Haunted Attraction Network

I’m writing this week’s letter from Beijing, where I’m seeing Universal’s Halloween event for the first time, and our full review of Halloween Horror Nights Singapore is live. Two new surveys show Halloween spending remains at the top while price sensitivity is up everywhere, so keep both rungs: a premium tier for guests who want to spend, and a clearly communicated value ticket for those watching their budget.In this issue:- Halloween Horror Nights Singapore- What the new spending data means for your pricing: 46% plan $100 or more on experiences like haunted houses or hayrides, 63% are more price-sensitive than last year, and one in four Midwesterners plans to spend less.- Glenwood Caverns sold in bankruptcy for $14.8 million, less than half its 2020 price, with a $116 million judgment on appeal. Insurance is the other existential threat.- Movie World turned four maze backstories into a nightly card game, with park passes as prizes. Your story can keep selling after the gates close.- Also: the Horror Make-Up Show returns with Blumhouse, Halloween (1978) in 765 theaters, horror fashion dolls sold out at Walmart in a day, TWIX Hallowmas, and the 25 most haunted hotels.Read the full issue here

Halloween is bigger than ever!The NRF puts spending at a record $13.5 billion this year, with 74% of Americans celebrating and 49% starting their shopping in September or earlier. And gore isn't driving any of it: the top ways people celebrate are handing out candy, costumes, decorating, pumpkins, and scary movies. In this week's double issue: why family Halloween is having a moment (go spooky, not scary, and plan for dwell time and food), why the K shape is still a thing as premium sells out from Tribeca to Osaka, and what Universal Studios Japan's Resident Evil house does with real doors.In this issue:- Halloween Spending Heads to $13.5 Billion- Six Flags Permanently Retires X2 After Brain-Injury Lawsuits- Enchanted Parks' First Halloween- Blood Manor Charges $350 To Make You a Monster- Spirit Halloween's 11 Costume Trends for 2026- IAAPA's Brass Ring Awards Close Oct 16- Tim Burton's Labyrinth, Harry Potter Drones, and DUNE: The Experience

Fall is officially here, and we're only 35 days away from Halloween. By this weekend, every major theme park Halloween event in the U.S. is open, Alton Towers, Movie Park Germany, and Disneyland Paris are open in Europe, and our tracker shows more than 30 haunts opening tonight and tomorrow alone. This is crunch time, and all of us are in the middle of shows. So I'm giving you permission: take care of yourself, and enjoy some of it. If anyone disagrees, tell them I said it was OK. Also this week: why Six Flags is building Fright Fest for passholders instead of competing on mazes, what the record Top Haunts list is actually for, and why a plain corn dog doesn't cut it anymore.In this issue:Knott's Scary Farm Opening Weekend: Every Maze on VideoSix Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest Review: Why Passholders WinHaunted Attraction Association Certifies a Record 74 Top HauntsWoods of Terror Remembers LaurieErebus Debuts PrimordiumTulleys' Shocktober Fest Turns 30The Lemp Mansion Is for Sale, but Stays Open Through 2027A24's Slayground Sets a Horror Movie Inside a Working HauntAngry Orchard's Free Scream Video-Store Pop-Up With Skeet Ulrich2026 Golden Ticket AwardsHidden Valley's Spooky Ranch and Cup Noodles' Vampire NoodlesJellycat's 2026 Halloween Collection and What's Sold OutRead the stories here

At HHN this year, the premium tiers sold out first. Premium Scream Night, a capacity-capped evening at $399 a head, sold out on both of its dates. The R.I.P. guided tour, at $469, has sold out outright, and the only way left to buy that experience is a private booking for $5,000. Six Flags is making the same premium bet with The Conjuring: Beyond Fear while playing the value side at the same time: a low gate for the passholder, scarcity on top for the guest who wants more. Thirteenth Floor is running the haunt-scale version with its Jason walkthrough in nine cities. Operators on both ends have learnings here.In this issue:Halloween Horror Nights 35 Houses, RankedPremium Scream Night: What It's Like and Whether It's Worth ItHHN 35 Food Menu: Every Item, Ranked, With PricesUnmasking the Horror Tour: A Lights-On Look Inside Three HousesJohn Murdy Breaks Down HHN Hollywood's Sinners HouseTim Curry, the Original Pennywise, Has Died at 80Movie Park Germany Adds the First Jason Universe Haunt Outside the U.S.Mickey's Not-So-Scary Adds a Barbossa Show and Haunted Mansion Meet-and-GreetsThe Curse of Camelback Turns a Poconos Waterpark Into a HauntGreen Tagged: Six Flags Moves HQ, Disney Patents Ride AversionsParty City Is Back for Halloween, Inside StaplesTarget Pulls Clown Costume After BacklashPBR's Jason 12-Pack Folds Into a Wearable MaskRead more

It's Pumpkin Spice Week, and the theme park season is nearly all open too. In this week's newsletter: every major U.S. theme park Halloween event is either running or opens within the next three weeks, and haunted houses are the roller coasters of fall, the dedicated attractions that give the theme park industry its pricing power. Meanwhile, Thirteenth Floor is running a licensed Jason walkthrough at nine haunts, a bigger footprint than Six Flags has with the same brand, and The Scare Factor launched a free tool that re-ranks every haunt around each guest's preferences.In this issue:- Haunted Houses Are the Roller Coasters of Fall: The Hard-Ticket Holiday- A Jason Haunted House Is Coming to 9 Cities This Halloween- Find the Best Haunted Houses for You With The Scare Factor's Haunt Advisor- Oogie Boogie Bash Opens With Madame Leota's Swinging Wake- Knott's Scary Farm Announces 2 New Mazes and 2 New Shows- Six Flags Makes Its Halloween Bet- A Petrified Forest Adds Five Original Attractions for Chaos Reigns- Dark Arts Returns to Hogwarts Castle After Three Years- Shanghai Disneyland Expands to Ten Spook-tacular Days- Nocturne Theatre Stages Frankenstein: Resurrection- Fall Food Roundup: Every Chain's Menu, From PSL to Caramel Apple- Midnight Syndicate Releases Plankett's Grove- IT: Welcome to Derry Renewed for Season 2Read the news here.