Haunted Attractions & Horror Galore Podcast (HAHGP)

Podcast E11 Reflecting on Halloween Season 2023

Episode Summary

Reflecting on Halloween Season 2023. Haunt Tour, Horror Fest, Mill of Madness, Bloody Mary Makeup contest, and more. https://www.sanctumofhorror.com/ https://slaughterhousetucson.com/ https://millofmadness.com/ https://glowingpumpkins.com/ https://scarizona.com/ https://13thflooraz.com/ https://fearfarm.com/ https://apocalypseglobal.com/ https://artistsassembleproductions.com/ https://www.dearbloodymary.com/ https://united-zombies-of-america.com/ usahauntsearch.com hallozona.com https://qrco.de/beJjEa

Episode Notes

usahauntsearch.com

hallozona.com

https://www.sanctumofhorror.com/

https://slaughterhousetucson.com/

https://millofmadness.com/

https://glowingpumpkins.com/

https://scarizona.com/

https://13thflooraz.com/

https://fearfarm.com/

https://apocalypseglobal.com/

https://artistsassembleproductions.com/

https://www.dearbloodymary.com/

https://united-zombies-of-america.com/

usahauntsearch.com

hallozona.com

https://qrco.de/beJjEa

Episode Transcription

Syd (00:01.11)

Hello and welcome to...

Haunted Attraction and Horrical Lore podcast. So today's episode is just going to be a little bit of a look back of October 2023. So pretty much the haunt season of this last year, this year. So it's just going to be kind of a look back or as you would say, like just taking it all in, kind of going over what happened this year.

And different things like that. So it's kind of just going to be more of like a reflection of what just happened. It's taken a while to do this podcast. It's today is November 21st. So I know it's been a while, but it's just been very hectic and things have kind of settled down. So this is a good time to do our reflection podcast. Now today it's just going to be me, Stoney Banks, and I'm just going to talk about kind of pretty much everything that happened. So.

First of all, October started off crazy, but before it even happened, it was looking like it was gonna be a very chill season. Like there was nothing on the calendar, we were not busy. And then out of nowhere, just like in one day, it all changed. We were extremely busy. We had a lot of different events going on and a lot of different haunted attractions we were going to and reviewing. And it just...

It was just crazy. It just... It was insane because it just- it was one day, like... One day my calendar was free, I didn't have anything, and then the next day it was completely full for maybe like three or four days. And it was just a lot. There was a lot going on. Not that it was negative or bad. It was just- it was a lot. So... Beginning, pretty much everything...

Syd (02:04.326)

was the haunt tours itself. So setting those up with the different haunted attractions and finding out which days are best to go. And I always like to go beginning of the season so we can get our reviews out before the end of October so people can either decide to go or to skip those attractions and save their money because I don't know about you but I only have so much money.

I want to go to the best attractions and get my money's worth, not go to one and be disappointed. Or it's only like a 15 minute walkthrough and you paid about 50-60 dollars for that. So we try to help avoid those conflicts. So I like to try to go early September. I mean I try to go whenever they're open in September to early October. And yeah. So that was a lot of it. It was just like...

The first thing was all the haunt tours, what days we were going to different haunted attractions, and the times. And then on top of that, also trying to schedule and writing the reviews, as well as this year adding the podcast reviews. So there was a lot of juggling and trying to fit things in, and just very lack of sleep.

It was just like I said, it was just chaotic. It wasn't a bad chaotic. In a way it was a good chaotic and, you know, postpartum depression is a real thing. Once October and Halloween ends, there's a lot of haunters or people who love Halloween or things like that go into a depression. And I would say that hit me pretty hard too, like once Halloween was over, I think I kind of... I really missed it and I went into that.

you know, that sadness, negative headspace. And I think that's another reason why it took so long to do this one, was because it's a true thing. You actually do have depression when, you know, you're not doing something that you love. And it was like real high, and then out of nowhere it just drops. So it is really hard for haunters, or people who love Halloween and stuff, for that. So I have to say that's like for sure a reason why this was also put off is-

Syd (04:23.602)

as long as it has been. But I'm glad I'm now doing it and just going to reflect. So reflecting off of the, we'll just say first, the Haunt tour, which is us going through different attractions and raiding them and all that. I know our first one was supposed to be 13th floor and they pushed it back for whatever reason. And it really doesn't matter. And then I think it was.

Fear Farm and I know there was a bunch. I should probably pull it up because like I said it's been a while completely you know you forget certain things and things come up. But it was it was overall this year was a really good year even the Haunt Tour wise it was pretty good. There's a couple of huge I guess you could say let downs.

And there was also, you know, highlights. Obviously there are attractions that were just amazing, along with the ones that maybe weren't as amazing. But it wasn't too bad.

Syd (05:38.574)

So let's see, yeah, all right. So now I have kind of our calendar up here. Cause like I said, it was crazy. There was a lot going on and things changed. So yeah, originally it was supposed to be 13th floor. They pushed their date back. So Fear Farm was our first one. And that was kind of a surprise in a way, because it wasn't as bad as we thought it was gonna be because previously, you know, previous years it's-

been very disappointing and a letdown, especially ever since 13th Floor Entertainment Group bought it. It's just kind of gone downhill. I'm not going to say, oh my gosh, it was amazing and great, but it was better than expected, which was nice. So it was a good breath of fresh air. And again, you can read all these reviews on Halizona or USAhauntSearch.com, as well as we put them on Scurryface too. So you can...

Anyone any of those platforms you can obviously read the whole review. I'm not gonna go into it Like I said, this is just a reflection of the whole season. So yeah, there's that There's those reviews as well as you can listen on this podcast. We also did reviews on our podcast, too So yeah fear farm was kind of a nice surprise And I wouldn't say like a really great kickoff to the beginning of the tour because again, it was

there's still a lot of things that needed to be fixed and worked on. So it wasn't a hundred percent like, Oh gosh, that was great. But it was kind of a nice surprise that it wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. It was, it was pretty okay. The actors were trying. The makeup was decent. It was, it was, it wasn't as bad as we thought. So fear farm was kind of a, a nice surprise. And then our next hunt was 13 floor. And let me tell you,

That was more disappointing than I was anticipating. Like, I knew it wasn't gonna be good just because I know how they throw stuff together and they obviously don't care about 13th Floor Phoenix very much. It's just kind of like... To me, it feels like an afterthought. Or like, it's just... To me, it feels like it's just here to make money and they don't care whether it really does good or not because either way, they can write it off and their taxes... It's just here. It's not anything...

Syd (07:56.454)

Extraordinary or amazing or great. It's just it's just here and Like I said, I was I was already anticipating You know it to be really bad and not really good, but it was worse than what I was anticipating I mean it was it was a huge letdown and mainly because they didn't change anything At all really they just set up the same things that they've had in their old Attract their old because they moved if you didn't know

They moved from a really big location to a very small location. So again, you already knew it was going to be disappointing because it was going to be a way shorter walkthrough. But it was just sad. I mean they really could have done something completely different and, you know, like open something that none of us have seen before and maybe brought some of their other attraction kind of quality because supposedly-

Some of the other attractions they have are good. I don't know, I've never been to them, but honestly, I just feel like they're in it for the money and the fame and getting their name out there, so I personally don't care. But it would have been nice if they could have at least brought something new and exciting and just would have really blew everyone out of the water. And I was really hoping for that in a lot of ways, and we went and it was just the same thing. It was the same sets.

pretty much the same costumes. The layout was different because, again, they moved so things were moved around, but it was pretty much Zombieland or whatever the second haunt is, they always changed the name, but pretty much it was their second attraction because there's always 13th floor and then Zombieland or Frenzy or Werewolf and Vampires, whatever the heck. And it was just sad because it was mainly that set. It was a lot of that. They maybe added like...

you know, some posters or little, like, different paint jobs here and there, but it was pretty much the same thing. And it was just very, very disappointing. There's nothing new. There was nothing breathtaking. There's nothing like, wow, that actor was amazing. And actually, to be honest with you, the actors were mainly there as ushers just to push you through. They weren't really scary. They weren't really acting. They weren't really doing anything. They had makeup and costumes, but they are mainly there just to push you through.

Syd (10:18.97)

And there was still a Congo lion and, you know, it wasn't scary. It wasn't entertaining. It wasn't shocking. There is nothing really good about it. And it's really quite sad because again, they could have really, you know, switched it up, brought things to life, you know, brought new sets in, but it was, I mean, the only thing that was great about it is the Rocky point sets were still there. Some of them were still there. Of course they've destroyed a lot of them, but I mean, to see like the mansion.

and some of the asylum and some of the graveyard was, at least for me, it was...

I don't know, it was like nostalgic, but it was, it was cool to see those sets. Like I cried a little bit because I know the history behind some of the sets that they own and if you don't know anything about Rocky point is from Rocky point and the haunting and that part was, and again, it wasn't really them. I was like, wow, they did such a great job. It was just like, wow, Rocky point sets of hold it, you know, have held up for like what 25 plus years.

And they're still looking amazing. I mean, Rocky Point really built their stuff to last forever. I mean, it was. Especially seeing the mansion and stuff. It was, that was cool. But again, it wasn't like a tribute to them. They just put it together. They didn't build it or anything. So. I don't know. To me, I don't even know if I'll go back next year. Part of me wants to, just to see if they maybe have changed since now they've had a whole year in that building, but knowing them, they don't do or change or renovate anything. So.

I don't know, to me it's kind of a waste of money. If you've seen 13th floor and their old location, it's pretty much the same thing in a smaller location for the same price. It only took us about like 10, 15 minutes to walk through. And we were kind of going at a slow pace. So I'm sure if we were actually going at the regular pace that pretty much most customers go through is probably about five to 10 minute walk through. It's not worth 50, 60 bucks. That's come on. Gas is expensive. Living expenses have gone up.

Syd (12:26.35)

Who wants to spend that much on the same damn thing in just a smaller location? So yeah, that's just that. Then the next one we went to is Synctom of Horror, and again, they blew it out of the park. They did a really great job. They- again, their acting is good, their makeup is good, their set design is good. That attraction is a really great attraction, which is nice because we have 13 Foreign Fear

And it kind of has muddied and destroyed the industry in Arizona. So it's nice to actually finally have some attractions that have stepped it up and really have like taken the craft that they do and just make it awesome. And actually bring something that's worth a damn tear Arizona, because our haunt industry here is not known for good things like, but thanks to Sanctum and some of the other haunts who are really stepping it up.

and doing a great job is kind of bringing Arizona out of this dark shadow of having a really horrible haunt industry. So if they continue at that pace, it's only going to make things better. You know, if more haunts come and they're like, yeah, okay, there's a big name here. 134 Entertainment Group owns both these attractions, but they're not really any good. Like just really start bringing attractions past the level of them.

And then eventually either they're going to have to change or people hopefully will stop going to them and giving them their money. Because as long as people continue to go to these crappy attractions and pay them, they're going to keep them crappy and they're not going to do anything different. So in a way, it's kind of just adding gas to the fire. They're just going to keep burning people and And I don't know about this, but when we went, we noticed the audience and we were looking around and a lot of them are like young

adults to teenagers and high school age. There wasn't a whole lot of older people there at 13 floor fear farm and I can see why because it's not scary and it's not that great. So young people don't really know you know or they're learning. So just saying. But yeah Sanctum of Horror had really great sets this year. I love their lighting. I love they have certain parts of their haunted attraction that are just so beautifully well done.

Syd (14:47.118)

And their actors are amazing. I mean, one of the David who went with us actually got scared because of one of their actors did such a good job and he doesn't. So that was again, Sanctum of Horror. You did great this year. They actually got Halizona's most entertaining attraction for this year award. So congratulations to them. You all earned it. Amazing. Fantastic entertaining. They have a lot of things going on. They've added things this year.

and they just keep evolving and growing. They have their mini escape room, they have performances that go on, they have actors outside. I mean, Sanctum of Horror is really, really doing a great job. And I hope that they continue to just go up. The only thing that I would say is like, maybe try to change some of the storyline and sets a little bit, because you've, you know, it's kind of been the same, but it's like maybe bringing like some more newness to your attraction, like.

with a different story, maybe some new characters, and even like the breach kind of the same thing like just switch them up a whole lot, do some major renovations for next year and really bringing out, you know, something new and cool and that will only just make y'all just go up and up and up. So I'm really excited to see what Sanctum has next year. They did a great job. And then our next haunt.

Was the slaughterhouse which again is arizona's best haunted attraction. I will keep saying that because it is true It is worth the money. It is worth the drive if you don't live in tucson. It is totally worth the drive you can spend As much as 13th floor and actually go to attraction. That's way better than them and way longer and way more Just entertaining and fun. I would say save your money. Don't go to the 13th floor fear farm Go to the slaughterhouse or go to um

or go to Sanctum of Horror. You know, it's like, actually, you could probably go to 200 attractions for the price of one, if you were to go to Fear Farmer 13 floor, because their prices are very high and really not worth it. So yeah, the Slaughterhouse, amazing. Again, the line system is great. You don't wait in line. You can actually hang out there. They have a lot of stuff going on. They have games. They have a whole entire store.

Syd (17:12.63)

They have photo opportunities, they have amazing icon characters, they have characters in the midway. Their sets are just beautiful, their design is beautiful, the characters, the makeup, I mean everything. This Haunt is like the closest thing that we have to like the darkness or... trying to think of some of the haunts that are like over the top that everybody knows. The darkness in St. Louis, you have Netherworld, you have Haunt Overload.

You have Denton Schoolhouse. This haunt is probably the closest thing that we have to any of those big name attractions because that's what it presents itself as, is one of the big awesome attractions. I mean, the fact it's actually in Old Slaughterhouse. The location itself is just awesome, like Lemp Brewery.

It's similar to that. It's like with the location. The location is just beautiful and perfect. It's actually haunted. It was on Ghost Adventures. I mean, the slaughterhouse is the whole deal from makeup, costuming, set design, lighting, effects. I mean, this year, when we went through, we always pretty much love the clowns. The clown area is pretty dang cool. They do a lot of cool things. The slaughterhouse itself, again.

awesome, really haunted, you go in the boiler room, you're- you- you don't feel like you're alone in that attraction at all. But this year, I will say this, the zombies blew the whole thing away. They were on point this year. It was- and I'm hard on zombies, if you know me, I own a zombie- like a zombie company. I own United Zombies of America, and I've been a zombie for a very long time. That's one of the characters that I am known for.

So zombies I'm really hard to critic on, but this year the zombies in the slaughterhouse just, like I was so proud. I almost felt like a parent, even though, you know, I had nothing to do training or whatever, but going through, I was just so proud of how the zombie area did. It was, and that the zombie area is actually where you get to shoot them and all that. They have the guns and all that, the zombie shootings and all that. But I mean, it was just.

Syd (19:33.826)

It was so The zombies were on point the makeup perfect costuming perfect Acting over and beyond they made great noises They had great movements they where they came from and hid was a great. I mean it was just Zombies were awesome and for me to say that y'all should know that is not something that comes easy for me I don't usually compliment zombies unless they're extremely amazing and I mean there's one point where we are walking

And there was like an open area and there was like, I don't know, I want to say about seven, eight of them and they all came from different areas. There's like one in a walker. There was some little children ones and they were just like coming from all over and you kind of felt like an ambush. But instead of like feeling scared or whatever, it felt like I was at like a homecoming. I was like, oh my gosh, this is so awesome. Like they were coming from all over. And I'm just like, oh, the zombies this year did fantastic. Great job.

Really great job. Hats off to you. This year that was my favorite part. Slaughterhouse, you are amazing. I can't wait to see what you have for next year. I hope there's a lot of new and creative things coming. I'm sure there is. I'm so excited to see what Slaughterhouse has. It's- if you have never been there, I swear you're really missing out. It is the closest thing that we have to, like, a really-

really well known attraction. Like I said, you can hold it up to the darkness, you can hold it up to netherworld, pretty much like the same quality. And it is Arizona's best. It really, really is. It is, ugh, just, I can't give them kudos enough. And this year they actually won from Halizona the scariest attraction of this year. And from USA Haunt Search they won best attraction. So they won two awards from Halizona and USA Haunt Search.

No doubt about it. They deserve both and just amazing So our next part of our haunt tour isn't really a haunted house But it's more of a family-friendly and very fun event called glowing pumpkins. We did not do a podcast on glowing pumpkins So I will just tell you now a little bit about it. It is a family-friendly walk kind of like a guided walkthrough of just

Syd (21:57.874)

extremely amazing artistry of pumpkin design. There's pumpkins everywhere. They have put them up, they've like put them together and made some very, very cool designs. There's different themed areas. And this year they had it in Tucson's, I wanna say I think it was their botanical garden. And last year they just had it in a parking lot. I mean, it was still really cool last year.

But this year having it in an actual like, I don't, I don't know how you say it, like a themed area or a kind of like an area where you can actually get away with putting them in different areas and actually really separating them instead of like a parking lot where, you know, it's all together, there's nothing really hiding anything, it's kind of straightforward. You see everything and everything kind of bleeds in together because there's no division. Well,

The Botanical Gardens in Tucson was probably the best decision because it just really took the glowing pumpkins from last year and have just elevated it. It was so much fun and it was busy. There was a ton of people. There was a lot of people that went. I mean it was a lot. I was like dang. And I could see why because it was family friendly. It was fun.

I mean, there was even adults that went. There's a couple of groups that we noticed that were either elderly that like went together or just adults. So it's not just a kid event. There was all ages at this thing. There's teenagers, there was adults, there was elderly people. I mean, we saw everything when we went. And it was just fun. From beginning to end, it is so much fun. They have different themed areas like.

They had fantasy and they had dinosaurs and they had animals and they had Halloween and like horror and it was just really cool. And each time you go to a different area, the music and the feel changes. Like each area was different and each area was a lot of fun. And like I said, the artistry behind...

Syd (24:18.79)

glowing pumpkins is just I mean people actually hand carve these pumpkins and Do the designs and stuff. I mean hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of work and Like I said very well executed this year. It was awesome. I loved it I mean we spent a long time there also because I was taking photos and videos, but I Mean it was just there was so much to look at

and so much detail and stuff and some people kind of just walk through very fast. So I know that they miss some stuff but I mean really there's a lot of detail, little hidden things. Well done. I mean it was just, I loved Glowing Pumpkins. It was so much fun. It was cute. It was exciting. And to see the reaction of the customers was pretty cool. A lot of people loved it. I mean they got really into it. The kids loved it. It was, it was a really, really

really cool experience. The parking was a little not as awesome and where we parked we had to like walk across a street and stuff and it was a little bit confusing of where to go and stuff. But other than that it was fantastic. And they even have again they have a store, they have shopping opportunities, they even had like some live demos on how to carve pumpkins and stuff. I mean it was just, it was, I love pumpkins.

Like that's one of my favorite things. So to me, this was so much fun. I loved it. I didn't want to leave, but we had to because right after glowing pumpkins is when we did the slaughterhouse. So we weren't allowed to stay for as long as I was hoping. So I'm hoping next year when we go, if we go, we actually will do one day slaughterhouse, one day glowing pumpkins. So we can actually really just take it all in and really enjoy the pumpkins because it was just.

It was so much fun. I loved it. I mean, it was it was cool. And like I said, the music and the lighting and the placement and everything of the pumpkins really just worked well together and just kind of brought it its own life. So glowing pumpkins, well worth the money, a lot of fun. Again, even if you live in Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson, wherever you are, glowing pumpkins is worth it, especially if you have a family.

Syd (26:40.29)

for sure, I would say go to Glowing Pumpkins. It is awesome. So now, after that we had Scares on a Scaregrounds. I have never been there. This was the first year of going. So I will be honest, I was kind of excited because I've never been there. So it's like, oh, okay, so this is, you know, fresh eyes, brand new. I was excited to see what they had. I would looked at the website, read the themes. I was like, okay, this could be really cool. The advertisements.

that they have look pretty cool. So we go and again, huge letdown. I was really sad of how disappointing this really was. The first haunt we went through was their blackout one and that one was just unsafe for so many reasons. The ground wasn't leveled. It was completely black, which I mean I get it. You can do blackout haunts, but-

You need to have a leveled floor. I'm sorry. Safety for me is always number one. And when I am concerned about my safety through your whole attraction, I'm not having a good time. I was worried about my safety as well as the people that were with me, because I have an older gentleman who is with me as well as a autistic, um, gentleman who was with me and stuff, and it was his first really walkthrough.

And he was like, this isn't scary, it's just stupid. It's scary because the fact that you could actually really, really get hurt. Because again, the ground was not leveled. There were places where the ground had bumps and lumps, and then there was different flooring things and stuff. It was extremely not safe. It was not scary. It was just, you're walking around in a dark environment. I don't really think there was any really sound effects or anything. They had a couple of animatronics.

in the beginning and stuff, but it was mainly just a dark maze. And again, they had no actors. There was maybe two the whole time we were there. But it was just, I don't know. There's ways to do a blackout dark haunt and actually make it fun and scary and have actors in it and stuff. They had no actors in it, really. Like I said, I think there was only two. We saw one in a corner and then we saw one in this area where the floor...

Syd (29:02.722)

Changes and you could kind of see a little bit of a set but not really But yeah, they did to me. It just felt like a cheap comp out like yeah We'll just make a maze painted black, you know Put two actors in it whatever I Don't know. It was just and that was the first one we went through and I was I was libid I was not happy because I Almost got hurt a couple of times on the flooring in there because again, it is not safe. So

We actually had- because you know in the beginning they say don't do this, don't do that, don't have your flashlights on, whatever. We turned the flashlight on our phone and just had it on the floor. We didn't want to ruin the scare, but we- The floor was not- the floor was not safe. If you're going to do a hunt like that, you need to have a smooth floor. They did not- it was like in um-

It makes me think like it was like in an old parking lot almost. There was like dirt, then there was cement, then there was, you know, there was tar. I mean, it was just, just like there was pieces of like, it was, it was not safe. It was not safe. It was not funny. It was not cool. It was not scary. The only fact that it was scary was because of getting hurt. And that's not something you should want your customers to, oh yeah, it was scary.

But because I was trying not to die or to trip or to get hurt, that's not scary. That's just stupid and putting people in. And I mean, I could even think if we were scared or let's say we didn't have our flashlight on, cause I swear I didn't want to ruin it. So I was like, put your flashlight on, but only have it on the floor so we can make sure that the floor, you know, we don't get hurt. And the younger gentleman with us who was autistic was just, he was livid too. He was like, this isn't scary. This is stupid.

Like I said, it was like one of his first kind of haunted attraction walkthroughs and it was in a way nice to bring him to hear his perspective because He really just he thought it was stupid and it was it was not scary The way they wanted it to be if you guys are gonna do a blackout You need to have the floor leveled and you need to make sure that it's safe And you need to have actors in there just relying on the dark. Come on

Syd (31:29.486)

Come on. And I've heard things about ScareZone. I've heard good and bad. So like I said, I was kind of like excited to go in and it was just the hugest let down. It was that first attraction just, and it put everybody in a bad mood for the second one they had because we were mad because we paid money to go through this attraction and we felt like we were technically screwed over, you know?

Cause we paid money to be scared or to be entertained in the whole time. We had our flashlight on looking at the floor, trying not to die or get hurt. I mean, you could very easily break a, you know, an ankle or spring an ankle or twist your leg and stuff on the flooring in there because it's that bad. And like I said, if, if we were regular customers who didn't know about attractions and stuff, if someone was to get afraid in there and to run or anything like that.

They could get really hurt on the floor. So it's not, that's a huge, I don't know how you guys got away with it in safety inspection with, you know, like the Phoenix Fire Department and stuff, but I don't know, they, to me it was, it was a huge safety liability. It really was, it was bad. And like I said, I read the, you know, the little blurbs about it on the website and I was like, oh cool, complete black hot.

I was like, this could be really cool, dark. And it was so disappointing. Again, there was no actors. There was so many missed opportunity. It was just, I mean, technically they could have kicked us out for having our flashlights on, but there was nobody in that maze to do anything. So it was just lame. I was, and there was even one point in the attraction where the ceiling comes down.

and goes kind of into a funnel, so it's making you have to like get on your hands and knees and crawl. Again, if someone was really afraid and ran, they would hit their face right into that wood. There was nothing cushioning it in case someone was to do that. So again, lots of safety issues. Now the second maze, again we were kind of already in a bad mood because of how that first maze went, but we tried to like lighten up. Now the actor, or I mean the actress that they had at the beginning did really good. She was really trying.

Syd (33:53.25)

She was going over the rules and stuff and stayed in character pretty well. But as soon as you step off of the little platform that they have into the attraction, again, the flooring is atrocious. I almost sprained my ankle because there's a drop and they don't tell you, Hey, watch your step or anything. So I'm walking, whatever. And then all of a sudden it just drops. And I'm like, and I was, again, I was not happy that I was trying to like, have a fresh perspective after the first, you know, maze, but.

That just, again, that just made my whole experience just not... I know, again, I almost sprained my ankle and I'm busy this whole season. So, I need my ankles to work. So, hello! So yeah, I was just, I was not happy about it. And... There was a couple of actors, they had some animatronics. Some of the sets were okay. Some of the makeup was okay, but again, it was just... There wasn't a lot of, um...

There wasn't a lot of actors and actresses. Some of the lighting was really bad. Like, there was a couple of areas where they had some really cool sets and detail in some of the walls, but you couldn't see them because they had no lighting. And again, it was just a huge letdown. It was... There were some really cool parts, like they had some cars that you go under, and the theme didn't really make 100% sense to me because it was like clowns and...

Like a kind of like a, I don't know. What would you call that? It was like, they're trying to do like a clown ish mayhem kind of a thing, but it felt like you were in a junkyard and then you ended up in like a 3d may. I don't know the transitions. It didn't make sense. Um, the same thing was just, it didn't make sense. And, and I also noticed later that a lot of the advertising and stuff they have.

like was from previous years or something because you didn't really see any of the sets of the characters that were in those commercials and then also some of their commercials didn't even have anything to do with their actual haunt it was like uh what do you call that like animated stuff so it looks really cool but then when you actually go to it it's it wasn't again it wasn't scary it was a little entertaining they didn't really have like a really

Syd (36:22.194)

awesome midway. They had kind of a midway. I didn't see a store if they had one. I didn't see it anywhere. There was no reason to stay after. I think they had like a little food area or something, but I don't know. It was just, it was pretty lame. And I think they had a photo opportunity because they had like this area where there was cars and stuff, but it was so dark.

They didn't have lighting or anything, so you couldn't really see it or take photos of it. So again, a lot of missed opportunity and they used vinyl a lot. They had a lot of like giant banners made and they used those for sets. Like all of their, what do you call that? I'm trying to think of the name right now, but all of their.

Uh, what is the name, what is the name? But all of their- pretty much the beginning of their attractions where you go, you know, before you even enter the beginning they were all banners. They had like trailers and stuff and they just put banners on it. They didn't actually make sets or anything like that. It was all just banners. So again, it was very, very let down, very lame.

It seemed very just thrown together and I don't know I don't think I'll be going back Because it was first of all it was just It was dangerous. It wasn't fun. It wasn't entertaining. It just it was not it was not good. It was not good So yeah, Scarazona Not really happy About how that whole thing went now actually before all of that our very first attraction was Mill of Madness

Now, going through this one was like a complete surprise. It was so much fun from when you enter the beginning to the end. There's a storyline. It, I would say this attraction is like a huge breath of fresh air. It's very entertaining. The actors are awesome. The makeup was awesome. This attraction is completely different than Slaughterhouse.

Syd (38:42.022)

I would say they're both really good and I would say they're both number one for different reasons because Mill of Madness is way more theatrical and way more like you're actually walking through a storyline, you're a part of it, and Slaughterhouse is like just a really insane, awesome haunted attraction. So they're both very good and I'd say they're both kind of number one in Arizona, but for different reasons.

Now the only reason I'd say against Slaughterhouse does Mill of Madness is just the size of, you know, Slaughterhouse as well as, again, the location is huge. They have an actual haunted location. That right there is going to make it hard to beat their attention to detail. I mean, they're both really good. I can't, but I mean, there's things that give the Slaughterhouse an edge that Mill of Madness is, it's going to be hard to have.

And it's going to be size as well as location. And just again, and Slaughterhouse has been around for very, very long time. And Mill of Madness, this was their first year. And I mean, for how awesome it was their first year says volumes that you can even compare them to Slaughterhouse. That right there is probably one of the biggest compliments because

Mill of Madness is being compared to Slaughterhouse, you know, in quality and awesomeness. I mean that right there, that is- and it's your first year, so you have- you just have more learning and growing to go. So it's like I cannot wait for Mill of Madness next year because this was their first year, there was a lot of growing and, you know, a lot of things that they've learned. And to see what they're gonna do next year is just going to be-

Awesome. I mean there's nowhere to go but up I would say for them. I mean they could Go down, but I really don't see that happening because the fact that they're really trying to do something different than any attraction here Is I mean I would say the closest thing that they're like is like Jack and Jill if you've ever been to Jack and Jill's haunted Hill they had a storyline they had characters they had different things that you are doing Skylar stop my dogs licking But they have different things

Syd (41:01.89)

that are interesting and like you felt like you're walking through a movie or you are part of the story and Mill of Madness is doing that. Now sadly Jack and Jill isn't around anymore but Mill of Madness is I would even say have taken that concept and have ran with it and even have done better and more with it because when we went through it was really cool. The actors talked to you. They include you. The lighting, the sets were really good.

I mean, they're only good, like I said, they're only going to get better. There's of course there's improvement. Some of the sets were, you know, made out of like, uh, the good stuff. And if you don't cure it and stuff over time, it starts flaking and stuff. So it was, it was doing that. They're like, I said, there are things that they could improve on, but I mean, overall for their first year and being compared and being like put in the status of slaughterhouse, I mean, come on.

The ticket pricing was fair. It was just a good attraction. The actors put their full heart and soul into it. The makeup was really good. Mill of Madness, I cannot wait to see what you have in store. That was our very first haunt that we went through. And let me say that was a great way to start off the season. So Mill of Madness, there's so much...

Store for y'all. I can't wait to see what you guys have and looking at the reviews on Google and Seeing the feedback and stuff. They've had Positively great you guys have it in the bag. All you have to do really is just work on You know set design a little bit taking it further making it more I don't know how you'd say that but like more

being able to pack a punch kind of a thing, being able to take the whole year. And I just set design pretty much as a little bit. And like I said, having some things out in the midway or in your queue line would bring it even more and a little bit more training and stuff with your actors and stuff like that. Mill of madness, I mean, come on. You guys are gonna knock it out. I can't wait for next year.

Syd (43:25.878)

The fact that, again, this is your very first year and how well you did. Hats off to you and being put in the same league as the slaughterhouse and, um, sanctum of horror your first year. That is huge. I mean, you guys totally blew 13th floor fear farm scares on out of the water, which again, isn't really a huge compliment because again, they're not that good. But.

They're like the big names that we have here, even though they're not that good, but you guys blew them out of the water. I cannot wait to see what y'all have in store for next year. So yeah, that's just our haunt tour. So that being said, we also went to Horror Fest as a guest as United Zombies of America. And Horror Fest is a three day event that we did.

And it was rather interesting. Um, yeah, there was Horrorfest. And then we led the zombie walk that was at Horrorfest. So that happened this year too. Like I said, we went from one day having nothing on our calendar to being pretty much completely booked. I'll say this because of this year, I'm really sad we didn't really get to go to any of the home haunts and I was really sad about that.

that we didn't really get to participate or do any home haunts or displays because of how busy we were. I mean there was a couple of days we had off but man we were so exhausted we literally just were like yeah we don't we want to sleep. I tried my best to like reach out to some of them and open when we were not doing stuff and it just sadly didn't work out I'm hoping next year that we'll probably do more home haunts and less of like.

the ones that were expensive and not worth it. So next year, I'm hoping to do more with home displays and home haunts. So yeah, Horror Fest was October 20th through the 22nd. And the Zombie Walk was on the 21st, which was Saturday. And the overall experience for Horror Fest was, I mean,

Syd (45:51.286)

They grew in size by like, I would say three times because the first one was in a very small location and this year was quite, it was quite, I wouldn't say massive, but it was, it was a lot bigger than where they were. So it's like they grew like three times the size from their first year to this year. And they had some cool guests. They had a, you know, photo opportunities. They had different events. They had panels.

They had the whole entire vendor area as well as, like I said, you can meet celebrities and stuff like that. It was, it was good, but there were things that needed improvement on. Like, um, I would say there wasn't as many people as I think anyone was hoping, but I think it's because of you guys were in October, mid October and

That's really hard to compete in October with anything horror because you have all the haunted houses, you have different Halloween parties, and there's a lot going on, you know, in October. If you guys were to do it, like a kickoff to Halloween in September, I think you would be more successful. I think there would be more people and stuff, and I think a lot of the haunted attractions would like to be involved and, you know, be a part of it.

But they couldn't because the fact that you were in mid-October, like I know Millet Madness would have loved to have a booth there and stuff, but we were in, you know, they were in full swing of the season. And I talked also to Sanctum and even they're like, yeah, they would have loved to be there, but they're working. I mean, they're mid-season of October. So I would say for Horror Fest, the timing was not good.

I really wish you guys could have done it early September. And I mean, I had to take work off to do the event, and that was money that pretty much I just threw in the trash. And we didn't make anything going to Horror Fest. And that, in a way, that put us in the negative. Which wasn't good. I know like, um...

Syd (48:12.13)

The higher ups of UZA were not happy. And because of how this year went, I don't know if they'll wanna go back. And we'll just have to see, because again, it was bad timing. You guys need to do it in September as a kickoff to Halloween. Like Horror Fest, September, the beginning of Octo, you know. Like that, I think if you did it in September, you would have more people.

And it would be easier for even your haunt community to be involved. Which you would want because as a horror fest, you'd want your haunted attractions to be involved, I would think. So there is some missed opportunity, at least with the days that were picked. Like I said, it was overall, it was a great con talking to the vendors and stuff, it went pretty well. Now where they put us was in the hallway where the panel room was. And it was past the panel room.

And there was us and then Jared, who is a, um, a tarot card reader. And they put him like in the corner, kind of even behind us. And the first day, like nobody was in that hallway pretty much. There are some people who would walk down and kind of look, but they wouldn't even come past the panel room. So again, it was a lot of miss opportunity. Like we gave up.

paying gigs to be there. We didn't get paid to be there and we did not make any money to be there. Not to mention we live in North Phoenix and this was all the way on Mesa. So like I said, we didn't make anything. We spent more than we made because again, we had to have gas to get down there. We had to pay for food and drinks and water and stuff to be there. And we didn't make a cent.

And I couldn't even say we really made an impact or, um, advertised a lot because where we were at, there was no foot traffic really. And people would go down that hallway, but like I said, they would see the panel room and they'd see the sign for it. And then they'd just stop and turn around and go back. So where we were put was not an ideal location. I mean, it was nice because it was kind of near the bathrooms, but

Syd (50:37.89)

There was no foot traffic pretty much the whole entire time. And even though they tried to send people down there, they did not go all the way to the end of the hallway. So even the fortune teller, I mean, or the tarot card reader, Jared, even he wasn't really making any money. And even he was like, man, I just want to make enough to make a car payment. So putting vendors or...

special guests or whatever you want to call them in that location was a very poor choice. It was very bad placement. And as UZA we don't try to like rock the boat or be annoying or be like, hey, you know, this isn't working out for us. We try to really be accommodating and understanding. And I was, you know, I mean, overall we were because we're like, hey, this is our second year.

you know, they're trying their best and stuff. But we just kind of felt like the redheaded stepchild in a way. We were kind of like pushed in the corner and kind of forgotten about. Like we didn't really even get to see the heads of the con as much. And when we did see them, they would like run by. There wasn't a whole lot of like communication or, you know, anything like that. And I understand they're busy and stuff, but you kind of just feel invisible. Which is not a good feeling. Like my mom was even a little bit sad that, you know.

It was, it was that way. So then the second day I was like, you know what, I'm going to bring some stuff and try to make it look more appealing because, you know, the end of the hallway just looks so boring. I was trying to think of ways to like bring foot traffic up and make it, you know, more entertaining because that hallway was just so boring and, um, sadly our car broke down when we were in Tucson and it's still there in Tucson.

We just don't have the funds right now to go and get it. And luckily our friends at Slaughterhouse are taking care of it, keeping an eye on it and stuff. But eventually we're hoping to get enough funding to be able to get our second car back because that's also the one that can carry my mom's scooter. So we're down a car and my mom's scooter is also in Tucson. So we are down a car and...

Syd (53:01.65)

It's sadly our bigger car, so we can't fit as much as in my dad's car. So the second day of the con, since all of our stuff was already there, I was like, well, we have a little bit of room. We can bring some more stuff to try to make it more enticing in this hallway. So people, because I felt bad for Jared too, and he's a really cool, nice guy. He's actually on our website, United Zombies and stuff. We were helping promote him because he's, he was really cool and a nice guy and understanding as well. And so.

I brought my, I brought two projectors. I brought my computer and I brought some lights and some different things. I brought my little speaker so I could hook it up to the computer and we were playing like the Halloween parody videos and stuff and I was projecting it on the wall, where our booth was to try to like get people to come. And then the other projector was a self-

uh, playing projector, it already had like some cutie Halloween stuff. And I put that on the wall by Jared so people could see and be like, wow, look at, come over here. And we also added some lights and we had sound. So it kind of brought a little bit of more people in, but it still was not. It, it wasn't, it just, the placement wasn't working. It was, it was not working. It was, it was just.

It added a little bit more of a wow factor in a way, but again people would see the panel room They because the sign was right next to the doorway and then right behind that was us and they would not go past That sign they'd be like, oh, okay You know there wasn't A lot of foot traffic even with adding all that extra stuff so In a lot of ways, I just felt defeated and you know

with other people, other members of UZA being sad and whatnot, I was... Yeah, it was upsetting. And I mean, me and a couple of the other UZA people were... We'd get dressed up in zombie gear and stuff and walk around and try to pass things out for Mill of Madness and for Sanctum of Horror. And we were also passing stuff out for us and talking about the zombie walk.

Syd (55:23.958)

So we were going around and going to the people, trying to advertise, but again, it wasn't, there wasn't a whole lot of attendance, I would say either, but the people that were there were not going where we were at. We had maybe a couple of people, but overall the foot traffic was just horrible where we were at. So again, it was, it put us in the negative by a lot, by gas and having to drive down there and then having to eat and it just, it was...

For us, it was not a win in any ways. And the zombie walk, we didn't even know if it was going to happen because of how little the attendance was. And then after their costume contest was going to be the zombie walk, but a lot of people left. And even the Umbrella Corporation completely left and weren't even there for the zombie walk because they thought it was going to be a lot earlier in the day.

And I don't know, I guess there's this lack of communication. I have no idea really what happened there. But we decided to stay, just in case, because that's what the professional thing would be, is to stay. Even if you don't think anyone's showing up, the show must go on. And I even told, you know, me and my dad and my- and David, I was like, you know, we're gonna dress up, and if it's just us three walking, then it's just us three walking. But at least we can say we were here, we did it, we tried.

It wasn't like I didn't advertise for it. I put out as much as I could about the zombie walk. I really wanted to make like a cute little video like we've done in the past. I asked permission and I never heard back. So I just kind of, and since we were so busy, I was like, whatever. It kind of just fell through. It was like, whatever. But I wanted to make a video, you know, to advertise like on Tik Tok and stuff do more, but I never heard back. So there was, I don't know, there's just a lot. And I understand.

Again, we're very understanding. We understand it was the second year. There's a lot going on. There's a lot of, um, moving parts and stuff. So we try not to be, you know, annoying or in the way we try to be more helpful. And that's why I like, I wanted to help more with advertising the walk and stuff, but I just never heard back. And I just kind of, I kind of, I don't want to say gave up, but I kind of gave up. So.

Syd (57:46.526)

We did the walk and actually surprisingly I would probably say there was maybe about 10, 15 people. And we haven't had a zombie walk in Arizona for quite a while. Because it just the other zombies who took over that and whatever kind of just, there's a whole story. It was just bad. So the fact that it was coming back, I was super excited. I was like, man, we haven't done a zombie walk in so long. And I've never really participated in the zombie walk. I'm usually either taking photos or videos.

So to be honest, this was like really the first time that I actually dressed up and was a part of it. I had a great time. I had so much fun. And the 10 to 15 people that were there, I thought they had a good time. There was, you know, some kids and stuff, and we interacted and walked around the hotel and stuff. So I would say the walk in a way was a little, it was a success. Again, a lot of it I think had to do with when they picked the dates and stuff. There was a lot of...

I would say, again, they need to do it in September. They move Horror Fest to September, I think it will do so much better and Haunters will be able to be more involved, which we would like to be. That's a great platform for advertising for haunted houses and stuff, but in mid-season of October, they can't because it's hard enough to staff a haunt that we don't have enough people to send, you know, to also do something different.

So Horror Fest was kind of... I don't wanna say it was a bust, but it was kind of, it wasn't successful for us. We didn't make any money, we didn't sell anything really. I think we only had one sell. A gentleman bought one of our photos, but it was only like five bucks. So again, we didn't really make...

any money, we didn't really get our name out there. I mean, we're kind of already well known in the area. So it's not like we really need to do these, these uh, conventions anymore for free to try to get our name out there, because we've been around for over 15 years now, so we're kind of a somebody now, I would say. I don't want to be like prideful and be like, oh, well, but I mean, it's kind of like we've been around long enough doing things for free in our community that we're kind of known now. I would hope that

Syd (01:00:07.818)

You know, people would value us more and maybe see that we are a big help. So yeah, like, I don't know, the zombie walk was fun. Again, it could have been bigger and stuff. I wish there was more advertising. Again, I will say it. Doing it in October is not a smart idea. I would say do it mid-September, late-September. That would be better than doing it in October. That was just.

You were competing against so many different events that were going on in October. I mean, there's so many especially the 20th and stuff There was a lot of parties a lot of different things That you're competing with It's gonna be really hard to try to outdo things that have been around for a while And again, that's haunt season a lot of people go to haunted houses so It was just it was hard and then

After Saturday, we pretty much packed up all the extra stuff we brought because I was like, there's no way that we're going to be able to fit all of this extra stuff in our car, and we can't afford to do two trips. Again, this is already costing us money, and we had a paying job that would have paid us to be there.

And now looking back at it, it's like we probably shouldn't have done horror fest and should have just stayed with where we were actually getting paid because it's guaranteed paycheck. And we are actually featured more where we were. So, live and learn, you know, kind of a thing. So yeah, after the zombie walk, we pretty much packed up like all of the extra stuff we brought because there's no way we were going to be able to fit all that stuff in our car along with, you know, David, me and Ray and my mom.

So we had to pack up the extra stuff and take it because I just couldn't we couldn't take all that stuff in one car so The last day we go or whatever And some space opened up so they moved us further down the hallway You know, uh, like when you first walked down the hallway, so they moved us I would say in a little bit of a better position Than whatever and of course it was the last day Whatever, so they moved us there

Syd (01:02:24.822)

And Sunday, again, there wasn't a whole lot of attendance. So there was a little bit of foot traffic, but not much. But again, no one bought anything. Um, we were kind of just there. We dressed up more on Sunday and kind of wandered around and stuff because we already knew that it was like a bust, you know, we weren't going to make anything. So we were like, well, might as well have fun. So we dressed up on Sunday and walked around more and took photos and stuff.

But again, there wasn't a whole lot of people to interact with. And that was also the kids' day where there was going to be candy at all the booths for like, you know, trick or treating. We had no money to buy extra candy. So I was like, we're not going to have candy at our booths, but I have a bunch of stickers left over from, you know, previous stuff. So we had a bunch of UZA stickers that we had on our booth, but we had no candy in one of the...

Organizers came and said hey do you guys have candy at your booth? And I was like, you know, we actually don't we We don't have candy. So after a while they finally brought us some candy. So we did have candy at our booth But it's like yeah trying to afford to even come down here along with now adding candy and stuff It was just there was no way It was like, you know, I love kids. I love being there But you know, it's hard on the pocketbook, especially since like I said, we had a car break down

This season was really hard for us financially and Horror Fest didn't really help with that at all. It actually, like I said, we spent more than we made because I actually even had to go out and buy a table. Because I asked them if they had any extra tables and because again we have like not a lot of room in our car so I was like there's no way I can fit a table in here too. So I asked them if they had, you know, extra room.

And they said they did, or I mean, I asked them if they had extra tables and they said they did. They're like, yeah, we have one you can use. Well, when we showed up on Friday, they didn't have any extra tables. And my mom's like, well, we're not going to drive all the way back to North Phoenix to grab a table. So we ended up buying one at Walmart. And again, that costed like 50 bucks. So we had to go out and buy a table.

Syd (01:04:45.198)

It was just, yeah, so we spent a whole lot more than anything than the $5 we made, you know, so yeah, we had to buy a table, we had to pay for gas, we had to feed people. I mean, it was just, it was, October was really tough for us. Like I said, UZA does a lot of volunteer stuff, but we really have to start making more money because

It would help. It's like we've done so much for our community and outreach and stuff, but now it's time that the community helps us out kind of a thing. That's how I feel. Don't know if it's gonna happen. You know, I know the economy is worse and a lot of people will just don't like helping and that's what it is. So I'm hoping, you know, things will get better, but Horrorfest for us was not, was not lucrative and

Like I said, it didn't really even help really get our name out or anything like that. If anything, I would say it draw more attention to Horror Fest because we were advertising and stuff. And there was a couple of people I do know who even came and said hi to us because they saw that we were going to be there. So again, I think it only helped them more than it helped us. So I don't know. I don't know if we will do Horror Fest next year. Like I was telling my mom, we could at least host the walk, but I don't know if we'll actually be there.

You know, it just, it really depends on when it's going to be and where it's going to be. And, you know, maybe next time they'll see us more as like a pool and maybe even help, you know, at least pay for gas or something. Uh, but I mean, overall though, I would say for customers is probably pretty decent. It was, like I said, they had a lot of stuff and they, they did do a really great job. And like I said, some of the other vendors who were actually in the vendor hall.

did really good and stuff. It just- we- we didn't. So that was- that was kind of sad in a lot of ways. Yeah, like I said, just kind of reflecting off of the whole- you know, the whole season and, you know, mistakes are made, things will be learned. The other thing is we actually worked for Mill of Madness, which was a lot of fun. We were- as UZA we were there.

Syd (01:07:08.774)

It was so much fun. We were there for selective days again, because of how busy we are with our haunt schedule and, um, doing the haunt tours as well as like I said, horror fest and different events that we did. We weren't able to be there for all the days, but we were there for selective days and pretty much like the whole last week of October, we were there. It was so much fun. I haven't had this much fun working in a haunted house.

since like Rob Zombie, The Haunting, and Globe Gel. It was fun. The people were really cool, the actors were awesome, and the owner is amazing. It's, again, a family-ran attraction, so it just felt like, like at home kind of a feel. That's what I'm saying, it felt a lot like The Haunting in a lot of ways because it was a family-owned thing and operated things, so there was, you know, a family.

You know, and there was even a little kid that ran around and stuff. His name was Oliver. He was really cute. And it was like, you know, a mother, a father, a brother, and a sister. And it was just, it was nice. It kind of reminded us of UZA. And again, our slogan is families that scared together, stay together. So. Mail of madness in that aspect was super cool that it was, you know, family owned and operated, it's not a major corporation, you know, stuff like that.

There's a lot of creativity that went into it and a lot of the actors and actresses are really, really awesome. And everybody pretty much got along. It felt like a family. It felt like how haunts are supposed to feel like a second family. And like I said, for their first year, they knocked it out of the park and I can't wait to see what they have next year. And we're hoping to help more next year. Uh, use the A and Mill of Madness team up more.

and us actually really help them with all of the years of experience that we've had with haunted attractions from good, bad to ugly and being able to like help and really make it awesome. Like, not that it wasn't awesome, it was, but like just help with all the experience and the learning that we've had for over the years and you know, we've been to Transworld twice and have taken classes, chaos training and all that. But be able to like-

Syd (01:09:31.85)

You know, so they don't make all the mistakes that a lot of attractions have made that we can help, you know, avoid that. And I also would really like to help more next year, more of management than just acting. I love acting, don't get me wrong. Like, this was probably the first year that I've ever just acted in an attraction and didn't really have a leadership role. So in a way it was kind of nice to like step back and just, you know.

get my mask on and my makeup and just scare people like I used to. So in a way it was kind of, it was a fresh of fresh, you know, like a fresh of, a breath of fresh air to be able to do that. But I could also see how, like the skills and knowledge that I have, I could be able to help them and be able to really make Millet Madness just kick butt. You know.

I would love to work at Slaughterhouse, but again, it's just so far. And you know, I don't know how lucrative that would be. But I mean, Mill of Madness is a lot of fun, not far from home. And it was a good time. So I'm excited to see what we'll have in store next year, you know, and hopefully that we'll be able to do more with them and really help them out. Because we found out kind of like last minute kind of a thing.

kind of join their team later. But now that we know each other and stuff, I'm hoping that we'll be able to help them, you know, with set design, planning, lighting, stuff like that. Anything that we can help with really, and that they'll let us out, that would be really cool. So reflecting of Mill of Madness was like, like I said, this year I had a, I think I really had major depression once Halloween was over. And I know a lot of that was because

I was so happy and so in my element because I haven't been for so long. Like I said, I haven't really acted in so long. And you know, I miss doing my own haunt. I miss miscreation. And I know that is also really has made a big impact on me. Like I really miss it. And it really makes me depressed because again, miscreation is a year round thing. But because we lost our tents and people have stolen from us and people have destroyed our stuff.

Syd (01:11:51.35)

And the last haunt that we worked with really, really screwed us over. Um, you know, put us back a lot. So we can't really do anything until we get our tents back and stuff. But I'm even like, hey, you would, we would be really cool as if Mill of Madness and Miscreation someday, you know, like team up and we just make one giant awesome attraction. So that could be maybe something in the future, but I think, um.

Once Halloween season over, major depression hit because, you know, then there's that hole, you know, there's like, you don't feel whole like you're missing pieces. So I would say, you know, porous partum, haunt depression is a real thing. A lot of haunters go through it, you know, once the season's over and, you know, things kind of die, a lot of us, you know, get depressed and sad because we don't have that outlet anymore. We don't have that.

family, you know, it kind of just dies down. Even though a lot of people will, you know, in the haunt, will, oh yeah, we'll stay friends and give me your information and stuff. You usually don't see them again until next year, if you see them at all. So, you know, depression is a really big thing, especially for haunters, Halloween lovers, stuff like that. You go from, you know, high, high ups to really, really low lows. Like, you know, you're working a haunt and then the next day it's over.

So I would say I have been going and battling that. And that's something that I've been going through. So I know other people are going through it too. Luckily, since we have UZA, we do year round things. So there's some events that are coming up like December 2nd, we are going to library, LibCon West, which is in Glendale. It's gonna be a convention, a comic convention, like a library con.

It is a library con and that's going to be December 2nd at Glendale's main library. And we're going to have a booth there and I'm going to do makeup demos and stuff. So, I mean, there's things that are coming up that, you know, do help a little bit mask that, but it still is like from one to that to nothing. And then also my work has been slow too. I work for Rhino Staging and we haven't really had a whole lot of, um, gigs coming up, so it's just been a lot of like stagnant.

Syd (01:14:18.662)

nothing which in a way is good because I've been able to like recoup from Halloween because again it was so crazy that it's nice to like be able to like catch up on sleep get some rest you know think about things reflect but it's just it's been a really weird year I guess you could say but yeah Mila Madness was so much fun and people will probably say I have a biasness in a way yes I do but also I can take myself away from stuff and really look at it

And looking at it from a point of view as a customer and going through it and stuff, it was, like I said, it was really, really cool. I was super impressed with it. But yeah, Milla Madness, I hope that our relationship will grow and things will get better. And I've made a lot of friends with Milla Madness. There's a lot of really cool actors and actresses that I've met that are really cool and really nice and really talented and outstanding people.

And I hope to stay in contact with them and, you know, see what they have, you know, in store and things that they're working on. And then one of the last things I wanted to talk about in October was there was a contest that Bloody Mary Makeup to Die For put on. And it was one where it was an open and take like anything goes, so you could send anything and it was their Halloween contest. And all you had to do was email them a couple of makeups and stuff.

And since I did some makeup this year because I was actually acting for a while and I was doing zombie makeup for Mill of Madness on myself And then I ended up getting a mask and doing masks because again, we're really We don't have a lot of funds and we're really, really low on makeup. So I ended up using a mask to try to save on our makeup because we don't have a whole lot And Because of that, uh

towards I want to say probably middle-ish of October I started using the mask and not makeup as much, but I sent in some of the makeups I did for this year. And I wasn't expecting to win or anything, I was just like, eh, do it, why not, what's the worst thing that could happen? Nothing. And I ended up actually being third runner up. And I was like, what? Like, I was in shock that I even was mentioned or anything because I even forgot that I entered it.

Syd (01:16:46.314)

because I was like, oh yeah, I forgot I even entered this. But I got an email that was like, hey, congratulations, your third runner up, give us your address and stuff so we can send you a prize. And I was just like, it was kind of like a nice surprise to end October kind of a thing, because it happened, I wanna say November, beginning of November-ish is when they emailed and all that. And I really needed that. That was like a really good...

like a pick me up kind of a thing and just reminded me that, you know, I am good at my craft. I know a lot of times I put myself down or I don't see myself as anybody or anything important because, you know, I don't want to be prideful and also you kind of just get lost in a lot of things and so that was nice that, you know, they're like, no, you're actually really good at makeup. You did a great job.

It was awesome, you know, you said runner up and three is my lucky number. So I thought that was really ironic. I mean, yeah, I didn't win, but I mean, just anything is. Like I said, it was really a boost for me and my confidence. And I needed that, um, especially working at middle of madness and stuff. There was, you know, some intimidation, I would say with some other people or how they come across and stuff, but. It was really good. And it was like.

little bit of an ego boost that I needed and was like, yeah, you are good at makeup, you know, don't forget about it. You know, you are good at this. And I've been doing it for so long, you know, you forget about all the tips and tricks and all the things that you know and learn. And it's funny too because when we were at Horror Fest, one of my friends came up to me who I've known for a long time through Mad Monster, her name is Joy, and she had her phone. She's like, did you do this makeup? She's like, I saw the zombie in the in the...

the vendor hall and it looks like something you would have done. And I'm looking at him like, no, I haven't done any makeup, uh, you know, today or at horror fest early again, we did more mass. So I was like, I know. But later that day, that zombie in that picture came up to the booth and she's like, Hey Sid, it's great to see you again. And she did look familiar. It took me a minute. I was like,

Syd (01:19:07.514)

Oh, and she's like, yeah, I went to your one of your zombie makeup classes at the library She's like and I was like, oh, yeah, and she's like, yeah all of this I did all this because I learned it from you and I was like, oh And I was like well that totally makes sense why she thought it looked like something I would have done because the lady took My class and learned makeup for me and she was so happy to see me and stuff and she was like, hey let me know if there's any other makeup classes coming up or if you have any advanced or

intermediate because I do a lot of like beginner classes. Bruises, blisters and gore is my main class that I do. And she was like, I'd really like to learn more and stuff. And I mean, her makeup looked awesome. We took a picture together and stuff. She was super cool. I was so happy to see her. She was really cute and I had a lot of fun in that class. So I knew she looked familiar and I was like. And then so when I saw Joy, I was like, you know, what's funny is I actually taught that lady makeup and that's why it looked like it was one of my zombies. It was really cool.

So again, that was kind of a nice pick-me-up, a nice thing that happened. And I was like, oh yeah, okay, so people do, notice me or I do matter to certain people. And I've been told on and off, I need to do more makeup classes and more makeup things. So that's something I wanna look at trying to do is more makeup things. It's just having a spot to do it is the hardest part because I like doing it in person and not on the computer. So for me,

I just have to find somewhere that would be willing to let me host makeup classes. And again, I don't really make money and I don't have a lot of money to rent a space. So I'm just, that's something that I'm going to hopefully look up, you know, look into and seeing if there's anywhere that would let me host, you know, makeup classes every now and then. So yeah, that's something to look into for sure. But yeah, it was just, it was nice, you know, having those little things that-

remind you that you're actually important and stuff. And because of that, I ended up emailing, you know, my address and stuff. And I was actually, I'm talking to the owner of Bloody Mary, who's the one that reached out and told us. And I said, hey, have you, do you guys sponsor, or have you ever sponsored makeup artists or companies and stuff? Cause I'd be interested in having a sponsorship with you.

Syd (01:21:23.578)

And that email went way how I not thought it was going to go. Cause I've asked that before and a lot of people like, Oh no, we don't sponsor. We don't do this and stuff. But she actually was like, yeah, you know, are you interested in doing it? I'm like, yeah. So we might, you know, we're looking at having Bloody Mary possibly as a sponsor. For UZA and you know, I'm even interested in having her as a sponsor on the podcast. You know, I'm talking about it and stuff. Cause Bloody Mary is really good makeup company. I have used their products. It's really good.

And you know, I'm just excited and hopefully this will end up being a good partnership as well. Because we could really use it because like I said, we're really low on makeup right now. And sadly, I probably will have to start charging something for my class, some of my classes, because again, we don't really make a whole lot and a lot of times we do them either for free or for very cheap. So that's something that I have to look into as well because I can't.

do what we've been doing for as long as we have, which is sad because growing up as a kid, I didn't have a whole lot of money. So I like doing things like that because I realized that there are people that either don't have any or whatever. And it's a chance to get, to have other people be able to attend things. Like I wish when I was little, there was more stuff like that because that would have been cool. So yeah, that was one thing that happened too. So like I said, there was a lot of ups and downs this season, for sure a lot of ups.

And like I said, sadly, our car is still in Tucson broken down because we're just waiting to get funding. And like I said, since work's been slow for me, there isn't a whole lot of income coming in. And it's been really tough. And things just sometimes just really suck. But I'm hoping, and I know I try to have a really positive outlook on everything, that things are going to get better.

And yeah, so that's kind of the reflection podcast of, you know, this year's October and things that have happened and just kind of wrapping up, you know, the whole haunt season so we can move on to our next podcast episodes, which we'll be talking about. Of course, Halloween stuff and not, because also we are also doing, you know, if anyone's interested in having us come

Syd (01:23:51.15)

or event or attraction for Christmas. We are also doing that because most people who like Halloween and decorating like Christmas too, not everybody, but a majority of them. So now we're kind of in gear for holidays. So we'll still do, you know, podcasts on creepy stuff, but we'll also do some stuff on the holidays as well. So if anybody is interested in being in our podcast.

you know, about your display or attraction, or if you would like us to come to your attraction and you review it and check it out, let us know. Go to USAhauntsearch.com and email us or you can email us at info at USAhauntsearch.com. But we're very grateful and thankful for everything we have, you know, had this year and again, Thanksgiving is coming up so it is a really good time for reflecting and looking back and...

We're so grateful for the new connections and friends we've made this year. And we are even thankful for, you know, the learning experiences and different things that we've had this year. And we hope, you know, next year is just going to be even better and that our haunt tour will continue and we'll be able to continue on reviewing and looking at haunted attractions and different displays and stuff. So yeah, there's a lot going on and. You know,

Things have wrapped up, obviously, for this year, so that's good. And we're excited for next year. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you. No, really, thank you. So yeah, so, uh, yeah, let us know if you have a traction or a display or anything that

you know, holiday theme that you would like us to come see or if you'd like to be on the show or if you have an idea or you just want to be on our show, please let us know. Email us. We're certainly down for having guests and different things on our show. We have some upcoming podcasts that I'm excited about. Like I said, we're going to go into holiday gear, but we also have some that are still on Halloween because again, this is haunted attractions and horror galore. So we're still going to talk about Halloween stuff.

Syd (01:26:08.322)

but like some movie reviews or TV shows. We also wanna talk about the haunting and about use the A Sinister Sin. So we do have some topics and things coming up and we'll be doing that. I don't know exactly when, so I don't wanna give dates. So just follow us on our different social media platforms, USA Haunt Search and subscribe to our podcasts and you can listen to us on many different platforms. But we are very, very grateful, especially for everybody who listens again.

I didn't think this podcast would be important or go anywhere, and it's been doing way better than I thought, so I'm very, very grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for believing in me and my vision and my dreams, and I hope it comes back full circle to y'all. So thank you so much, and happy holidays, have a really great Thanksgiving, and remember to take time to reflect on your life and things.

And just be grateful and thankful for all the little many blessings and things that you do have and that come up. So, till next time, we will see y'all soon. And yeah, stay tuned. Thank you so much. Have a great day, night, evening, whatever. Till next time, bye.