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Author: Brian Foreman

The West Coast Haunter’s Convention with Ed Roberts & Darryl Returns from HAuNTcon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:23 — 50.8MB)

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west coast haunters conventionAre you a Home Haunter, Halloween Fan, or Haunted Attraction Owner who lives on the west coast or you want to take a trip somewhere that caters to you as a Haunter? Then the West Coast Haunter’s Convention is a good place to be. We interview Ed Roberts, the man behind the WCHC and the Nightmare Factory, and get the inside scoop on what will be at the convention and why you need to go.

The West Coast Haunter’s Convention is in Portland, Oregon at the Doubletree Hotel and offers education and entertainment to Home Haunters, Haunt Owners, Halloween Fans, and everyone involved with the Haunt Industry. If you sell Haunt supplies or are looking for a place to meet other scary people like you then this is definitely an option. The West Coast Haunter’s Convention is a non-profit organization which uses all the profits from the show for The Oregon School for the Deaf. The kids and staff help Ed operate and act at the Nightmare Factory and participate in setting up the convention.

With guest speakers like Cydney Neil (owner of The Rockey Point Haunted House), Scott Simmons (owner of The ScareHouse), and Mike Krausert (director of operations of Nightmare New England) there will be much knowledge to absorb and creativity to explore. The Bloodshed Brothers and Halloween Hellmouth will also be sharing the details of their journey from Home Haunters to Pro Haunters. Plus all the vendors, haunt tours, costume ball, new friends, and much more…you can’t afford to miss this one!

 

The Stuff We Talk About in This Episode

 

This month’s give away was sponsored by Whimzkulls. To buy Halloween cookies go visit the Whimzkull Store. The winners are:

  • Dustin Aurand
  • Sean King
  • Mollie

 

To win a 2013 HAuNTcon T-shirt (large) for the month of May you need to be a member of the Haunter’s Toolbox.

Subscribe Here.

 

 

The National Haunter’s Convention with Michael Bruner and Steve Randi

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:47 — 55.8MB)

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National Haunters ConventionWe packed this episode with double the fun! We get Michael Bruner in the dungeon and torture him for details on his event The National Haunter’s Convention (or The National Halloween, Horror, Haunted House, & Hearse Conversation) which will be at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA on May 3-5. We also turn to Steve Randi, a home haunter going to the pro side, and ask him what he expects from the National Haunter’s Convention this year and why he is setting up a Haunted Attraction in the middle of the convention floor!

Michael Bruner gives you many reasons why you should not miss this year’s convention. An all night Tour to Shocktoberfest, a Wild West Costume Ball, a family friendly environment, new vendors in the Haunt Industry, a hearse show, education for Haunters, the showroom floor, and much more! If you live close by (or even if you don’t) it’s still not too late to jump in your transportation device and go there.

Steve Randi has been a Home Haunter for over 7 years and has decided to take his skills to the Professional side of Haunting. After his home haunt in Danbury, CT outgrew his house he knew it was time to venture into finding a permanent location. He will be displaying his talent for the first time in front of many other Haunters and Halloween fans at this year’s convention. With his crew and help from the SEPHH (South Eastern Pennsylvania Home Haunters) there will will be a complete Haunted Attraction on the show room floor complete with props, actors, and scary goodness. I’m sure you can find Steve there and ask him questions about becoming a Professional Attraction and his experience in Home Haunting. Tell him HaunTopic Radio sent ya….

 

The National Haunters Convention is like a huge reunion that you look forward every year to attending. We offer many of the features of a large haunt convention without the large bite out of your budget. If you are a Professional or Amateur haunter, a Halloween home or yard haunter, or just plan the coolest Halloween parties among all your friends, then this convention is for you. If you like to visit conventions or have never been to one before we welcome everyone who is into Goth, horror movies, classic movies, animatronics, robots, makeup, prop building, airbrushing, or just plain anything to do with Halloween to attend. Our seminars are top notch, and you will find vendors that have products and services that will amaze you.
For anyone in the past 8 years who has been to a Pennsylvania Haunters Gathering (our predecessor) or an Eastern Haunters Convention they will tell you: our event is about networking, learning and having a good time. The vendors are coming out in droves with a huge variety of products from Animations to Promotional Products. This is a chance of a lifetime for haunts of every size to meet the vendors and other haunters face-to-face, see products in person, stock up on supplies, and have a great time.
You will have the opportunity to participate in informative seminars with industry professionals, win great haunt-related prizes, tour local top notch haunted attractions and even attend our costume ball.
We invite you to browse our website, learn about our seminars, the convention show floor, our famous costume ball, our vendors, and our events. You can purchase tickets online at a discount, or at the door the weekend of the event at full price. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

 

FIND MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS HERE:

 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL LIST TO WIN FREE HALLOWEEN COOKIES FROM WHIMZKULLS!!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN.

 

HAuNTcon 2013 with Bobbie Weiner, Dick Terhune, Alex Lohmann, & Henry Cowen

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:21 — 64.5MB)

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Hauntcon 2013In this episode of HaunTopic Radio, Darryl Plunkie goes solo and gets a few of the attendees and vendors on the mic to talk all things HAuNTcon. Guests such as Bobbie Weiner from Bloody Mary Make Up, Dick Terhune the famous Voice From Hell, Alex Lohmann from 13th Street Morgue/Dungeon of Doom, and Henry Cowen who provides Theatrical Supplies to Haunted Attractions.

We also cover a few informative seminars and why you need to take advantage of them to succeed in the Haunt Industry. A peek into the Hearse Convention. And don’t miss out on the Haunt Garage Sale to get some deals on some discount products at the convention.

 

The Haunted Attraction Tradeshow and Conference (HAuNTcon) is an convention “Designed by Haunters, for Haunters” of every age and level of experience. Four fun-filled days and nights filled with Educational Seminars, Workshops, Trade Show, Haunted garage Sale, Custom Hearse Show and networking socials like the incredible Costume Ball, who’s theme this year is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Masquerade.

Here is where you can find our guests:

 

HAuNTcon Special Links:

 

ENTER THIS MONTH’S CONTEST AND WIN FREE HALLOWEEN COOKIES FROM WHIMZKULLS! MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON OUR EMAIL LIST. SIGN UP HERE

 

 

Live From the Transworld Halloween/Haunt Show 2013 (Part 1)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:52 — 51.4MB)

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transworld haunt & halloween showWow! What a show!

Yes…I’m talking about the Transworld Halloween and Haunt Show that was hosted in St.Louis,MO on March 7-10 2013. This was my 5th time attending and each time the experience is different. There are always new props, different faces, and exciting new events to participate in. Unfortunately, I only had one day to try to take it all in. I didn’t get to meet all of my friends there but I did manage to capture a few audio interviews for HaunTopic Radio. I also made a few connections with vendors who are excited to be donating more prizes to the lucky monthly winners of the show. (No prize this month.)

Here are just a few of the people I stopped along my journey of the trade show floor at Transworld and those who are highlighted in this special edition of HaunTopic Radio:

 

We would also like to give a few scream outs to our Hauntlings that help out behind the scenes here at HaunTopic Radio:

  • Thank you Matthew Freyer of Matthew Freyer Productions who keeps our graphics looking great! Matthew has helped create the logos and banners for HaunTopic Radio and continues to be a well trusted source for graphic design in the Haunted House Industry. If you are looking for banner design, website design, or logo creation then Matthew is your guy!
  • Thank you Matthew Hampel who is taking on the challenge of keeping our HaunTopic Facebook Page and HaunTopic Twitter account interesting and valuable. We want to share more stuff from other Haunters and Matthew is up for the challenge. If you have any cool video links, articles, tutorials, etc that you want to share with us then look us up on these two networks.

 

Our next shows are with Leonard Pickel of HAuNTcon and more coverage from the Transworld Halloween and Haunt Show 2013. Stay tuned…..

The Canadian Haunted Attraction Conference & the Scary North with Matthew Flagler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:58 — 85.8MB)

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Canadian Haunted Attraction ConferenceIn Episode 40 of HaunTopic Radio we get Matthew Flagler on the mic to educate us on what really goes on in the Canadian Haunted Attraction Industry and other scary things north of the border. Matthew is the man behind the Canadian Haunted Attraction Conference which takes place on April 12-14 in Hamilton, Ontario. If you operate a haunted attraction, work at a seasonal event, are a horror/paranormal/Halloween fanatic, or an FX artist then this event is for you.

Me & Darryl (also a Canadian)  get Matthew to open up about his Halloween childhood, what really goes on at the Canadian border, and what is Matthew Flagler really scared of? We also release the names of the two winners of our monthly prize give away: 2 Large Bottles of Bloody Mary Spray Blood

HERE ARE SOME TOPICS WE DISCUSS:

  • How easy it is to get into Canada and How close Hamilton really is to the U.S.
  • Matthew’s early memories of Halloween and the horror influence of his childhood.
  • How you can sell your products in the untamed Haunt/Halloween Industry in Canada.
  • What celebrities you can meet when you go.
  • The benefit of the educational Haunt related seminars and what you’ll learn.
  • Why the Canadian Haunt Industry is starting to catch up to the U.S.
  • Get a 50% discount off a training seminar!

 

Friday, April 12, 2013

    • Builders Series Full Day Workshop (9 a.m.-5 p.m.)
    • Vendor Load-in (9 a.m.-noon)
    • Builder’s Workshop (1 p.m.-4 p.m.)
    • Trade Show Exhibits Open (1 p.m.-6 p.m.)
    • Welcome Social (7:30 p.m.-10 p.m.)

 

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

 

Sunday, April 14th, 2013

  • Seminar Series Sessions (9:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m.)
  • Trade Show Exhibits Open (10 a.m.-2 p.m.)
  • Hardcore Creepshow Event (noon)
  • Exhibitor Post-Event Reception (2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.)
  • Vendor Load Out (3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.)

 

Find More about Matthew & the Canadian Haunted Attractions Conference:

 

This month’s contest prizes were donated by Bloody Mary (Bobbie Weiner). Thanks Bobbie!

bloody mary make up