Scarehouse Podcast

Dudders catches up with former ScareHouse Director of Operations, Crystal Wright, at Transworld in St. Louis. Into the Dark production company combines the theatrical and technical talents of David and Joshua. Terror Vault is Into the Dark's first production and located in the old San Francisco mint. Joshua's love of haunted houses began with the Morbid Manor in Ocean City. Crystal tells us what it's like being away from haunted houses for a year and discovering Terror Vault in her new neighborhood. Returning haunt actors are very important. They can help teach new actors about how to pace themselves. Newbies often underestimate how exhausting haunt acting is. Preparing for a haunt season is a yearround job. "Normal" employers don't always appreciate all of work you do at haunted houses. Why it's a great idea to add a behind the scenes tour to your haunted attraction. Joshua and David worked to put everything they loved into the show. The cool thing about having a haunted attraction in an old building. Talkin

Dudders sits down with her haunt siblings, Design Manager Nicole and Operations Manager Nino, to discuss spreadsheets, show flow documents, misconceptions of working at a haunted house, and more spreadsheets. Surprisinging your friends with a podcast. We answer every haunters’ favorite question, “you’re working on things already?” Spreadsheets are a haunters BFF. Thank you, Google Drive! Nino and Nicole have very different opinions on color choice in spreadsheets. Nino and Nicole outline our showflow documents. We adapted something we learned from Universal Studios. Our show flow documents break down the attractions into room details including the narrative, actions, scenic, tech, sounds, and smell. Tech talk with Nino. You can never have enough reference photos. Nicole talks about her favorite kinds of decay. Our leadership team is kind of like the Avengers with our own special powers and skills. Are we still using skills we learned in high school? Kinda. The misconceptions of working at a haunted house from

Scott, Nino, and Dudders look back on the craziness that was the 2018 ScareHouse season. From creating a zombie themed pop up bar, appearing all over the season, and super fun season, this has been an amazing haunt season! Highlights: * Bringing the Zombie Den to life in Market Square. * It was a fun and incredibly busy season. * Building the new Pittsburgh Zombies haunt to life and hidden Easter Eggs. * Hot tip 1: Find a graphic designer that enjoys good puns. * The birth of the bike riding zombie and the zombie pickle characters. * Hot tip 2: Get yourself a good leadership team. It will allow you to do more of the things you love. * Nino got to dig into DMX programming this season. * The “peppermint nightmare” at A Creepy Christmas. * ScareHouse’s weird history with Christmas. * How quickly A Creepy Christmas came together. * Adding our humor to A Creepy Christmas. * Bringing back our Krampus props. * Customer and cast reactions to A Creepy Christmas. Please subscribe to our podcast and leave feedback. We

Highlights: * Row House Cinema is an independent, single screen theater in Lawrenceville. * The basement houses Bierport, a bar with retro video games. * Row House Cinema began as the dream of Brian Mendelson, enjoying beer at the movies for a fun night out. The remodel took over four and a half years. * How they select movies and themes each week using the opinions of staff and public. There is no real formula. * Creating a balance between different types of movies they show. * Describing the joy of seeing some movies on the big screen. * The fun of watching a bad movie with friends in a theater. * Which movies they thought would sell well, but didn't (hint: a lot of 80's comedies). * Using special events and gimmicks to sell movies. * Process to get rights to show movies. Creating a wish list and having patience. * Witches Week October 12th-18th. * Row House of Horrors Week October 19th-31st. * Combing the genres of of horror and comedy. * How sound and a dark theater really ups the movie experience. * Ana

Jordan Patton, a competitor from Syfy’s FaceOff, sits down with Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” Dudas to discuss FaceOff, his early beginnings at ScareHouse, and DeadNecks. Jordan discusses his time on FaceOff and what the process is like on the show How being on the TV show has changed his day to day life How Jordan got his start in FX and making masks Jordan’s first experience with ScareHouse Learning how to make masks at a young age Discussing Monsterpalooza, special effects convention in Los Angeles The beginnings and foundation of DeadNecks Creating original content and internal branding (the battle between art and commerce) “Elevator Pitch” for DeadNecks The future DeadNecks cartoon series and Jordan’s love for cartoons The FX artists that Jordan looks up too The craziest actor experiences he’s had at ScareHouse The budget on FaceOff and how freeing it is Find Jordan Patton online: Website https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/735402075/deadnecks-orig

Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie "Dudders" chat with Assistant Director and Pittsburgh native Steve Parys. Steve has worked on television shows and movies filmed in Pittsburgh and around the world including Silence of the Lambs, Fear the Walking Dead, and Outsiders. Steve discusses his diverse background and experiences and even shares an incredible story from the set of Silence of the Lambs. Scott talks about how he met Steve. How Steve ended up doing almost everything on the set of Silence of the Lambs. Moth fire in Buffalo Bill’s basement. Steve discusses what it was like working with George Romero. Scott’s experience on the set of the remake of Night of the Living Dead. Explanation of PA’s film tax credit and how it helps the city. Pittsburgh’s film industry shift in the 1990s. Stories from some movies set in Pittsburgh. Steve talks about his work on Fear the Walking Dead tv show. Steve explains what an assistant director’s job on a movie or TV show. Scott dishes about the chaos of a Sc

Before Creative Director Scott Simmons and Director of Sales and Marketing Katie "Dudders" left for Transworld, they recorded a live Q&A podcast where they answered fan questions at Sorgatron Media Studios. Fans submitted questions beforehand on Facebook and live during the recording on Facebook and Instagram. What's the most fun part of our jobs. What the team does the rest of the year. The boring paperwork behind running a haunted house. How much of our budget is spent on marketing. Whether our building is really haunted. Other haunted houses we visited in 2017: Dent School House, Shocktoberfest, 13th Gate, Cutting Edge. How we decide what haunts we're going build each year. We can never have enough clowns. Behind the scenes tour are ideal for customers that want to stop and see the details. Whether it's harder to scare people now. What we think is the future of haunted house technology. What keeps it fresh for us and whether we'll get tired of doing what we're doing. Sometimes we're terrible a

Poison Props has been creating fast, durable haunt house animatronics for 11 years. ScareHouse has at least one Poison Props animatronic in each of their haunts. You must be willing to learn and get feedback from your client to run a successful business. The importance of scalability. Adam discusses starting out in a one car garage and his sound design background. What it's like to prep for a major trade show. Serendipity and finding your life's passion. How sound can set the mood and immerse the customers in the experience. The fun, new things Adam is bringing to Transworld. Find Adam and Poison Props Online: Website http://poisonprops.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/POISON-PROPS-115866798452165 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/poisonprops Please subscribe to our podcast and leave feedback. We appreciate it! Follow the ScareHouse podcast hosts: Scott Simmons (@ScareHouseScott) and Katie “Dudders” (@kdudders) Visit us www.ScareHouse.com Watch us Youtube.com/TheScareHouse Like us https://www.facebook.co

Creative Director Scott Simmons introduces Katie "Dudders" to the amazing and inspiring live entertainment shows and events legend, Robbi Lepre. Robbi talks about her almost 40 years of experience in the industry, learning from other haunted attraction experts at trade shows, celebration Robbiween, and the importance of positive connections. You can support Robbi's wellness fund at https://www.gofundme.com/robbi-lepre-wellness-fund Robbi discusses her almost 40 years of experience in the live entertainment industry.

Tracy discusses the inspiration behind her character Patti from The Basement 2016. Why the first character you meet from The Basement is the most important one. Tracy and Kevin discuss what it was like going from The Basement actors to managers. The challenge of adjusting on the fly in The Basement last season. Working with high energy actors or “bunch of potty mouthed five year olds after drinking Mt. Dew”. The Basement auditions: Who should audition? What is the audition process like? Tracy and Kevin demonstrate what happens at a The Basement audition. Planning for this year’s Valentine’s Day in The Basement. Dudders discusses her trip to HauntCon in New Orleans. Going outside of the haunt industry for inspiration and knowledge. Kevin’s offseason life changing event. Former zombies need love, too. Please subscribe to our podcast and leave feedback. We appreciate it! Follow the ScareHouse podcast hosts: Scott Simmons (@ScareHouseScott) and Katie “Dudders” (@kdudders)

The 2017 ScareHouse season was filled with wild moments that included a German television crew, flugtag, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Star Wars. Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” look back on 2017 and talk about what’s next for ScareHouse in 2018. Scott and Dudders are joined by Producers Mike and Missy Sorg at Sorgatron Media Studios to discuss the 2017 ScareHouse season Mike Sorg discusses his first visit to The Basement Old school marketing can help you stand out from the crowd in a digital world. Scott describes the evolution of The Basement and possibly a Basement Multiverse Scott and Dudders talk about being on a German television show, Galileo TV, where they teach their visitors about the importance of smells such as bore urine in a haunted house This isn’t the first time they’ve been on an international television. They were on Brazilian show Programa Pânico in 2015 How that “Pittsburgh Steelers Get Scared” video came to be The importance of your espac

A few weeks before opening night, Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” traveled to Beechview to Sorgatron Media Studios to record a long distance podcast with Kip Polley from Pale Night Productions. Kip was visiting the Southern Illinois Fair with one of his zombie puppets. They chatted with Kip about kids love of zombies, designing haunted attractions and escape rooms for guests of all ages, and being one of the leading innovators in the haunted attraction industry. Pale Night Productions started 13 years ago and provides props for haunted houses and theme parks. They also design turnkey haunted houses and escape rooms. Incorporating zombies into your marketing. Old school marketing can help you stand out from the crowd in a digital world. ScareHouse zombie Donnie may or may not be from the Pale Night Productions family. Why kids love zombies. Designing haunted houses and attractions that are fun for guests of all ages. Discussing the future of escape rooms.

Three weeks away from opening night, Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” traveled to Beechview to Sorgatron Media Studios to record a long distance podcast with Ricky Brigante from Inside the Magic. Ricky talks about the challenge running Inside the Magic, his love of theme parks, immersive theater, and what’s next for the industry. Inside the Magic covers all things in themed entertainment. How Inside the Magic started as a small podcast and has grown in the last fifteen years. ScareHouse has been lucky enough to be featured on Inside the Magic several times. Ricky is part of the new media generation covering Disney theme parks. Ricky grew up in Miami and has been interested in theme parks since he was young. How J.K. Rowling’s insistence on being a truly immersive experience at Harry Potter World. How major theme parks have totally embraced Halloween. Universal Studios is trying to figure out what is the future of Halloween attractions. What has influe

Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” head down to The Basement with Sean Collier to talk about their favorite horror movies. Sean’s passion for movies is evident when he appears on the radio, the comedy stage, his podcast, and when he writes his column for Pittsburgh Magazine. Sean, Katie, and Scott end the podcast with a discussion about their lists of top horror movies. The struggle to get Pittsburghers to leave the house and shake up their routines. The joy of going to a movie without overly researching or dissecting it. Scott and Sean see movies as an escape, while Katie worries they will be a timesuck. Why Scott has to give the design team movie homework. Our expectations were lower in the 90s. Scott’s weird ability to remember minor details of movies, but forget what he ate for lunch the day before. Scott, Sean, and Katie count down their top horror movies and how their lists are constantly changing. Remarkably, Sean Collier hasn’t seen every movie ever m

Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to visit Bud Stross and Aryn Fox from The Dent Schoolhouse. They chat about the legend of The Dent Schoolhouse, how they got their start in the haunted attraction industry, and the many hats they wear in and out of the haunt. The podcast team travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, to visit The Dent Schoolhouse. Aryn Fox is the makeup manager and Bud Stross is the co-owner along with his dad Chuck and friend Josh Wells. Bud and Josh began their friendship over a puke barrel and started out as yard haunters. Why “The Haunted House” is a bad name for a haunted house. No one gets into the haunted house industry for the spreadsheets. Aryn got her start as a haunter as a photographer at Midwest Haunters Convention. How Aryn and Bud’s relationship began in The Dungeon in Baton Rouge. What it’s like working with your significant other. Marketing and content creation is on your mind year round. How a Wolfe B

Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” chat with veteran actress Tracy Campbell. They discuss Scott and Tracy’s shared television news history, what it’s like to have your face all over ScareHouse marketing, and how props, hair, and music create great ScareHouse videos. Tracy has been part of ScareHouse since 2007. Tracy met Scott when they both worked at WPXI Channel 11 News. ScareHouse isn’t the first haunted building that they have worked in. WPXI’s (formerly WIIC) original building was home to Chiller Thriller and studio wrestling. Tracy talks about the promo spot she appeared in that lived on long after she left the company. Preparing for Y2K at the news studio. How MySpace brought Tracy into the ScareHouse family as a goopey ghoul. ScareHouse was one of the first companies in the area to shoot in HD. Tracy discusses all the characters she has played since she started at ScareHouse including title character Delirium. Creating her character Patti, last

Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” head to Kennywood to chat with their Director of Public Relations and Social Media, Nick Paradise. They discuss year round marketing of seasonal businesses, innovating while remembering your roots, the value of engaged fan base, and Pittsburghers’ unique bond with Kennywood Park. Operating a seasonal business now requires year round marketing. Kennywood is adding a new daytime Halloween attraction, Happy Hauntings. Running a business is like running a household, you may want to add a big addition, but you still have to pay the bills. Amusement parks are known as much for their food as their rides. Kennywood was founded in 1898, the park officially opened in 1899. Balancing nostalgia with the contemporary in a theme park. Innovating while remembering your roots. The value of an engaged fan base. Pittsburghers feel a unique bond with Kennywood which is both a blessing and a curse. Kennywood has one of last running Noah’

Creative Director Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” geek out with Tim Gregg, Dan Beltz, and Greg Ochaba, members of the 501st Garrison Carida over everything Star Wars. They talk about the 501st charity missions, what drew them to the group, their first Star Wars experience, and why Scott never saw the original Star Wars (New Hope) movie in theaters. 501st is a worldwide costuming organization composed of over 15,000 members, all volunteer Focus on charity and community work Began in 1997 with the re-release of original trilogy in theaters Rebel Legion is a similar, smaller nonprofit with over 4,500 members worldwide Is it more fun to play the good guy or bad guy? Realizing the comic potential of Storm Troopers Lucas Films embracing the 501st and their work Guidelines, criteria, and review process for costumes Their first exposure to Star Wars Why Tim, Dan, and Greg joined the 501st A young Scott avoided seeing Star Wars in the theater because he was afraid of Chew

Allen Hopps is the "Forrest Gump of the Haunted Attraction Industry" having contributed to several of America's iconic haunted attractions over the last 20 years. Days after high school graduation he drove a moped from Baltimore to Orlando to perform as an actor in a haunted house, and he's never regretted it for a moment since. Allen and his wife Shannon join ScareHouse Creative Director Scott Simmons and ScareHouse actress Jennifer Dallas for an inspiring and entertaining look back at the early days of the haunted attraction industry and a look forward to the new era of highly themed and immersive experiences. The mythology and creative design that drives the DARK HOUR team to produce entirely new productions all year round. Becoming addicted to haunted houses at 10 years and how a magazine changed his life Why "Terror on Church Street" in Orlando was one of the most influential haunted attractions ever Allen's marriage is a result of a gargoyle suit and a thousand mile leap of faith. Thi

Throwing it back to the 2015 Midwest Haunters Convention. Our former Director of Operations Crystal caught up with Jerry Dalessandro from Creepy Collection on the show floor. Looking for zombies? Clowns? Demon dolls?  We got a guy. Brooklyn born artist, entrepreneur, and hustler (compliment) Jerry Dalessandro joins ScareHouse Director of Operations Crystal Rupp to talk about Creepy Collection. Recorded at the Midwest Haunters Convention 2015. Creepy Collection's ever growing army of zombies, dolls, demons, clowns, and other nightmare props fill the halls of ScareHouse and other haunted attractions all over the world. Their work has also have been in the horror movies Sibling and The Hole and On The Lot (reality show By Steven Spielberg.     For more information about Creepy Collection: Website http://creepycollection.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creepycollection Twitter https://twitter.com/CreepyProps Facebook https://www.facebook.com/creepycollectioncom-1443010455