Hardyville Haunt is a haunted house in Fort Mojave, Arizona, run by Ringmaster Archibald and Heebie Jeebie. They have been doing haunted houses for several years and have now started their own brand. Each year, they come up with a different theme for their haunt. They work with the Academy of Building Industries High School, where students help build and act in the haunted house. The haunt is open to all ages, but they provide glowing medallions for younger kids who don't want to be scared. Tickets are $10, but there is a $2 discount available. They have several sponsors and partners, and they work with the school to support their programs. The haunt is community-driven and aims to provide a fun and safe experience for everyone. Hardyville Haunt is a community-based haunted house run by Ringmaster Archibald and his team of students. The haunt aims to provide a fun and scary experience for visitors while also giving the students valuable skills and a sense of community. Ringmaster Archibald emphasizes the importance of the overall experience and seeing customers come out smiling and happy. He hopes that the haunt will continue to be run by the students in the future. The haunt can be found on Facebook and has a website. https://hardyvillehauntaz.com/ https://qrco.de/beJjEa
takeaways
Chapters
00:00 Introducing Ringmaster Archibald and Heebie-Jeebie
02:48 The Origins of Hardyville Haunt
06:41 Ticket Prices and Discounts
12:04 Sponsors and Community Involvement
14:39The Impact on Students
17:38 Creating a Memorable Experience
23:02 First Haunt Experience
25:45 The Importance of Students
29:20 Scaring the Crap Out of You
31:47 Visiting Hardyville Haunt
https://hardyvillehauntaz.com/
usahauntsearch.com
hallozona.com
https://qrco.de/beJjEa
Sponsors
united-zombies-of-america.com
synystersyn.com
uzahorrorgraphy.com
myscreation.com
hauntingwithheart.com
sydoneybanks.com
Beneficiary
oddity13.org
Sydoney Banks (00:01)
All right, welcome to our show. And today we're here with some special guests. And right now we're going to have them answer some questions. So the first thing is we're going to ask the ringmaster here. If he could tell us a little bit about himself, go right ahead.
Ringmaster Archibald (00:19)
Hello and thank you for having us on your show. I am the Ringmaster Archibald, thank you. we have been, I myself have been doing haunted houses for, be nine years now. I've been doing haunted houses for a Kiwanis group at a corn fest and then I, myself and Josh went away and.
started at a school, the Academy of Building Industries High School, doing a haunt for their school, in which part of the proceeds goes to the school and the students actually help build and or act in the haunted house itself. But I've been doing Halloween stuff for quite a long time, whether it was my home haunt or working at a haunted house when I was living in Denver. I worked for a haunted house out there for two or three years.
and everything.
Sydoney Banks (01:19)
Pretty cool. So tell us about yourself, Heoby -Jeeby or Josh.
Ringmaster Archibald (01:20)
Yeah.
Heebie Jeebie Esq. (01:30)
Well, this is Heebie -Jeebie here, or Josh. I've been doing haunts for quite a while. I've been doing it four years with Dennis there, or Mr. Archibald. You know, he's not always Mr. Archibald. To me, he's my partner. My family's been into Halloween for as long as I can remember. know, myself, my daughter, she's, we're clowns. You know.
Not the ha ha hee clowns, we're the, we're gonna chase you make you pee yourself clowns. And that's one of the big parts of this. And it's like, I met Archibald there and three years ago, so this can be our fourth year. And I decided I'd like to help them. I come up, started come up with some plans. We decided we worked better with just the two of us. So we went out on our own with Hardyville Haunts.
And that's where we're at right now.
Sydoney Banks (02:28)
Very cool.
And if you hear dogs barking, my dog likes to include himself in the conversation. So what is Hardyville Haunt? Can you tell us a little bit more about it?
Ringmaster Archibald (02:37)
It's all good.
Yeah, so, Hardyville Haunt is just what we came up with for our haunt name. Hardyville Haunt is our name. It's what Josh and I came up with to promote ourselves since we stepped away from doing the stuff with Corn Fest and the Kiwanis to distinguish ourselves, to make ourselves and our name a brand out here in Fort Mojave and Bullhead City and Needles and Laughlin.
And so every year when we do our haunt, so this is our second year, our first year we did an asylum themed haunted house, we call, it was called Pendulum's Asylum. And then this year we have our freak show, which we're doing, you know, our freak carnival type haunt this year. And so every year we're going to be doing a different, will be Hardyville Haunt, but every year will be a different theme for each time we have our haunt up.
Heebie Jeebie Esq. (03:49)
Yeah, and part of the the Hardyville haunt is it's going back into the past of Bullhead City when it used to be Hardyville. So we wanted to get a connection with the area we're in. So we included that into the brand and we've got a couple other businesses that have in our local area that have reached back and are using Hardyville in one way or another also.
Sydoney Banks (04:10)
Nice. So where are you actually located?
Ringmaster Archibald (04:16)
We are located, well, everything's through my house, but our haunted house is in Fort Mojave, Arizona, which the address is 1547 East Lippen Boulevard, which is where the Academy of Building Industries High School is located.
Sydoney Banks (04:38)
So when are you open?
Ringmaster Archibald (04:41)
We are going to open October 11th is our opening night. And so we'll be open October 11th and 12th and then every Thursday, Friday, Saturday after that for the month of October and November 1st and 2nd as well.
Sydoney Banks (05:02)
Awesome. Alright, so how do you all come up with like the ideas and kind of like how are you going to build and come up and create these haunts?
Ringmaster Archibald (05:14)
A lot of it is heebie -jeebie and myself. We both, once Halloween's over and we start to dismantle our haunt, we both sit down and we start coming up with our theme for next year, coming up with our name of it, and we start going and doing our maze and drawings and.
and getting that and what we want each room to be like. And I'll let Hebe Gbe kind of bring in on this as well. Go for it.
Josh.
We lost him.
Sydoney Banks (06:00)
no, he lost him.
Ringmaster Archibald (06:03)
No, so him and I both, we just brainstorm on stuff we want to do and how we want to do it. we, know, he's, heebie -jeebie is good at the drawing portion of it and the maze. And we both sit down and go, okay, what do we want this room to be? And are you back, Josh?
You
Heebie Jeebie Esq. (06:30)
i'm losing volume here i can't hear i'm i'm gonna step out of this and let you guys finish this because i can't hear you my phone is dying on me or something i don't know but it isn't cool but i'm gonna let you guys finish this i'm gonna step out
Sydoney Banks (06:47)
Okay, well it was nice talking to you. Thank you.
Yeah, no problem.
Heebie Jeebie Esq. (06:53)
It was nice meeting you and thank you for getting in contact with us. right, thank you very much. I'll see you guys all at the Haunt. Thank you.
Sydoney Banks (07:05)
Technology, it's So how much, go ahead.
Ringmaster Archibald (07:07)
Yeah, gotta love it. but now I was just going to say, you know, we, we, we sit here and we just brainstorm and we talk and go online and look at props and everything and let's get this, let's get that. So, I mean, we both sit down and just brainstorm pretty much right after Halloween's over.
Sydoney Banks (07:31)
And I know I love when people ask, so when do you guys start for, you know, the next time it's like right after we close? And they're like, no, you don't. And it's like, yeah. It's like, like the day after, you know, like right after.
Ringmaster Archibald (07:37)
Yep, right after you close.
Yeah, I do.
Yep, you're like, okay, what are we gonna do next year?
Sydoney Banks (07:49)
Mm -hmm people don't believe you, but it's true So how much are tickets and where can they get them?
Ringmaster Archibald (07:52)
Yeah.
Tickets are $10, but if you go to our website, hardyvillehauntaz .com, and if you go to buy now, it'll take you to Haunt Pay. And if you put in the promo code, the freak show, you'll get $2 off. So if you use the $2 off, it's eight bucks. If you don't, it's 10 bucks. Or you can pay cash when you come to the, pay cash or card when you come to the.
Haunt itself if you don't order them online
Sydoney Banks (08:32)
Man you just answered my next question. I was going to say do you have any coupons or discounts?
Ringmaster Archibald (08:37)
Yes, I do. We've been handing out cards to people for $2 off so they can come and just hand us the card and they get $2 off and everything. So yeah. Yeah.
Sydoney Banks (08:45)
That's cool. That's awesome. So what are the recommended ages for your haunt?
Ringmaster Archibald (08:53)
anybody can come because you know this year it being the freak show and in carnival themed we're gonna have about four games for kids to play so if they don't want to go through the haunt or if you want to go through the haunt and go play a game you can so we'll have four games that people can play the kids from the Academy building industry high school they'll they'll be
taking the money and that's their money. get to keep whatever money they get from the games they get to keep for the school. So they'll run the games and everything. We're building them in between building the haunt and decorating. We're building the games too. But I mean, 13 and up is our range, but we have kids that come that are younger that want to go through. And so we have some little
Sydoney Banks (09:22)
That's cool.
Ringmaster Archibald (09:47)
things that are put around their neck that is lit up that they don't get scared. they basically, the actors know not to scare these people coming through because they got this glowing lighted medallion around their neck. So, yeah.
Sydoney Banks (10:04)
Well, that's cool. So, okay, any ages can go through then pretty much. That's cool.
Ringmaster Archibald (10:09)
Yeah, pretty much it is, you know, 13, you're not scared and you want to go through it, 13 and up. any, you know, so.
Sydoney Banks (10:15)
That's good. Yeah, we try to ask that question because there's some haunts that they don't care. They'll scare kids. So sometimes we ask because there are children that would like to go through, but they don't necessarily want to be traumatized for life.
Ringmaster Archibald (10:31)
Yeah, I understand completely. we try to make it to where everybody can go through. And if we have to give them the necklace, then they take the necklace and we know not to scare them when they come through. And we do have some blackouts. So people can come and they can go through our haunt lights out as well. And we haven't picked our dates yet, but.
Sydoney Banks (10:47)
That's cool.
Ringmaster Archibald (10:57)
We'll have certain dates that we are able to do a blackout and they can request it when they come. And we'll turn off all the lights and give them a glow stick and say good luck. And they can go through the haunt, pitch black.
Sydoney Banks (11:10)
Do you guys do Christmas too or not yet?
Ringmaster Archibald (11:14)
No, we don't do Christmas. I hardly even do that at home. It's been just strictly Halloween and my wife hates me for it, but it's all good.
Sydoney Banks (11:23)
You
just wondering because I know that's that's kind of a thing coming too and it's kind of nice because then it's kind of like celebrating Halloween and Christmas.
Ringmaster Archibald (11:33)
Yeah, I would love to keep it open and maybe do like a crumpus, but it's just, it's at the school and they need to use their basketball court. So I kind of have to tear it down at some point in time. I know. I know.
Sydoney Banks (11:37)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Darn! No. Do you have any suggestions of what people should wear if they're going through, like, comfortable clothing or anything like that?
Ringmaster Archibald (11:58)
It's hot out here, you know, just whatever feels comfortable to them, then we'll, for the weather and tennis shoes so they don't slip and fall.
Sydoney Banks (12:08)
Yeah, high hills are probably not recommended.
Ringmaster Archibald (12:10)
not the not recommended no so tennis shoes is probably the best because you probably will be running at some point in time
Sydoney Banks (12:17)
Yeah, yeah, probably not wearing your Sunday's best in high heels or your fancy shoes probably is not a good idea.
Ringmaster Archibald (12:24)
No, not on concrete and if some dirt gets in there from the wind or something, you know, it can get a little slick in there.
Sydoney Banks (12:29)
Yeah.
Do you have any suggestions of anything to bring like water or anything like that?
Ringmaster Archibald (12:39)
No, the school actually will have waters available for people if they want to purchase sodas. Last year they had sodas, waters, and popcorn. And so people could buy some popcorn and a drink and stuff if they wanted to snack on something before they went in or after. So if they bring us something, we just ask them to leave it outside and not take it inside the haunt.
Sydoney Banks (12:46)
cool.
nice.
Alright, so instead bring your cash or card. That's always a good thing to have.
Ringmaster Archibald (13:08)
Cash or card, yep. If they want to drink, yeah, if they want to drink or popcorn, then bring cash because they don't use the card for that.
Sydoney Banks (13:17)
There you go, so you don't need to bring water, but bring some money to buy a water. For sure. So what are some of the sponsors or partners that you have so far?
Ringmaster Archibald (13:20)
Correct, Help the school out.
We have quite a few actually. we have sponsors from Bee's Laundry Mat, Wickersham Insurance, Anderson Ford, Preferred Plumbing, Precise Business, Bella's Cosmetics, Meeks Construction, Good Restaurant, Place out here, Deep Place Cafe. We have a pest control, a precise pest control.
Air conditioning, River Valley air conditioning, Dot Foods and Advanced Auto are pretty much in Ripley's clothing. I think that's all of them. And Tayo's landscaping. So we have quite a few and then I'm waiting for my work to sponsor. I'm still waiting for their check to come. And I work for the water company out here called Bermuda Water. Yeah. Yeah.
Sydoney Banks (14:10)
Wow.
Nice. That's really cool. So do you all work with any charities or organizations? I know you work with the school.
Ringmaster Archibald (14:29)
We just work for the school and help them out. We have like we we did give a sponsor to the Kiwanis for their Corn Fest haunted house that they're still doing. And so we kind of did a little sponsor to them and gave them a little money. And then other than that, I mean, we haven't really I mean, I strictly kind of do it for the school and the students and
Sydoney Banks (14:58)
Yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (14:59)
all the hard work they put in to help us out and acting and building it and taking it down and everything.
Sydoney Banks (15:10)
So yeah, tell us a little bit about the school and the partnership that you have with them and what they do.
Ringmaster Archibald (15:16)
So the partnership started when I was working for the Kiwanis and doing the haunted house there. They gave them some money to come out and help build it because we were having such a hard time building it at the time. And so the school is a trade school. So they actually are part of Mike Rose learning. And so they actually do, you know, blacksmith and welding and and automotive and
Sydoney Banks (15:37)
Wow.
Ringmaster Archibald (15:45)
drama and wood shop and all this stuff that they can learn a trade to take on once they graduate and stuff. And so they came as a part of helping us out with the Kiwanis group. And then when I broke away from the Kiwanis, the school contacted me and asked me if I would do it at their school. And so I was like, heck yeah, because I still wanted to build a haunt. It's my passion. It's like I want to build a haunted house.
Sydoney Banks (16:11)
Yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (16:15)
And so, you know, the school came and offered us the basketball court and said, you can build it here. And I was like, are you sure you want to check with all your, you know, board of directors? And they said, year ago. And so this is, this is like I said, our second year doing it for the school. And it's been great, you know, getting the kids out there. They're learning some, some trade skills and construction and building and painting and you name it. They're learning it.
Sydoney Banks (16:43)
And they act in it too, right? All that is so cool.
Ringmaster Archibald (16:45)
Yes, they do. Yep. I think I got about, I think I have about 15 kids this year to act in it. So, yeah. And then the parents, that what they'll do is they'll supply the dinners. So when it's haunt season and this haunt goes on, when we're putting our makeup on the parents, you know, a parent each different time, we'll do it too. We'll, we'll supply the food one day and
Sydoney Banks (16:51)
Wow, that is so cool.
Ringmaster Archibald (17:14)
up here and I'll supply the food another day, they'll feed the kids and all the actors and everything else and whatnot. And some of the, we'll get some food trucks and they'll donate and stuff like that. So, cause we bring food trucks in. So yeah, yeah.
Sydoney Banks (17:30)
that is so cool. That's something that's actually a lot of fun down there.
Ringmaster Archibald (17:35)
It's a ball. We have a good time and it's great seeing some of the kids break out of a shell. You'll have a shy kid that doesn't say much at school, but then he'll come and he'll just put on the best performance as an actor. And then he's like a totally different person after that during school. So it's good to see some of the transition some of these kids get when they get a little bit of confidence in them when they're at it.
Sydoney Banks (17:44)
Yeah.
I
Mm
Ringmaster Archibald (18:05)
doing something out of their norm, I guess you could say.
Sydoney Banks (18:09)
Yeah, when I saw that y 'all teamed up with the school and a little bit about that, I thought that was really, really cool. was like, that's something special. wish in a way that more haunts did that, especially for the youth and stuff and did more with the community. Cause it sounds like you're very, very community driven, which that's how haunts started in the first place. And a lot of them. Yeah. Yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (18:19)
Mm
Very.
Yeah, you figure boys clubs and all that other stuff. mean, boy scouts and everything else. They all did haunts back in the day when I was a kid.
Sydoney Banks (18:39)
Yep, and a lot of, and some of these big ones have kind of lost that. And I think that's what's kind of made them not as good or not as fun as they used to be. So it's nice to know that there is still some that are like that and hopefully there'll be more like that. Or even some of these big ones will remember kind of, kind of like where we came from, the history of, yeah, the history of why Haunt started. Because it was mainly to keep kids out of trouble and give them something to do.
Ringmaster Archibald (18:43)
Mm
Yeah, the roots.
I agree.
Yeah, for sure.
Sydoney Banks (19:10)
So I think that that is so cool that y 'all are doing that. So I really, really, really appreciate that. Do you have any good haunt stories?
Ringmaster Archibald (19:15)
No problem.
Man, if Josh was back on, he probably does. This is going to be actually my first year acting in the haunts because I've always been the behind the scenes person. So like I would take tickets and fix the props and make sure the fog machines are filled. you know, I was that guy and on top of security. And so this year,
Sydoney Banks (19:36)
huh.
you
Mm -hmm.
Ringmaster Archibald (19:50)
I said I'm gonna be an actor this year, I'm gonna be in the haunt and not take tickets and stuff, we're gonna let the kids take the tickets this year and do all that stuff to learn the money portion of it. then, so I mean, you know.
Sydoney Banks (20:01)
you
Ringmaster Archibald (20:10)
I don't know. just, it's, it's great to see people come to a haunted house and just go through and at the end, just the smile on their face of they had a good time and everything else. It's, it's, I think that's the best joy. doesn't matter if I'm in there scaring them or not, but if I'm outside and somebody comes running out, you did your job because they're screaming and hollering. And that's just, that's the good feeling right there is you know that
Sydoney Banks (20:32)
Mm -hmm.
Ringmaster Archibald (20:38)
those people just had a great time and then they talk about it after. And so it's that's I don't have any big stories or nothing, but it's I just it's just a feeling. It's just that feeling. You've had it.
Sydoney Banks (20:53)
yeah. It's actually interesting hearing it from that side because I mean, you know, you hear haunter a little time, but it was kind of nice to hear your side and be like, no, just seeing customers coming out smiling and stuff because you forget about the overall experience. So for you actually to say that is like, yeah, that means they actually went through the whole thing and they still, you know, they still came out smiling and happy. That's actually, that's, that's.
Ringmaster Archibald (21:10)
Mm
Sydoney Banks (21:21)
It's kind of humbling, but it's a good thing too because it's interesting to know that you enjoyed it and appreciated it even as not an actor. Because we hear a lot from their side, but it's nice to hear also from the people in the back. Because again, without your ticket takers and your security and the fix -it guys and all that, you need all those people. Yeah, you need all those people. Your actors, I always say they're really important, which they are, because...
Ringmaster Archibald (21:30)
Yeah. Yeah.
You don't have a haunt.
Sydoney Banks (21:50)
You can't have a show really without actors, but your behind the scenes guys are just as important. Cause I mean, you need them, especially security. yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (21:59)
Yeah, especially. Actually, last year was great. We didn't have any security problems, but during the other times with the Kiwanis, we had so much security problems. was constantly just go, go, go. people getting, our actors getting hit and so on and so forth. But I don't know what it is with us in the school and the people that came, they just, wasn't, they weren't.
Sydoney Banks (22:10)
Mm -hmm.
Ringmaster Archibald (22:27)
hitting people, they weren't stealing props and stuff like that. And it was nice. It's good when you have a good run, a good season with no hits, no issues. You just have people running out and having to, you know, just talking about how great it was. that's, it was just good season last year and I'm hoping this season is going to be even better.
Sydoney Banks (22:28)
nice.
Yeah, yeah, that's an I think another good thing about like having more of a community based haunt is they're gonna you're gonna get a better crowd I think and just anybody who has money, you know, it's especially when they open it up to the bars and stuff then you have more of that kind of crowd and that's when it can be a little bit scary.
Ringmaster Archibald (23:01)
Yeah.
Thank
Yeah, yeah, you get the ones drinking and it's just not fun. Yep.
Sydoney Banks (23:17)
Mm -hmm. No. and it's not from them either because I'm always like they're not gonna remember it most the time It's like wait we went to a haunt last night. I don't remember. It's like how is that fun? Yeah, I don't know I just remember it's like yes, I don't get it but whatever Yeah, who knows what haunt did we even go to I don't remember yeah So yeah, don't again I don't get that but
Ringmaster Archibald (23:23)
Yeah, they won't.
Was it good?
Is that why I peed my pants? Or is that because I was drinking? I don't know. Yeah.
Sydoney Banks (23:47)
You know, some people do it, I don't know, whatever.
Ringmaster Archibald (23:47)
Yeah. And I know Josh would have stories because he's in it. He's the actor. He's in it. So he would have the stories.
Sydoney Banks (23:58)
Maybe after the season we'll have to have like another podcast with you guys and do like a kind of like a recap of the season. Yeah. So now my next question is favorite Halloween memory and why.
Ringmaster Archibald (24:06)
How'd it go? Yeah, totally fine with that.
Probably the first haunt I went to with my pops back in the day. Couldn't even tell you how old I was, probably eight. And I can tell you it scared the crap out of me. And that's when I was talking about it being done by the boys club because this one was run by the boys club. I grew up in San Diego. So I went to this haunt in San Diego and it was my first one ever. I just know it was, after that it was like I was hooked.
Sydoney Banks (24:23)
Thank
Bye -bye.
Ringmaster Archibald (24:47)
anything scary and fun, I wanted to be involved in it in some way or another. you my pops taking me to my first haunted house. I mean, I just can't not remember something like that, that gets you to where you're at now, you know? I never thought I'd be building haunts like this. honestly, I mean, I did home haunt and worked at a haunt, but I never thought I would actually be building a...
Sydoney Banks (25:07)
You
Ringmaster Archibald (25:14)
actual big haunted house like this and it's just like a dream come true it's like okay this is something I've always wanted to do and I get to do it and I've done it for nine years now so it's fun it's nice
Sydoney Banks (25:14)
Yeah.
Thank
That's good. And it's good you like your job. Or you love your work. Okay, next question is favorite horror movie and why.
Ringmaster Archibald (25:29)
yeah, I do. Yep.
man, I can't say Nightmare Before Christmas because that's really not a horror movie. I am a Michael Myers fan, so any Halloween movie is good to me. I don't mind Jason, but Michael Myers, I just have a thing for him and his movies and I don't think I'd ever not want to watch a Michael Myers movie.
Sydoney Banks (25:44)
I would count it.
Okay.
You
Ringmaster Archibald (26:09)
Michael Myers, all the way.
Sydoney Banks (26:11)
Alright. He does, mean, I was just talking with somebody and he was telling me his favorite was Jaws and I was like, okay, okay. I was like, that's a good one. He's like, I don't know if you'd count that. was like, yeah, it's a horror movie.
Ringmaster Archibald (26:25)
Back in the day when I watched it as a kid, that scared the shit out of me. Especially when I'm a surfer. So it's like, of course that scared the crap out of you, you know?
Sydoney Banks (26:28)
Mm -hmm. It was good. Mm -hmm.
Well, I'm like, was telling him, was like, that movie is really, really like even just in the film history is important of how they filmed it and stuff. So was like, no, that's a good movie.
Ringmaster Archibald (26:42)
Exactly. Yeah. Can't say anything about the other ones after it, but the first one was really good. Yep, for sure. Yep.
Sydoney Banks (26:48)
Yeah, Yeah, Jaws is special, that's for sure. Even it scared my mom to even when she didn't want to take showers when she was little. So I mean, it had to have been scary because she's not afraid of a lot of things. So what makes your haunt special?
Ringmaster Archibald (26:59)
man. Yeah. Yeah. That's funny.
You know, I think it's special because it's not just me and Josh doing the haun, it's the students. And it's all about the school for me. I want the kids to have fun and do it. And the school profits from it and everything else. It's great to see the kids out doing something. Instead of bad things, they're doing something good. So it's all about the kids.
Sydoney Banks (27:17)
Yeah.
I had a feeling you were going to say that. I was also going to say, mean, even though the school profits off of it, but I mean, those kids are getting experience that I mean, they can't get from anywhere else. mean, working at a haunt, you learn so much. And I can speak from experience because I started when I was 15. And so the things that I've learned didn't just help me with other haunts, but like life, because you learn.
Ringmaster Archibald (27:40)
So, yeah, I know.
Mm -hmm
Sydoney Banks (28:06)
Like you said, you learn about building, learn about how to communicate, leadership, know, safety. I mean, you learn all kinds of things that you can take with you everywhere you go. So I would say they're, and I mean, they're also getting relationships. They're going to make relationships with each other, you know, kind of have that haunt family. So for them, I think that's, that's totally something that they're going to get out of it as well as you. So I think that's, that's really good for the school.
and the community.
Ringmaster Archibald (28:35)
We have kids that graduated and they're coming back to play in the Haunt again. mean, that just tells you something. It's like, okay, you know, that's good. Come back. Come back and play. It's all good. So.
Sydoney Banks (28:39)
Mm -hmm. Yep.
Mm -hmm.
I could even see kids going away for a while, getting married, whatever, and coming back. And even having their kids.
Ringmaster Archibald (28:56)
Yeah. Hey man, you still doing that, huh? Yeah. Maybe, you know, it would be kind of cool that if I end up, you know, not able to do it anymore, that the students take over and they do it and they build it from scratch and they come up with the themes and how to build it and everything else. That's what I really think that would be the best thing is the kids actually continue it and the school actually puts the whole thing together themselves and.
Sydoney Banks (29:10)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (29:26)
And they continue on with something I hope that I started with the school. That'll continue on, yeah. And it's not just a two or three year thing and it's done and over with.
Sydoney Banks (29:32)
Yeah, and it continues.
Yeah. I think it'll live on. think it will, especially if you're doing it out of love and for the right reasons, I think it'll continue on and it sounds like you are. So I'm not worried about it. So where can we find, hard Valley haunt on social media? What platforms do you have and where can we find you?
Ringmaster Archibald (29:43)
I think so too.
Yeah. All right.
I'm on Facebook, Hardyville Haunt on Facebook, and I think we have an Instagram, but I don't ever do anything in it, so I won't say Instagram. And then we have our website, so that's the only two places that I have us listed right now.
Sydoney Banks (30:04)
Mm
You
Okay, so yeah, make sure you follow them on Facebook.
Ringmaster Archibald (30:21)
your USA Haunt Search, I'm on there. I think I'm on a few other Haunt Searches as well, yeah, so. Just to get us out there. Yeah, they should be able to find me, so.
Sydoney Banks (30:25)
Okay.
Awesome.
so they can find you.
That's good. I just want to make sure everyone can find you and I'll also put a link and all that in the podcast and all that. So before we go, is there anything else you'd like to share with us before we head out?
Ringmaster Archibald (30:44)
Gotcha.
No, it's a long drive from Phoenix, but you know, all the people in Phoenix are more than welcome to drive down and visit us and see what we're all about. I mean, the more people that come down the merrier and I just want to get our name out there. I really do. So I want people from all over the place to come down and check us out. We may not be the darkness or any of those big name ones, but you know what?
Sydoney Banks (31:15)
Yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (31:17)
If you will go on my Facebook page and see all the people that did go through and their testimonies, they were scared and they all had a good time and that's what it's all about. we're not, we don't have the big fancy props and stuff like those big haunts do, but we do have kids and adults there that will scare the crap out of you. So, yep, that's it. That's all that matters. It's all that matters is heart.
Sydoney Banks (31:40)
You have heart and that's, that's really what counts. Yeah. That's what I think, like a kind of a consistency I've noticed, especially in our podcast and like carrying over and over is like, it doesn't matter how big your haunt is, how much money you have. You know, all the cool props, all the sets you could have like a haunt made out of, you know, plastic bags. Yeah. You know. Yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (31:49)
Thank
plastic. My first thought was plastic and it was great. People loved it. I was like, all right, cool.
Sydoney Banks (32:08)
You could seriously do a Haunt out of PVC pipe and plastic bags and still be better than some of these big name haunts because what really sells it is the passion, the dedication and what you put into it. That's really what sells a really good Haunt. So I mean, yeah, you're maybe not the darkness or whatever. And those Haunts are cool too. But, but I mean, really what makes a Haunt special and unique and something to remember is what's, what's behind the set.
Ringmaster Archibald (32:13)
Yup.
Yeah, don't get me wrong.
Sydoney Banks (32:37)
and the actors and everybody who pretty much puts everything into it. So, and it sounds like you all got that, so.
Ringmaster Archibald (32:44)
Yep, we try. mean, we...
Sydoney Banks (32:46)
I would for sure drive out and check it out. Sadly, it sounds like you guys are only going to be open on nights that we're working, so maybe we'll have to work something out. We'll see. Maybe you'll have like a special day where you'll just be open so we can come check you out. That'd be awesome.
Ringmaster Archibald (32:52)
Yeah, something out. Yeah.
I'll find out when the school's open house is and you can come out during the open house. Yeah. Yeah.
Sydoney Banks (33:04)
Yeah, we'll see. We'll work something out. I'd love to come through. It sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. And I would say, I mean, if your tickets are only 10 bucks, it's well worth the drive because the haunts down here are way more expensive than that. And I mean, some of those big haunts, especially in the Phoenix area, are not worth it.
Ringmaster Archibald (33:08)
Yeah, yeah, you have a good time.
That's what I hear. Slaughterhouse and all that, you know.
Yeah.
Sydoney Banks (33:27)
Trust me, I speak from experience. mean, really save some, save a little bit of money and maybe take a road trip down there, make a day of it. And then at night, yeah.
Ringmaster Archibald (33:29)
I understand.
Yeah. Laughlin's right across the river. You guys can stay in a hotel at Laughlin and come to the Hawn at night and then enjoy the rest of your evening.
Sydoney Banks (33:44)
That's who you need to sponsor with. You need to find a hotel to team up with.
Ringmaster Archibald (33:49)
Maybe next year.
Sydoney Banks (33:51)
Yeah, there you go. Do like a, kinda like a special night thing for, in Phoenix, come down and spend a night. There you go.
Ringmaster Archibald (33:56)
Yep, So.
Sydoney Banks (33:59)
Well, thank you so much for sharing the information with us and stuff. And I, like I said, I would love to do another one, another podcast as you kind of like a recap and get to talk to Josh a little bit more since we had some technical difficulties. So thank you. And again, do you have anything else?
Ringmaster Archibald (34:15)
Thank you. I don't. Thank you guys for having us on.
Sydoney Banks (34:18)
Thank you. We appreciate your time and we hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Okay, bye.
Ringmaster Archibald (34:24)
You too. Thanks.