Haunted House Information Data About the Industry

Facts from the original

• The association estimates there are over 2,000 haunted attractions in America charging admission fees.
• It additionally estimates over 300 amusement facilities produce some sort of Halloween or haunted house event, such as an amusement park or family fun center.
• There are over 1,000 charity attractions produced by local charity groups that open for one day on Halloween or one or two weekends in October.
• Most attractions in America can be located at HauntedHouseOnline.com, HauntWorld.com or HauntedHouse.com.
• A Halloween Attraction spans everything from a corn maze to a massive pumpkin patch to a haunted hayride, and often includes dino digs, pony rides, pick-your-own pumpkin, face painting, Halloween stores and food.
• The Halloween Attraction industry is estimated to be equal in size to the Haunted Attraction industry, grossing between 400 and 500 million dollars with over 1,500 events nationwide.
• Combined, the Halloween Attraction and Haunted Attraction industries gross over one billion dollars in annual revenue and keep many farmers from losing their farms.
• The association prefers both to fall under the category of Halloween Attraction Industry, defined as an admission-charging attraction themed around Halloween or falling within October.
• The typical haunted attraction averages around 8,000 paid guests, depending on market and size.
• About 80% of professional attractions in America have attendance of less than 10,000 paid guests or more than 7,500 paid guests.
• Less than 3% of haunted attractions have attendance figures of over 35,000 paid guests.
• Some mega haunted events attract over 40,000 to 80,000 guests, representing about 1 or 2% of all attractions in America.
• About 10% of all attractions in America average between 12,000 and 20,000 paid guests.
• A major amusement park such as Universal Studios or Knott's Scary Farm attracts over 300,000 paid guests in October alone.
• On a busy night mega attractions can push through over 4,000 guests in one night, while a mega amusement park like Universal might do over 35,000.
• In the early 1990s the average ticket price for a haunted house ranged between $4 and $6.
• By the mid to late 1990s the average ticket price had soared to around $13, a figure many attractions chose for its themed number.
• Today some haunted houses charge as much as $25 while most average around $15 per event.
• Major amusement park haunts charge as much as $65 for entry into their events.
• Over 80% of haunted attractions in America charge less than $15 per person, while only 3% charge more than $20 per ticket.
• Roughly 60% of haunted attractions charge less than $13 per person.
• Back in the mid 1990s Tiny Tim married on the Tonight Show at a major haunt in Boston called Spookyworld.
• The media attention has increased because the haunted house industry has become as good as or better than most Hollywood horror movies.
• Major media outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, AOL.com, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, The Associated Press and NFL Films have featured major stories about the haunted house industry.
• In 2006 Yahoo.com listed sites such as HauntWorld.com as the best places to find haunted houses, a story produced due to the popularity of such searches.
• The Travel Channel produced a major television show about haunted attractions which aired several times in 2006.
• The National Geographic Channel produced a documentary for 2007 entitled 'Celebrating Halloween' which featured The Darkness in St. Louis, Missouri.
• In 2006 America's two biggest morning shows did major pieces on the haunted attraction industry: Good Morning America ran a 5 minute piece and the Today Show also covered it.
• 'GIRLS NEXT DOOR' followed one of the girls through the annual tradeshow for the haunted and Halloween industry in Chicago, the TransWorld Halloween, Party and Haunted Attraction Show, airing in May 2007.
• In October 2008 Yahoo reported that visiting a haunted house was one of the top ten most searched things to do.
• Haunted houses are described as now the most popular way to celebrate Halloween in America, with media following.
• Haunted houses have appeared on major networks including the Travel Channel, National Geographic Channel and History Channel, including on Modern Marvels.
• USA Today featured a look into the haunted house industry and listed a top 13 Haunted House story.
• The haunted house industry generates between 400 and 500 million dollars in ticket sales, including most major theme parks that operate a haunted event.
• The haunted attraction industry generates roughly 300 million dollars in revenue, and the amusement park industry another 150 to 200 million dollars.
• Haunted houses support hundreds of other businesses such as vendors supplying effects, props, costumes, masks and animations.
• Haunted houses spend tens of millions of dollars on building supplies, advertisement, insurance and more.
• The industry is estimated to drive Halloween and Halloween retail popularity through roughly 85 million dollars spent on advertising events.
• At the major HauntShow, over 100,000 square feet of haunted house animations, props, special effects, lighting companies, website designers, graphic illustrators, mask and make-up makers, and high-end flame effects converge on St. Louis, Missouri.
• Hundreds of haunt owners and major theme parks buy products at the St. Louis show to make their events bigger and better.
• There are over 100 companies that make their sole living selling equipment to Halloween Attractions worldwide.
• Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in the United States.
• Approximately one hundred countries celebrate Halloween.
• Over seven billion dollars is spent yearly on candy, costumes and activities in the United States alone.
• Approximately 90% of all households with children will participate in a Halloween activity, with the most common demographics being teens and young adults ages 18-34.
• Research shows people enjoy being scared while in a safe environment such as a movie, a thrill ride or a haunted house, and are willing to pay for the experience.
• Haunted houses and attractions are described as extremely safe due to tough safety and fire codes.
• Most haunted houses inside a building are required to have a sprinkler system, early warning smoke or heat detectors that alert the fire department, emergency lights, fire proofing of all materials, industrial electric applications, easy access doors, panic hardware exit doors, multiple fire extinguishers and panic systems.
• Most haunts must also be ADA compliant and have no trap doors or floor items that could cause trips and falls.
• The association publishes many safety articles; the TransWorld Haunted House Show produces safety seminars; and Hauntworld Magazine produced an entire magazine devoted to safety.
• Over 80% of all haunted attractions across America are operated by a charity or help benefit a charity of some kind.
• The haunted house industry helps raise tens of millions of dollars for charities nationwide, with many fire departments and church groups producing attractions.
• Haunts have worked with major charities from the Boys and Girls Club to the Children's Miracle Network.
• Corporate America has embraced the industry with sponsorships in the tens of millions of dollars.
• Sponsors include Pepsi, energy drink companies, the fast food industry, cellular phone companies, Halloween retail outlets and The Truth (against smoking).
• A major haunted attraction could attract $10,000 to $100,000 in sponsorships from major corporations wanting to reach the 18-34 year old haunted attraction demographic.
• Sponsorships for haunted events are climbing an estimated 8% per year, largely because sponsors discovered the haunted industry within the past five years.
• Some major attractions have formed national groups like AmericaHaunts.com to attract bigger sponsors.
• Haunted attraction owners spend annually over 50 million dollars with specific haunted house vendors for supplies like fog machines, scary animatronic monsters, lighting equipment, masks and costumes.
• Some major vendors have supplied haunted houses in the Playboy Mansion, Universal Studios, Six Flags and Madison Square Garden.
• The biggest growth for haunted industry vendors is now overseas, where haunted houses are opening at a record pace.
• An estimated over 25 million dollars worth of haunted house equipment, services and supplies were shipped to other countries, mostly in Asia and Europe.
• Some haunted house vendors now supply Hollywood movies, such as ExMortis.com doing all the effects for Rob Zombie's films Halloween, Devil's Rejects and House of a 1000 Corpses.
• Ghost Ride Productions recently sold props to Warner Brothers for a Batman movie and to Universal Studios films.
• Patrick Magee (Magee FX) did all the special effects on a Lions Gate film entitled 'Dark Ride'.
• The haunted house industry has its own tradeshows, experts, consultants, suppliers, magazines, associations, education seminars, gatherings and events.
• Much of the data on the page was supplied to the Haunted Attraction Association by Hauntworld.com, described as the largest website on the net for haunted house information.
• The page's media contact email is [email protected].
• The page lists other industry sites: HauntWorld.com, HauntedAttraction.com, AmericaHaunts.com, HauntedHouseMagazine.com, tapmag.com, HauntShow.com, Hauntcon.com and MidwestHauntersConvention.com.
• Major vendors listed include scarefactory.com, Unit70.com, HalloweenProductions.com, GhostRide.com, wwlinc.com, hauntedmemories.com, distortionsunlimited.com, nyfs.com, globalweatherinsurance.com, brainstormstudios.com, hauntedhousesupplies.com, sunshinetees.com, RoguesHollow.com, frightprops.com, screamlinestudios.com, creativevisionsonline.com, gilderfluke.com, hauntmasterproducts.com, alliedspecialty.com, hauntedprops.com, nortonauctioneers.com, palenightproductions.com, exmortis.com, phobiaprops.com, oaklislandgroup.com, shipwreckproductions.com, scareparts.com, sinisterscents.com, gore-galore.com, hauntedvillage.com, Froggysfog.com, hotwirefoamfactory.com, blacklight.com, clicknprint.com, compositeeffects.com, interactiveticketing.com, lights.alive.com, midnightsyndicate.com, monster-tronics.com, nethercraft.com, spookywoodfx.com, skulltronix.com, spfxmasks.com, thewebcastergun.com and splatterfx.com.
• Major haunted websites to find haunts listed are Hauntworld.com, HauntedHouseOnline.com, findhauntedhouses.com, hauntedhouses.us, hauntedhouse.com, hauntedwisconsin.com, hauntedillinois.com and americahaunts.com.
• Major tradeshows listed are hauntshow.com, midwesthauntersconvention.com, hauntcon.com and IAAPA.org.
• Haunted resources listed are HauntedHouseMagazine.com, Hauntworld.com, HauntedHouseSupplies.com and HauntedAttraction.com.
• The page footer credits artwork by Brainstorm Studios and website maintenance by Rogues Hollow Productions, copyright 2009 HauntedHouseAssociation.org.