How To Start A Haunted House Business
Posted by haunt educator on Mar 17, 2010 in Operation, Startup | 20 comments
So you have a great idea that will scare the life right out of your victims. Rather it be clowns, zombies or monsters whatever your idea is will take a lot of work to bring to life. In this series we will cover the steps that will have to be completed and the hurdles you will have to overcome to get your haunt off the ground and to run a haunted house successfully. We will start off with some basic planning then go into business plans, layouts, licensing, fire and building codes, insurance, safety and many other topics.
To start off I am sure you have this image of some sort of haunt that will scare your victims and make you a fortune and your ready to run with it now. Well I am going to tell you to take a step back and do a little planning and layout. This idea probably consists of much more than you are thinking about right now and if you do not plan for it all it can come back and bite ya in the butt. So here is what I want you to do to start with, grab a pad of paper and a pen. Now below I will make a list of some of the basic things that need to be considered and dealt with prior to opening. With each of these topics think and write down anything you can think of that is related to a specific area and what it will cost and how much time you will need to implement it.
Building layout
Haunt Construction
Safety
Actors
Prop Construction
Building & Fire Code
Marketing & Advertising
Payroll
Security
Parking & Traffic
As you can see I have listed some of the larger broader categories here. I will dig into each and several others even further as this series continues each week. Each one of these categories covers a lot of smaller items, take actors for example. Will your actors be volunteers or paid, will they provide their own costumes or will you, who will do their makeup, where will they take their breaks, how will you work rotation to give each a break throughout the night, if paying them how will you run and record payroll. So now that one topic has grown into a giant category with a new list just as big as the initial set of categories. There is a lot of work involved in running and starting a successful haunted house.
If this is something that grew out of a hobby and you have no business experience or management experience then you want to consider hiring some people to help you and this brings in the next issue of financing a business which will be covered after I dive into the business plan and the importance of doing one. For now take that list and just keep writing, put everything that crosses your mind that may be a concern and then put everything you do not think you have to worry about because this is a business and it all makes a difference in the end.
In next weeks article in the series How To Start A Haunted House Part 2 I will go into the business plan and this will cover several weeks because in doing the business plan you will have to work through all the items mentioned so far and in detail. If you work through this with me and do one and refine it as we go then you will have an awesome tool that will be a road map, finance tool and guide for the journey you are embarking on.
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I have been in the haunted house business for over 10 years as a make up artist. I started in Omaha, Nebraska at 18 years of age working at Fright Zone. One of the best haunts in the midwest. Then started to help creat Scary Acres with the artwork out there as well. Then tried to help out another haunt called Haunted Hollow. Ive done tons of work and paid my dues without so much of a thank you or awesome job or even money just for the love of it i guess. Damn fool I am. Now i am ready to run them into the ground and need the guidance to do so. So thank you so much for this website and will use every resource i can. God i need partners. LOL!!!! Thanks again.
future scream team leader of the midwest
Jordan W. McGuire.
Hey Jordan,
Glad you like the site and looks like you have a great foundation for going out on your own. Be cautious of partners, make sure who ever you team up with is as passionate and trust worthy as you or things can go terribly wrong, I have heard of many businesses and haunts going under due to conflicts of interest between partners.
I am in the same Boat Ive worked haunted houses in Ohio for years one was the clown house at land of illusion where i learned alot from the makeup artists and helped with the makeup… I am in collage for fine arts takeing classes such as makeup and ceramics plaster molds and i am currently working at the haunted hollow…ware i helped set scenes this year…. i have come to 3 great attractions i have thought of on my own this website is helping me tramendosly
Thats great sounds like your on the right track with working other haunts, thats the number one piece of advice for anyone looking to start their own attraction, if you have not worked a haunt before you need to and it needs to be a pro haunt. Glad the site is helping out and let me know if there is something you want to learn more about that we have not written about yet and I will get it on the editorial list to get something out for you.
Jordan,
Where are you located in the midwest?
Thank you – exactly what I was looking for!
hey jordan looking to get my ideas into action msg me back to see if u like what i got to say and maybe we can work together
Jordan, I am from Colorado have worked at major haunts just like yourself. I am currently researching to build in 2012. Message me and lets talk.
Tyler Sautter
All the haunted houses here in Ky suck and charge so much. You come out like really thats it, I paid twelve bucks for this.
Hey maybe we can all have a meeting put all Ideas on the table and create the best haunt in the world.
Jordon,
I have been thinking of starting a haunted house, I don’t have any experience in it but have run 3 successful businesses for the last 12 years.
Have you worked in the haunt industry at all? If not I recommend volunteering at a haunt near you to get a feel for it.
hey anyone in the san antonio area looking to really get ppl scared i got great ideas and would love to be part of a team my goal is to be part of the most brutal haunted attraction in the nation would love to start from scratch but unfortunatly i do not have the finances to back up my insane ideas……this is my first time reaching out to anyone and i truly believe my ideas trump all others email me for more info would love to get this stuff into action
We live in san Antonio msg me
Hi. My names Krystal and I’m 19. I am in love with haunted houses and have been ever since I got to volunteer at hangmans house of horrors last year. A group of friends and I have been going to haunted houses every weekend this month and I realized that I would really enjoy running my own haunted house. It might be a few years but this is something I really want to do. If u have ANY tips at all please please help me out!! Thanks:)
The number one piece of advice any good pro out there will tell someone looking to get into this business is to go volunteer and work at a haunted house. Go in and talk with the owner/operator of several of the pro haunts you have visited and make sure they know this is something you want to get experience in because you would like to run your own in a couple years. Some will say no cause your competition and others may just be rude or too busy but give it a shot. If nothing comes of it then contact them again after Halloween is over and go volunteer to see what goes on after and then stick with it throughout the year if they have work you can help out with. I got in with a local haunt here and worked with them from March through to Halloween and that is where I learned most of what I know from construction and planning to promotion and marketing. Let me know if you have any other questions and make sure to follow the site and our facebook page for updates as I will be putting a lot of information and learning products out once Halloween is over and I have time to focus on the website again.
Looking to open a haunt in or near
Louisville,ky and really need a guideline
into fire codes, zoning, rules and regulations
, mareketing and so on.
Marketing
I am out in California so can not give you direct links or docs that would pertain to your location. I would recommend calling or going into see your local fire marshal, building inspector and zoning official to see what regulations they have for a haunted house as from my experience so far it is somewhat different everywhere you go.
I own a historical mansion just above The Waterfront, Pittsburgh’s premiere retail/entertainment center, and want to turn it into a fantastic haunted house. We are looking for partners, associates, etc.