Southeast Hollows & Dark Hour Escape!

The Southeast Hollows Haunt Convention takes place this weekend, May 5th - 7th, at the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, GA. The event features an exhibit floor, seminars, makeup & costume contests, Masquerade Ball, and more. Seminar highlights include: Hot Wire Foam Factory - Basics of Foam Cutting (Friday & Saturday at 7:30 a.m., Sunday at 9:00 a.m., Free to Attend); Leonard Pickel Presents - Home Haunting 101: Scaring the Neighborhood with Creative Halloween Displays (Friday at Noon, $15); and Pashur Body Paint Artist Presents - Glow to Hell (Saturday at 2:00 p.m., $30). Tickets are still available online, starting at $20 - $25 for 1-Day passes, $35 for 2-Day passes, and $45 for 3-Day passes. 

The Cleveland Haunt Club will host a Halfway to Halloween Trivia Fun Night for its members on May 18th from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Sign up your team of 1 - 4 players on the online form. 

The Haunted Attraction Association's next online mixer is May 27th. Hosted by Jim Werner, the session focuses on Youth Safety. Details are in the HAA members-only Facebook group.

U.S. Haunts & Events

Sir Henry's Haunted Trail (Plant City, FL) announced a new attraction for this year's event: Legends of Halloween Haunted Hayride. The hayride will feature larger-than-life sets, custom special effects, and many icon characters attendees have come to love over the event's ten seasons. Legends of Halloween will join the event's three trails and other amenities this Fall. 

Dark Hour Haunted House (Plano, TX) opened Dark Hour Escape!, a year-round escape game experience. In "Monster Club Misadventures" it’s Friday night! Time to gather the squad and head to the clubhouse for another weekend full of mischief and monster lore - there’s just one problem: Your friend has started dabbling in the dark arts before you could get there, and now, he’s vanished! Save your friend from the catastrophic rift he's caused before it’s too late. What could possibly go wrong? Tickets are on sale now, starting at $40 per person. 

Broadway has a new horror play. Levi Holloway’s Grey House is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Wicked) and stars two-time Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne), Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), SAG Award winner Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire), Sophia Anne Caruso (Beetlejuice), and Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place). When a couple crashes their car in the mountains, they seek shelter in an isolated cabin. Its inhabitants, though somewhat unusual, are eager to make their guests feel right at home. But as the blizzard outside rages on and one night turns into several, the couple becomes less and less sure of what's true—about their hosts, themselves, and why that sound in the walls keeps getting louder. Tickets are on sale now.

Education

This month's Haunter's Toolbox Haunt Master Class is Tuesday, May 23rd at 5:30 p.m. PDT. Leonard Pickel of Hauntrepreneurs.com will explore ADA requirements and best practices for haunt design. Sign up for Haunters Toolbox Membership to access each month's live session, past recordings, and more.

Music

For Halfway to Halloween, LVCRFT released a new single, "Haute as Hell". The song is the first single from LVCFT's upcoming pride-themed album, Drip. Haute As Hell features the electro-dance, alien, psychedelic vocals of TRASHWORLD (IRL Ashley Smith and Dani Miller from Surfbort). LVCRFT describes the song as "a glitchy, demonic dancefloor banger for the fashion obsessed with the irreverence, dirt, and club sexiness of Peaches." Learn more about them and their upcoming releases on their official website. 

Retail

Spirit Halloween is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a week of Halfway to Halloween festivities. “It’s shaping up to be a big year for us and we wanted to get the party started earlier than ever in a way only Spirit Halloween can,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “Our loyal fans truly embrace the Halloween lifestyle year-round, so the halfway mark felt like the perfect time to give everyone a taste of what’s to come throughout our 40th anniversary season.” For a limited time, Halloween fans can receive 20% off one item and free shipping on orders over $100 with the promo code: HALFWAY23. Looking for what to get with the discount? Spirit announced the return of the Menacing Molly ($189.99) and Sinister Gothic Gargolyle ($299.99) animatronics. New for 2023 is a 6' Killer Klowns from Outer Space Cotton Candy Cacoon Static Hanging Prop ($149.99). For more news and announcements, follow Spirit Halloween's official Facebook & Instagram pages. 

New Podcasts

Take Your Haunted Attraction to the Next Level: Business Plans 101

Are you looking to start or grow a haunted attraction? If so, having a business plan is an absolute must! A business plan for your haunted house not only helps with permits and funding but keeps your goals on track.

Preview: Spooky Swap Meet 2023 in Los Angeles

Now in its third year, the Spooky Swap Meet combines shopping, food, and music with trick or treating at the Victorian manors of the Heritage Square Museum! We’ve reported on the evolution of this event over the years, and this year includes two walkthrough experiences plus plenty of interactives. Today, we’ll preview this event with the two co-creators, Claire Dunlap and Sarah Cooke.

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Haunted Houses opening in May

C and D Bunner Family Spooky Yard Haunt (Fairmont, WV) - May 6

Fear Columbus (Columbus, OH) - May 5 - 7

Field of Screams (Mountville, PA) - May 6

Field of Terror (East Windsor, NJ) - May 5

The Frightmare Compound (Westminster, CO) - May 5 - 6

Kims Krypt Haunted Mill Scream Park (Spring Grove, PA) - May 5 - 7

Maniacs in the Woods (Warren, OH) - May 5 - 6

Necropolis Underground (Indianapolis, IN) - May 6

13th Floor Haunted House Denver (Denver, CO) - May 12 - 13

13th Floor Haunted House Houston (Houston, TX) - May 12 - 13

13th Floor Haunted House Jacksonville (Jacksonville, FL) - May 12 - 13

Akron Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory (Akron, OH) - May 12- 13

Deranged Haunted Attraction (Romulus, MI) - May 12 - 13

Factory of Terror (Canton, OH) - May 12 - 13

Fright Haven (Stratford, CT) - May 13

Frightmare (Chesapeake, VA) - May 12 - 13

The Haunted Hydro (Fremont, OH) - May 12 - 13

Hobbs Grove Halloween Haunt (Sanger, CA) - May 12 - 13

House of Torment (Austin, TX) - May 12 - 13

Nashville Nightmare (Nashville, TN) - May 12 - 13

Nightmare on 13th (Salt Lake City, UT) - May 13

Nightmares Gate (Douglasville, GA) - May 12 -13

The Old Joliet Haunted Prison (Joliet, IL) - May 12 - 13

Purgatory Scream Park (Kingwood, TX) - May 12 - 13

Terror 29 (Brandon, SD) - May 12 - 13

Wicked Woods of Terror (Caro, MI) - May 13

Bedlam (Scottsboro, AL) - May 18 - 20

Doom Haunted Attraction (Idaho Falls, ID) - May 19 - 20

Factory of Fear (Moline, IL) - May 19- 20

Fear Factory SLC (Salt Lake City, UT) - May 19 - 20

Haunted Hills Farm (Jasper, GA) - May 20

Laurel's House of Horror (Laurel, MD) - May 19 - 20

Scare USA (Two Rivers, WI) - May 19 - 20

Terrorfied Forest (Pickney, MI) - May 20

Eeriebyss Factory of Terror (Erie, PA) - May 26 -27

The Halls of Madness (Paris, IL) - May 26 - 27

The Haunted Hotel (Louisville, KY) - May 26 - 27

Haunting in the Hills (Onsted, MI) - May 26 - 27