[Graveside Chat] Holiday Haunts on the Rise

Well, it's no big shocker that several haunted attractions have been branching out beyond the traditional 6-7 week Halloween season lately. There's everything from Christmas shows Valentine's Day, Midsummer events and I wouldn't be surprised if a few St Patrick's Day events pop up in the future either. The thing that is shocking to me is that it's taken this long for it to happen.

So, what do we make of this whole thing? I'm not really sure to be completely honest. On one hand it's great that myself and the crew have more things to visit and review throughout the year. On the other, it's a bit more complicated than just that self serving notion.

The problem is that it seems some are just in it for a cash grab and do very little to make it something more interesting. Thankfully that's not the norm from what I've seen so far and I'm hoping it doesn't become such either. Many have been taking whatever holiday it may be and gleefully twisting it into some new form of nightmare fuel, major kudos to the folks taking that initiative. Sure, this only applies to haunts who have year round homes, but there's an increasing number of those these days and it only makes sense to look into what makes them good or bad when it comes to the holidays.


The ones that aren't going the extra mile? Shame on you. Of course no one really expects a haunt to completely turn things over for a couple of weekends, that would be insane, but a few really didn't seem to try at all. That's just bad all around for everyone else. If you're going to do it, best be embracing the idea all the way or else, why bother? I guess it's great if you do the same show with a little change for those who for some reason couldn't get during the regular season, but there's not much draw for the die hard fans of a haunt to draw them back in. They've already seen it and are likely to want to see something different as well as a curious general public.

On the flip side, you have places like Fear Factory, NJ who went completely crazy with Tinsel Town Terror, giving the whole place a makeover (which we sadly missed, just barely) or Castle Blood tailoring a whole new show around the holidays, complete with decorations everywhere to fit the season. That's not going to happen with everyone, but one can dream, right?

Just one version of The Krampus

There's a ton of material to play with from the almost cliche axe wielding Santa, crazed elves, evil toys, demonic gingerbread men and all the way to actual folklore like including the Krampus and other mythical figures from holiday legend.

Again, there's really no excuse for anyone to get lazy with so much great material out there to play off of (and that's only what I came up with off the top of my head real quick).

Though, as I said above, Christmas isn't the only holiday getting horror makeover. Valentine's Day seems like another perfect target as well for many haunts out there with many things to play with thematically.

Personally I know of a couple that are doing something for this one, Castle Blood (it seems as if no holiday escapes them) and Brighton Asylum in New Jersey are both doing something special with their Love and Death 3 and Dark Valentine shows. Once again, I'm sure that they'll do a good job of tailoring things to where it needs it and have fun with the whole thing. There are likely others out there but I'm not sure who exactly (if you know, let me know!) so I'm going with what I know.

While I have no fear that some will treat this one right, like mentioned above, it's harder to do than Christmas. Sure you could have demonic cherubs, vampires and can even poke fun at the idea of "eternity" or some interesting ways to "over love" someone. Outside of that it can leave the door wide open for laziness and lack of imagination. Again, can't expect a full turnover for a night or two but creativity and playfulness is key. There's a ton of great material to pull off of, even a few movies, for inspiration and hopefully the haunts doing a Valentine's Day show do dig a little deeper.

Snow, even more terrifying than an axe wielding Santa!

Overall these shows are not an easy thing for haunters to even attempt when they dabble outside of the "traditional" season. While a few haunts run all year long, and many are jumping into the holiday themes these days, a lot of things can still go wrong too. In the winter, you can run into bad weather, lack of awareness due to the holiday itself looming so large or lack of marketing, etc. Valentine's Day, like Christmas, offers the same challenges as northern winters can be unpredictable in February just as December. Top that off with trying to get a full staff of scare actors in with all of this going on and things can get sticky and quickly.

If you're not careful (or lucky in some cases like with weather) with those things and then don't put any effort into making it a unique and interesting show, then even less will show up and ensure you don't have a good mini run. No matter what there's going to be risk but it can be avoided if you know well in advance you're doing the event. Promote the crap out of it during your regular season and via social media (another really important thing for haunts out there) to raise awareness. Again, the die hard fans of a haunt will probably know about it and likely come out, but the goal is to reach a wider audience as well.

In the end, I really hope that holiday themed events at haunts become more common and are successful. There's always room for more haunting in the world and it gives everyone an alternative experience to what may be a trite or boring holiday. Though, for many horror and haunt fans out there, there's never a reason not to celebrate a little Halloween at every holiday, right? So, with a little thought and some prudent planning (and even re-planning) it's my hope that these special events continue to thrive and put a new stamp on some old traditions well into the future.

Myself, +Carrie and +Alex will be heading to Castle Blood this Valentine's Day for their "Love and Death 3" show, which brings back the more traditional scares and sarcasm. So, if you're curious and in the Pittsburgh area, come check it out with us or head to a haunt near you that's doing one!

As always you can follow along with us on Twitter @KitsuneHazard, Tumblr and of course Google+ for all the latest updates, news and other insanity. Or if you must, follow us on Facebook as well!