe. It will be linked to in the show notes. Yeah. All right.

[18:37] Well, now it's time for a complete tone change. Yeah. Tone shift. You were going to say that. I know, but there wasn't that.

[18:46] Luckily, that was the only sad story we had. Yeah, the only truly sad story we have. So, yeah. All right. So, Red Wings legend Darren McCarty paired up with Eloise Asylum Haunted House in Michigan on May 11th to do a celebrity ghost hunt. Because they actually have, you know, the ghost hunt tours. So they did a full night where you went through the house with Darren McCarty, and the article goes into the history of the asylum, including operating as an asylum from 1839 to 1982, and it housed over 10,000 people during its run. There are 72 buildings, too, on 902 acres. Yeah. It's giant. Okay, I knew Eloise Asylum was big. I had heard that many times over. I was not prepared for that pig, I've got to be honest. Yeah. And it looks like they have 2,000 staff members who work it. Or did work it, yeah. When it was an asylum, yeah.

[19:50] It's an amazing story, and I love the idea of this event. Yeah, but it was... I do, too, because it was a nice way to bring a celebrity in who was interested in doing something new. They had never done a ghost hunt before, so he hyped it up all over his social media. You know, I am not a hockey fan, but I also know that that region, hockey, is huge.

[20:14] So, yeah, we just watched a Phineas and Ferb that taught us all about hockey. Hockey. Everything we need to know about hockey was contained in the episode of Phineas and Ferb we just watched earlier today. Yes, I really like the flamethrower snowman. I think that that is a really good addition to hockey. And the giant mutant ice polishing machine was a great touch,

[20:36] too, to get the ring back in shape. It was very, very interesting. I learned a lot about hockey. Yeah, I had no idea. This documentary was excellent.

[20:44] Now I'm turning into Ellie so fast with that crap, aren't I? But the article also has links to other videos of other celebrities who have visited in the past. Yeah. So it's worth checking out. You know, I do like this idea. And also getting a local sports celebrity. Obviously, if you're going to do that here in New Orleans, you would get someone from the Saints, probably. Yeah. Because I don't think anybody watches the Pelicans.

[21:10] Oh, they're Pelicans fans. Yeah, I will say it has grown considerably in recent years. Like when we first moved to the city in 2002, it was the Charlotte Hornets had moved to New Orleans, and nobody gave any shit about the New Orleans Hornets. Right. It was when I think they decided to swap the name back and give Charlotte the Hornets name and then rename the Hornets the Pelicans locally. Things began to click a little bit. Yeah. You know, it actually related to the city in some meaningful way. And Utah, speaking of which, can we have the Jazz back? Seriously, what are y'all doing with the Jazz as the name? That don't make no fucking sense and you know it.

[21:57] We get the Jazz back. Pelicans can become the Jazz. You can... I don't know what Utah would become. But seriously, it doesn't make sense for you to be the Jazz. I'm just saying. Tell me what I'm telling lies. Quote CM Punk.

[22:11] Yes, I'm off the rails here. But people have said they enjoy that, unfortunately for us. And that just encourages you. Exactly. You're rewarding my terrible behavior.

[22:22] All right. Well, the next news story this week looks at Midsummer Scream, which is not in our conference reminders yet, but will be next time we do them. Yes. Because it is July 26th through the 27th, and it is in Los Angeles, California. Through the 28th. 26th through the 28th, yes. And one of the great things about Midsummer Scream is that, though it is technically more of a pop culture or conference, every year they host the Hall of Shadows, which is where a bunch of different haunted attractions combine their efforts to make something special for the conference. And they have announced this year's theme, which is Spirits and Legends.

[22:58] Which is, A, pretty broad, but still pretty cool. But we're also going to be getting a major motion picture studio that will be hosting part of the Hall of Shadows. Uh they lionsgate horror will be doing the gears of fear explore the legacy of lionsgate yeah yeah in gears for a fear i just finally realized what that's playing off of yeah isn't that the thing that plays at the beginning of repo the genetic offer the gears yes and also it's a parody of tears yeah honestly it works on multiple levels which should have me very worried, But yeah, we're going to be seeing, they're inviting fans to come face-to-face with some of the more formidable characters in cinematic history. And I would be curious to see if Repo is on that list. Me too. Like, now I want to go to the alley where Zydrate takes place. Zydrate Anatomy takes place, yeah. Or, you know, just have someone in the Repo Man costume. Yeah. Though they can't see shit when they turn the lights on because that is the... Yeah, you can... Okay, so don't get the actual costume. To get one that's functional for the actor. Yeah. Like, because the actual Repo costume, they actually commented multiple times that the actors that were in it, including both Terrence and... Oh, shit.

[24:15] Anthony Head. Anthony Head, thank you. You're welcome. I don't know why I spaced. I kept wanting to say Murray Head. No. I mean, that's the one night in Bangkok I said, brother. I mean, I have the right family, but I kept wanting to say Murray Head. I knew that wasn't right.

[24:28] So, yes, Anthony Head. Couldn't see shit when the lights were on the ice because it's blinding them. Looks badass. Can't see shit. Maybe we should figure that one out. Maybe. Maybe you should probably put a picture of your Repo display in the comment for this episode. Yeah, I might do that. I have the photo that you took of it. Because I actually now, we're the proud owner of two posters that were used on screen in Repo. So, cool. And one of them, I think, got hit with fake blood. It looks like it. It looks like it did. It's either that or ketchup. It's either that or they were very, very sloppy. But, yeah, very, very cool. Crystal did an excellent job framing them, by the way. So when we do share the photo, all credit goes to Crystal for the great framework. Because that shit is hard, and I suck at it. She's really good at it. Yes, and I hate it.

[25:27] But the one takeaway from art school. No, there were a few others. But anyway, moving on. All right, Universal Orlando.

[25:40] HHN has started releasing things, including a different kind of Night at the Museum. They are doing a museum deadly exhibit, The Rotting Stone, of local folklore's museum's infamous new exhibit. That's a lot. And this is from Robert Niles at Theme Park Insider. Yeah um it pairs with other announcements they've had up until now including slaughter cinema s-i-n-e-m-a because ha ha ha to goblins feast and that just sounds cute and adorable i don't know that and major sweets candy factory see that's more disturbing sounding i gotta be honest but i actually looked this up because i was a little bit confused because uh the article made the plant the pawn off night in museum yes and i wanted to see if this was connected with the night in the museum films fun fact no it is not however this series actually predates the night in the museum films not the the book it's based upon but predates the films uh they've actually done this is going to be at least the third time they've done it they did it in 1997 and 1998 they've done a museum theme so it's interesting that they're coming back almost you know 25 30 years later to this idea so i don't know it's fascinating to me it is.

[27:05] But, yeah, it's great to be getting the – this is one of the things that always gets us through, the summer doldrums. This podcast is talking about the HHN announcements as they come up. Yeah, I know that there were two others that I thought I'd put in, but apparently not. So those will be on next month. Yeah, and that's fine. You know, we've got to stretch them out, too, just like they do. Yeah, I can't find them really quick. Sorry. Well, on that note, we can announce, however, we can share, that Disneyland has announced the dates for Oogie Boogie Bash 2024. And Jesus Christ, that's a long run. It will be going nightly from August 21st through Halloween.

[27:48] And this is a Disney California adventure. Sorry, it'll be Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays during that time. Except for 9-5 and 9-8. Yeah. It's a weird schedule. Like, it's a really weird schedule. And a really long schedule, too. Because, like I said, it's going from October 21st, which means it's one day after my brother's birth. August, sorry, August 21st, yes. Which I will tell the court is one day after my brother's birthday, which his birthday is one week after mine. Yeah. We were born four years and one week apart. So, I don't know, man. This haunt season, this is not the first thing. HHN's going into August, too. It's going into, like, August 30th. How long is it gonna be until there is Halloween shit for my birthday?

[28:41] Well, you know, there is a push to go to year-round. Yeah, or tourist seasonal. I mean, so, yeah, but, you know, this is a, quote-unquote, traditional seasonal attraction. Yeah. That's going all the way back into August and going fairly deep into August, too. So, yeah, it is crazy. But, basically, there's going to be a lot of neat stuff there. The Haunted Mansion will be reopening. We've talked about how it's been closed for some time. It is receiving a Nightmare Before Christmas makeover.

[29:13] So that'll be coming. It's been undergoing renovation since January. It also generally includes a Halloween parade, a Disney Villains Tour, a Mickey Mouse children's show, and trick-or-treating trails. So, yeah, this is the strictly G-rated spooky thing. If you have little kids but want to do something Halloween, this is the alternative there. where obviously the other theme parks, you know, HHN, Six Flags, you know, Not Scary Farm, etc., all do scarier, more teen-to-adult attractions. Yeah, and those are also listed in this article with ratings. Yeah. You know? Yeah, which I think is a neat idea, yeah. It's nice that they promoted them. Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, I think it's a, I mean, other than I'm curious how far this is going to go, because I know Christmas gets earlier every year. Is Halloween going to do it too now? Well, there are many things saying that Halloween is gunning for Christmas, so to speak. But, okay, I mean, I love Halloween, and I am not a Christmas fan. I mean, I loved Christmas as a kid, but as an adult, it and I have not gotten along at all.

[30:23] I don't think Halloween can stand up to the Christmas juggernaut. Yeah. You cannot base one quarter of your retail economy around a holiday and not see it balloon to epic proportions. And so I don't know. I think the only thing that may save Christmas from completely overtaking Halloween is we so connect Christmas with winter. Yeah. We don't connect it with fall. The seasonal difference might protect it. But it already overran Thanksgiving. Yeah. Thanksgiving is basically the pre-show to Christmas now, and has been for some time. And now the pre-show is happening in the middle of the fucking holiday. So, just wild. Anyways, something else. Let's move on. All right, the Mall of America. Yeah, that's a good one. We'll talk about that. Has announced the Great Big Game Show attraction. This is from Declan Desmond at Bring the News. Bring me the news. Bring me the news. Yeah, but it's going to be a live-action game show experience where they've set up podiums and buzzards and a host who's going to.

[31:34] Pit two groups of people who probably don't know each other against each other. And it's made by the Escape Game team. And it's going to be located next to the Escape Game escape rooms at the Mall of America. You know, I love this story because we have talked at great length about the struggles of the escape room industry. It was already sort of struggling and seeing the fad burn out a little bit come 2019, then the pandemic hit and that didn't help things and even now it's kind of been struggling to find its footing experiences like this could really help revitalize it yeah i mean because this is truly a a relative it's not i guess not the most unique idea i mean i've seen these types of game show experiences like South by Southwest and things like that. Remember where the price is right one, one year we went where you can go and spin the wheel and have a game show experience type thing. So it's not completely unique, but it's definitely not something I've done outside of like what I just mentioned and something I would be curious to do. And I think one of the keys is going to be offering a variety of game shows. Like I would love seriously, uh.

[32:56] To do um i just watched a mini documentary about who wants to be a millionaire now obviously i am not going to go and compete for a million dollars because it requires supreme luck and skill and things to get onto the show for that but i would like the chance to play the game yeah you know just to see if i could get it or how high i could realistically go you know make the stakes like super low I like it you know it's like at the um when you're at the arcade and you go to redeem your tickets you know if you get the bottom one you can redeem something there you get it like a high bouncy ball and then you get tickets yeah that could be fun and I know they have games at, arcades that simulate but that is not the same that's the whole point it's very similar to me to how video games had escape rooms before there were escape rooms but the physical escape room brought a new element and a new level of excitement to it that you just can't replicate with a video game. I think there's that moment of potential, again, deal or no deal. Right. Could be an excellent real-life game.

[34:01] Yeah. And the Escape Game company also has one of these same concepts in Texas and in Tennessee. Oh, neat. So this is the third time that they're implementing this. But this is at the Mall of America. This is the big daddy type, so to speak. Yeah, whenever I saw the Mall of America come up in news, I thought that they were going to be announcing who they were going to do for their cryptid this year. Yeah, or their haunted house in general. Yeah. Because they tend to. Yeah, you're right. Okay. Well, moving on. Because that's how we learned about Onionhead and went to a museum in Slidell because why not? The random shit in this relationship sometimes. I mean, and it often involves us going to the North Shore, I just realized, because you had that. You've had the Abita Mystery House and LIGO. Yeah. The random shit we do. Anyway, let's move on.

[35:00] So, okay, this is a story at GoErie.com, I believe it is. It's Rionan Pushkak? Pushkak? I don't know. know how to say but anyways mid-year fear arabia's factory of terror offers summer haunted house experience basically they opened up the the haunted attraction opened up the um.

[35:25] Basically, for the film festival that appears to be going on at the same time, they were, basically, they, jeez, Christ. Okay. Now I remember why we added this one. I'm trying to get to the point here. But, yeah, the Haunt is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and the Factory of Terror is the Haunt. Why don't you go ahead and help me out here, because I'm floundering. That's okay. I wrote these when I wasn't feeling well. So, it's coming and showing. But yeah, it is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. So they've done a Mid-Year of Fear, which was the haunted house opened up. They also, earlier in the year, did a horror film festival. Yes. And so they're doing more and more year-round events to get people involved. And they're being attributed to having grown the horror interest in the community just by holding multiple events throughout the year that are horror-themed and related. That makes sense. Yeah. Okay. And the Haunted House is located in a building that's 130 years old, about. And it's a half mile of delightful terror, as it is described here.

[36:48] So, yeah. Yeah, but this was also the one that was fully handicap accessible, correct? Yes. This is the only one in the area that is. And that's the thing. I don't know why my brain was stuttering so bad there. Because I did read this. And we did talk about it. It's just I saw the story and totally froze. And that's so rare for me. I appreciate you bailing me out there. I'll take the next one, though, since you took two in a row there because of my stupid ass. Oh, that's fine. Well, yeah. It's all right. But no, Party City is joining the giant animatronic game. They are adding a nine-foot-tall Cthulhu animatronic. It will be called Cthulhu the Watcher. It'll cost $400, has wings that flap, a lantern that moves back and forth. And it's definitely more animated. We link directly to the product in the show notes here. Because that was what the announcement was, was a press release saying this is coming, and then a link to it. So we'll just link to the damn product. But yeah, it's interesting because Home Depot started this craze of the giant, expensive animatronics, sort of pushing the upper boundaries of what the prosumer would buy for a Halloween prop. And we've seen Lowe's jump on it. We've seen Spirit Halloween jump on it, obviously. But this is the first time I think I've heard of Party City doing it. Yeah.

[38:14] I don't think of Party City when I think of these types of props. No, I don't either. And some of the other quote-unquote animatronics are their eyes light up and blink, or they have moving eyes. And that's not an animatronic to me. You've got to have moving body parts of some sort for me to consider it a true animatronic. But maybe I'm just, you know... Yeah, I mean, I'm like you. I do kind of, yeah, like on the 12-foot skeletons, it's an animatronic because the eyes are LEDs. Yeah. Like, bullshit. Yeah. I'm sorry. If something doesn't physically move, I don't count it as an animatronic. Because by that logic, my TV is an animatronic. Yeah. Oh, my laptop's an amazing animatronic. Look at it move. Moves the mouse around. Just bullshit. just because you had some LCD lights to it or, you know, it doesn't mean anything. LCD screens or LED lights to it doesn't mean anything. I'm sorry. I'm totally with you on that one. All right, now we move on. Yes.

[39:26] Trimper's Haunted House gets a gift shop and two new Salisbury well, two new Salisbury restaurants. Yeah, you don't have to talk about the restaurants. Sorry, I was just reading the headline because that's my instinct. This is an article by Olivia Manzola at the Salisbury love their steak, Daily Times.

[39:43] It's taking place in Ocean City. Basically, Ghoulish Things is a seasonal tourist seasonal haunted attraction. It is open on the Ocean City's historic boardwalk.

[39:55] It is an extension of the Tremper's Haunted House, offering unique merchandise. It has an extension of offering unique merchandise. It also has artifacts of a dark ride industrious Bill Tracy on display. The Haunted House was built in 1960-fucking-4. Yeah. And is still operating to this day. So, 60 years this year. Yeah. Wow. That should be, like, the story is 60 years of fight. Yeah, I don't understand why that's not the fucking lead. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's really great that they're open and they're doing things. But why are we not leading with, oh, yeah, by the way, it's their 60th fucking year. I don't think anybody realized it until you said it. I don't think, I mean, I know I didn't realize it. Like I said, I know I read the story before I got here. But, yeah, I just did them. I was like, whoa, wait, we're in 2024. Quick math. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, it was like the first time that a reporter asked us, so what are you doing for your 10-year anniversary? Anniversary um the shit fuck uh damn it damn it damn it has it really been 10 years quick crunch your math exactly it's like that uh the the the the the the meme with the numbers floating across the woman's face she's doing the math trying to figure it out oh man minority reporting that shit yeah that that was rough so yeah wouldn't be the first time that happened.

[41:19] But, yeah, no, that's really cool. And in the same location, too. And I do like the fact they have an actual fucking gift shop that's meant to sell unique items. Yeah, and it was created by a guy named Trumper. That's his last name. Trumper, T-R-I-M-P-E-R. Yeah, Trumper. Okay. Yeah, and Bill Tracy. They designed it together. Yeah, very, very cool. Yeah. All right. Moving on to another store. Long Island is getting its first year-round Haunted Experience store. And yes, Haunted House Experience store. That is a mouthful. Why don't you explain what that mouthful means? All right. Well, first off, this is from Blair Ingenthrun. Ingenthrun? Ingenthrun. I'm sorry. Blair, I'm both deeply sorry.

[42:14] And it's on BroadwayWorld.com. uh this it is located in manorville and long island area uh it just opened on the first so like recently if you've had a chance already to check it out then let us know on all places um but they're and they're gonna have extended hours for fall but they They are founded by Haunted Props, which started in 2006 as a haunted house industry product. Yeah. And this is a 3,000-square-foot showroom floor.

[42:58] Everything is included from economically-priced costumes to theme park-grade animatronics. And you actually go in and it's not like a regular store they say it's like walking through portions of a haunted house which yeah it's i mean there's no photos of the inside but it it sounds like it very much actually what it makes me think of honestly is trans world.

[43:26] Yeah, like the Hall of Shadows. Like the Hall of Shadows and Transworld. Yeah, they show the exterior, but not the interior. That's what I thought. Yeah, I just pulled up the link again. Yeah, it looks cool from the outside, but yeah, they do not actually show anything of the inside. So we can't offer any commentary on that. But yeah, it sounds a lot like Transworld and the Hall of Shadows, the shadow room in there, where you go in and you see all the props and it feels more like a haunted house, just where things have price tags. Yeah. So if I were in that area, there's 100% chance I'd be swinging by it. Oh, yeah. Anytime we find a year-round haunted house store or just a haunted

[44:04] house store we haven't been to, we go. Yeah. Check it out. Well, and that leads us, oh, and they talk about how they have things that are more impressive than a 12-foot skeleton. Yeah. They threw some shade in the article. Yeah. Yeah, and you know what? I don't doubt that they do, but I also am just going to say those things are probably an order of magnitude more expensive. Considering you can get the 12-foot skeleton for $2.99.

[44:31] Is it $3.50, somewhere in that range? I don't remember. But it's in that range. Yeah. Yeah, and this is going to be probably thousands of dollars. But, you know, that's one thing I have learned is that there are home haunters and prosumer haunters who are very willing to shell out that kind of money. So I bet they'll find takers. Oh, yeah. And finally this week, we know we have a blind spot for international news. We're based in New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States. And so basically, if it's not U.S. or Canada, it very easily slips out from underneath us. But we have been talking at some length about haunted attractions opening in Dubai. Right.

[45:18] And so this is an article from What's On.AE updating us on what's going on at the Mall of Dubai right now, where previously we talked about they'd opened up Hysteria.

[45:28] We'd actually covered that one some time ago. Well, now they're up to seven attractions in there.

[45:34] That includes Hysteria, duh. The Haunted Hotel. That one's actually inside the IMG Worlds of Adventure. adventure deep deep dark dubai um haunted attraction escape themed escape horror escape rooms with actors haunted activity escape rooms and horror cinema where professional actors provide new experience to horror movies i'm really curious about what that is so it sounds like what the um the the guy used to do with the shock chairs and the actors who would come down in the aisles while you were watching the horror movie? Oh, some William Castle shit. Yeah. You're talking about William Castle. Yeah. And his film. The Tangler and all that shit. Yeah. And he also did it with House on Haunted Hill where he would fly the skeleton over the audience. I would love to go to one of those. Like, when people talk about what film do you wish you could go back and see in theaters? Yeah. And everyone's like, oh, I wish I could experience the original Star Wars in a theater or something like that. And like, I get the logic, dude, but it's like, I have a pretty big TV and a halfway decent sound system. I mean, I don't, but I can pretend. We could get it. Like, that's a theoretical. We could at least, if it meant enough to us, we could obtain it.

[46:52] So yeah, we have, but we got things like that at home. So I don't know how much more that would really add. But going to see a William Castle film in theater when he was doing that type of stuff, So that is something you cannot in any way replicate at home. Yeah.

[47:09] And they also have a blackout escape. So it's just interesting to see horror attractions growing so much in Dubai. Yeah, it is.

[47:18] I would not have picked Dubai as a growth spot for this personally. Yeah, we mentioned it whenever, like you said, when Hysteria opened.

[47:26] So we've been following it for a little while, and I'm glad to see that it's taking off. Yeah, and like I said, I would not have picked Dubai for various reasons. Um i just i mean a i still struggle i think dubai is a tourist destination even though obviously it is but um yeah it's also just not a destination i've ever wanted to go to personally yeah um oh also for this week i did find several stories about haunted attractions that are hiring now because there was more than one that did a press release that talked about their haunt. I did not include them. I struck through it. So take a general note if you want to work for a haunted attraction this season. Now may be a good time to start checking out to see what they have. Yeah, including in overseas because in Yorkshire, England, there is a haunted house. The Yorkshire Scare Grounds is now hiring. Oh, cool. And they are located on Hell Lane, and I just wanted to get that out there. You just wanted to slip that in before we closed out the show. Exactly. Which it is about time to do so, honestly. So on that note, everyone, thank you very much for joining us for this past 50 minutes or so as Crystal slips in one last time.

[48:50] Please do check out all the places that we exist. We are at HauntWeekly.com or HauntWeekly on Twitter. Twitter, no one calls it X. Haunt Weekly on Facebook and youtube.com slash hauntweekly is the YouTube channel. Check us out at all those fine places. You can also get us wherever podcasts are distributed, including at least all the ones that are still open. Until next time, I'm Jonathan. I'm Crystal. And we will see you all next week with not a news episode. We have no idea what it'll be, but we will see you next week.