Fun Facts Friday. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Welcome back to another Fun Facts Friday at Halloweenhaunts365.com. This Friday we will be bringing you 10 fun facts about the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This movie will always hold a special place in history as it was very close to the first of its kind. Let us get to the facts!

1. There are many inspirations behind this film. The most common is the Ed Gein story. The Wisconsin murderer who made clothes and other things out of his victim's skin. Another one was when Tobe Hooper had to sit in line waiting on Christmas Shopping and saw a stack of Chainsaws, He envisioned how to get to the front of the line real quick.

2. Leatherface is also inspired by a Doctor Toby Hooper knew. He told Tobe a story where when he was in Med School, they were using cadavers in class and after hours he snuck into the Morgue to make a Halloween mask using the Cadavers faces. That is why Leatherface has his skin mask.

3. The original script was called "Headcheese". Then it was later changed to "Leatherface". It was not until a week before shooting was set to begin that they changed the title to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

4. The Narrator of the opening scenes was none other then a young John Larroquette.

5. Even though the teeth were removed for some shots. The Chainsaw used was 100% real.

6. It has an alleged connection to "The Mafia". The company that bought the distribution rights to the film was said to be owned by Joe and Lou Peranio who were members of the Colombo crime family.

7. You can have lunch at Leatherface's house. The property where the filming was shot was actually turned into a Diner where you can actually check out a lot of cool memorabilia from the film.

8. Ed Neil, The hitchhiker in the beginning of the film, would actually go to showings in theaters and wait for his scene to come on and then tap and unexpected patron on the shoulder and scare them to hell.

9. The scene where Sally's finger was cut to feed Grandpa took so many takes and so many failed special effect takes that Gunner Hansen took off the protective tape from the knife and cut the actress for real when no one was looking. Gunnar said that they were at 27 hours for that scene alone straight and he got frustrated and wanted to get it done. So Sally is bleeding for real in this scene.

10. The lack of on screen blood was for a reason. You would think with Chainsaw murders and a Cannibalistic family the film would have ton of red liquid. Nope, Hooper wanted to try for a PG rating to get to more viewers so there is really only a few ounces of real and fake blood present. Which really sucks because it got rated R and we could have seen some crazy gore coming out of the mind of Tobe Hooper.

Haunted Attraction Profit and Loss Part 2. Tickets!

Welcome back to another installment of HH365's guide to Profit and Loss in your Haunted Attractions. Today we will take a peek at your ticket sales and all that is included and how to maximize your profits using a few neat tricks.

There are a couple tricks to the trade when it comes to tickets and pricing. What is the correct price to charge for admission. One tool I have always used was check out the competition. Look for a few Haunts in your area and see what they charge and for what? What kind of show do they bring to the table? Take an honest assessment of your show and see if it lines up with theirs. You obviously want to see if your show holds up to the price of admission. View five to ten Haunted Attractions in your area. Take the Top five prices for the show closest to yours and divide by five to come out with an average and adjust from there. They may have a similar show but their expenses will be different. You need to find the happy medium between Repeat customers and expenses.

Another huge thing to look at is what are you actually selling with the tickets? Sure many Haunts have the general admission price which should cover expenses with a decent profit margin but we also need to look outside of the box on this one. What else can we do to maximize profits? A lot of Haunts also have VIP tickets that will get guests to the front of the line and have a bigger Profit Margin then the General and really have no additional expenses except to manufacture a new line. We have also seen a third kind start up recently. It is more like a backstage pass. This will require some more expense to offer but will generally be cheap to manufacture. This will increase the profit margin big time. What we have seen this include is a behind the scenes look at the Haunt during the day. Then VIP access to the show at night. It may not sell out every night but even if you get one or two a night you are open, its purely profit. It would be essential to have a guide for the day as we know Owners and Builders have enough to do during a day you are going live but all it would cost you would be the Tour Guide who is already on staff and looking for a couple more hours.

This may seem silly, but what does your ticket look like? People are a very Visual Creature. If you are charging fifty dollars we want a nice ticket to go with it. I know it sounds crazy but studies show its true. HH365 being Horror and Haunt freaks have kept every ticket we have been issued from every Haunt we have attended. Nobody wants to pay top dollar and receive a raffle ticket or coin for entry.

That was our information on Tickets and what they mean for your Haunt, Keep it here to HH365! Where Every Day Is Haunt Season!

Haunted Attractions Profit and Loss Part 1. Hiring

Welcome back to HH365! Today we will throw out some tips to help with the business side of Haunted Attractions. The big names are already clued in but these tips will mainly help the up and coming Haunts or new Haunts starting in 2020 to get off on the right foot. 

I have spent numerous years in Business Management and ran my far share of Businesses. I have learned from some of the best minds in the field and have learned how to translate it to the Haunt world because at the end of the day. They are businesses. Let us get started. 

Every Dollar Counts. Whether it is a dollar coming in or a dollar going out, how you reflect on incoming and outgoing matters to the highest priority. Hiring believe it or not is one of the biggest way to impact your final numbers. If you hire the correct person every time you will be printing money. The decisions you make while hiring is just as important as rebuilding a part of your attraction.

Hiring the right person will increase your profit. From the ticket booth to the snack stand to the face of your Haunt, the goal should always be to make the right hire the first time. It is the same thing with Volunteers. Sure, Volunteers means that they want to be there, but you can also have the wrong Volunteer. That can drive business out of your door that you will not see again.

In order to hire the correct individual, it all lies in the interview process. Use your gut during the interview. If you feel even the slightest bit of doubt. Do not pull the trigger. You can always go for a second interview to see if the feeling subsides or if it comes back again. Hiring the wrong individual will always always end badly. I have learned this time and time again. 

Mistakes will happen and you will be fooled to pull the trigger on the wrong candidate. It is life. It will always happen. The key to fixing the mistake is to hit it head on. Make sure you have proper tactics in place to ensure you can do what you can to have them exit. Just like any business you need to gauge their performance on the job. Like any other business you will need to document any short comings and try and help them reach their potential. The use of daily or weekly progress reports can really help you out to make the best of it. You can rate how individuals perform on a night to night basis because Haunt season is so short. Create these mission plans around what associate you are trying to help or help out the door. For example: An associate is working the ticket booth but constantly on his phone. It is holding back your lines and causing customers to complain from a line that is not needed at an Haunted Attraction. This will let you rate his or her performance for the evening. And just the associate grabbing his phone here and there will cost you money in the long run. 

Well this was the first installment of Profit and Loss at HH365! Keep it here at HH365! Where Every Day Is Haunt Season!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Tuesday's With NightmareToys! Living Dead Doll Talking Freddy Krueger

Welcome back to another edition of HH365! Today we will join in and see what Nightmare Toys has today! This one is near and dear to my heart as Freddy is the best! Check out this toy and then buy it like I am going to at Nightmaretoys.com. Lets check out the video.

If anyone is looking for late Christmas of Birthday gifts. This will do well and be a prized possession in my Freddy Office! So feel free to buy one and send it over!

That is all we have for you at HH365 today! Where Every Day Is Haunt Season!

Monday Horror Movie Franchise Rankings. The Conjuring Universe

Welcome back to another Monday Horror Movie Franchise Ranking brought to you by HH365, Your Leader In Anything Spooky! Today we will break down The Conjuring Universe. This will eventually be re done as there is another Conjuring on the way and rumored Annabelle and Tbhe Nun film in production.

Most people know the movie series that is designed around Ed and Lorraine Warren and some of the things they have seen as their time as Paranormal Investigators. These films just tell a certain part of the Career that these two had. We are very interested to get a hold of all of their files and see what else they did and discovered in their storied career. But let us now get started on the rankings for The Conjuring Universe.

#6

The Nun. Where do I start with this film. It was a cool story, It had good actors, but the movie just felt like something thrown together to get into Theaters. It seemed rushed and really did not deliver the back round story to Valak, the demon that was the reason behind The Conjuring 2. We get what happened but not really how she or it even came back. This was easily the weakest entry into the franchise. 

#5. 

Annabelle Comes Home. The latest Annabelle entry really disappoints. Other then some cool scenes and the continuation of the relationship between Ed and Lorraine, this movie really missed the mark for me. Not a lot of scares and or action. the movie fell a little flat as far as we are considered but not as boring as The Nun so it is in its correct place at #5. 

#4 

The Original Annabelle. Probably the most boring movie in the franchise. But it was a good one for the series. Annabelle had a ton of great jump scares and a decent story line. It was a fun way to introduce the most notorious investigations of the Warrens. I cannot say that I fully remember most of this movie as it has been some time since I watched it but I remember wanting it to be scarier. Let us get to the next one. 

#3

 The Conjuring 2. This was a great addition to the series. I will not lie to you, The Conjuring 2 almost made me turn it off with the horrible animation effects of The Crooked Man. Terrible, some of the worst effects I have seen in years on video. Certain Jason kills from Friday the 13th 3 were better executed then this animation effect. Now that I have that out of my system. The conjuring 2 started and ended correctly and became a great film and a must watch for the franchise. It had a surprising twist at the end that still holds up. Let us get to number 2!

#2

Annabelle Creation. WOW! What a film. From the start of the movie it goes on hard all movie long. Even the slow parts have crazy good jump scares and really shows how the doll was constructed and came forth. It was easily one of my favorite films in the franchise and looking forward to watching it again right before The Conjuring 3 comes out.  I can watch this film anytime. So make sure you check this must see flick out! Now, no surprise for what our number one pick!

#1

The Conjuring. This comes very close to being one of the few perfect horror movies of all time! I loved this movie from start to finish and the scares and jump scares are out of this world. Great casting from the Warrens to the Perrons and their children. This was great movie from start to finish and I enjoyed it all. I will put this movie on just to have something to look at. The cinematography is second to none and will keep you at the edge of your seat up until the final moment! Go watch this movie now. 

Well, that is another edition of Horror Movie Franchise Rankings. Keep it here to HH365 everyday! Where Every Day Is Haunt Season!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Fun Facts Friday Halloween 1978

Welcome back to another installment of HH365! Today we take a look at ten fun facts from Halloween (1978), one of the original slasher movies of our time. It was an interesting film for its time so I am sure we can find facts that not a lot of people know. Let's get started.

1. The famous mask was actually a Captain Kirk mask designed after William Shatner. The mask was purchased for one dollar and was painted white and had some of the features removed like eyebrows and sideburns.

2. Michael Myers was named after a British film promoter who helped John Carpenter with his last film.

3. The original script for the film was named "The Babysitters Murders". But with lack of budget, the movie all had to take place on one night.

4. The town of Haddonfield was based on Debra Hill's hometown of Haddonfield, New Jersey. Just about 20 minutes away from your writers home.

5. After a Critic claimed that Halloween was not very scary, John Carpenter decided to compose the entire score in just three days.

6. The overall darkness of the film was not intended but because the crew could not afford more lighting.

7. Myers is called "The Shape". This was a reference to The Salem Witch Trial Judges who referred to spirits who harm other "Shapes"

8. The knife sound effect was produced by stabbing a water melon with a knife.

9. Dr. Loomis was named after Jamie Lee Curtis's mother's love interest in the movie Psycho.

10. Jamie Lee Curtis was paid just $8,000 dollars for her work in Halloween.

11. Because the film was filmed in the spring time, leaves were hard to come by. The crew would paint paper leaves and spread them around for shots. Once shots were completed, the crew would pick them up and re use them for other scenes.

Pretty cool stuff out of Halloween (1978). Keep it here every day to HH365! Where Every Day Is Haunt Season!

What We Hope We See In 2020

Welcome back to HH365! Today we will take a look at some of the things we really hope we see in the 2020 Haunt Season! We are getting very excited about Haunt season and some of these popped into our head so we decided to share. 

1. More Music/Sound. We would love to remember every walk through we go through. But sometimes without making the walk through memorable, it is very hard. The ones that always stand out always have a good theme music and or creepy sound that really sticks to you even six months later. A little hidden speaker can turn any room into the best room you have open. 

2. More Food Options. I don't know about you guys, but I am hungry when I get to Haunts. A Snack Bar does not suffice! We need some hot dogs, some burgers, fries and some soda!

3. More Gift Shop Options. As a weirdo collector, I collect mugs, so if I had a wish list it would be that every Haunt had a dishwasher safe mug available.           

4. Changing Attractions. This really does not even have to be a major overhaul. Sure, in a perfect world, every Haunted Attraction could change every walk through every year but that is just not financially responsible or realistic. But, slight tunes and slight changes can always make the world of difference. 

5. Change out Dated Attractions. As we see out of Night of Terror, This is coming to fruition. We are so excited to see the two new walk throughs that we have found out about in this off-season! 

These are just a few examples of what we hope we can see in 2020. We will enjoy this Haunt season none the less so let us enjoy our countdown to Haunt Season and spot any news we can find! That is what we have for you today at HH365! Where Every Day Is Haunt Season!