Friday Seminars

• Precision CNC Fabrication for Modern Haunt Production

  Buck Burdick - Station 5 Productions

  Friday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  From 3D CAD models to terrifying realities—unlock faster builds, repeatable animatronics, and industrial-grade props without burning out your shop crew. In the modern haunted attraction industry, handsaws and manual foam carving simply can’t keep up with tight offseason deadlines and rising guest expectations. Whether you are building massive structural facade walls, precision-milled animatronic linkages, or hyper-detailed EPS foam creatures, CNC technology is the ultimate force multiplier for your shop. ​This seminar demystifies computer-controlled routing and machining specifically for haunt owners, prop builders, and scenic designers. All your questions about adding CNC capabilities to your attraction will be answered here. Buck will also discuss how to build in 3D. If you want to learn how to take a flat piece of building material and turn it into a 3D set piece, this is the seminar for you. Who Should Attend - Haunt owners, scenic artists, lead builders, prop fabricators, and technical directors looking to scale up production quality and automate tedious manual labor. Speaker Bio: Buck Burdick from Station 5 Productions and Fear Asylum Haunted House. Buck is a 17 year veteran of the attractions industry. He has built attractions all over the United States and overseas. Buck has been one of the "Go-To" experts when it comes to scenic design and CNC fabrication in the industry. Buck has presented numerous times at Transworld and is a trusted vendor of some of the Top Attractions in the Country.  ​

• Beyond the Haunted House: Creating New Experiences, New Audiences, and New Revenue

  Scott Simmons - Scarehouse

  Friday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  For decades, haunted attractions have proved that people will pay for unforgettable experiences in the fall. But what happens the other eleven months of the year? And what if your next successful attraction doesn't require a permanent building at all? In this idea-packed seminar, 25+ year industry veteran Scott Simmons explores the growing world of experience-driven entertainment beyond the traditional haunted attraction. Drawing from decades of work with the nationally recognized ScareHouse, along with recent projects produced independently for haunted attractions, museums, escape rooms, entertainment districts, and hospitality clients, Scott shares real-world examples of experiences that build brands, generate revenue, and keep audiences engaged throughout the year. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking to launch your first experience without investing in a permanent facility, or an established haunt owner searching for new ways to maximize an existing property, you'll discover practical ideas that can be adapted to nearly any market and budget. From immersive movie screenings and interactive character encounters to themed pop-up bars, mocktail experiences, vendor markets, seasonal festivals, tailgates, escape experiences, and other creative activations, this seminar examines what makes these events successful, how they can complement your existing business, and how they can introduce entirely new audiences to your brand.

• Engaging in the Queue & Owning the Midway: Front‑of‑House Scareacting

  Jonathan Glickman - Fright Nights at the South Florida Fairgrounds

  Friday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  This seminar is designed for actor trainers and performers looking to elevate their work in the queue line and midway—two of the most dynamic, high‑impact spaces in any haunted attraction. In the queue line, we’ll explore a character‑driven method of guest engagement, providing practical tools and techniques for building, inhabiting, and sustaining a character that connects quickly and meaningfully with guests. In the midway, the focus shifts to maximizing visibility, movement, and teamwork. Participants will learn how to utilize the space effectively, employ hit‑and‑run style interactions, and coordinate with fellow performers to maximize the impact of these characters that are often the guests’ initial encounter with your attraction.

• Projection Mapping Boot Camp: 10 Tangible Ways to Go from Static to Spectacular

  Ross Arroyo - Illumibot & Todd Fedyshyn - His and Hearse

  Friday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Stop settling for static. In this hands-on boot camp, Ross and Todd walk you through 10 tangible, real-world ways to add projection mapping to your event and make it instantly more memorable. This is not a lecture. It’s a guided tour of the cheats, tools, and methods we’ve actually used in the field. Bring a notebook — you’ll leave with tactics you can put to work right away. You do not have to be a super nerd. AI has changed the game, and we’re sharing the secret sauce that now lets almost anyone do this. Built for haunts, escape rooms, Christmas events, municipalities, zoos, and anyone who wants to turn ordinary surfaces into something people talk about. Roll up your sleeves. Get ready to become a mapper.

• How to Greatly Improve Your Attraction’s Marketing Without Increasing Your Budget (So You Sell More Tickets & Build a Following)

  Brad Weinstein - Newbridge

  Friday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Want to learn how to greatly improve your attraction's marketing so you can sell more tickets (and grow your fan base) in 2027? This fast-paced seminar is designed to help people of all experience levels (newbies to industry veterans) and will cover a spectrum of ways you can take your marketing to the next level (that don't involve spending more money). With over a decade of experience that includes top attractions and brands (such as Disney World and Google), Brad Weinstein will share valuable insights and takeaways with you that will make the small cost of this seminar more than pay for itself! Topics covered in this seminar include: How to be more strategic with your current marketing budget (and tips to avoid wasting it). Why your marketing is probably not as effective as it should be (and how to fix it). Critical factors to keep in mind when developing & shaping your attraction's brand (to increase long-term success). Expensive marketing mistakes you should avoid this year. How to increase the chance your marketing attracts the right customers (who are more likely to leave positive reviews & spread good word of mouth). Learn strategic tweaks you can make to your ads and messaging to increase success (small tweaks can make a big difference). Insights on how to create the right brand personality & ads for your specific audience and market (to sell more tickets). And more! You will leave this seminar empowered with clear & actionable takeaways you can implement this season to greatly improve your attraction's marketing in 2027 and beyond! Speaker Bio: Brad’s experience includes The Walt Disney Company, Elitch Gardens Theme Park, Google, professional haunted attractions, and world class advertising agencies in NYC.

• Killer Foam Tombstones & Monster Mud Statues

  Cheryl Callendar

  Friday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  In-depth, hands-on look at creating terrifyingly realistic foam tombstones for your home haunt, yard display, or professional attraction. This seminar will cover everything from selecting and carving foam to adding realistic aging, cracks, epitaphs, stone textures, and eerie paint finishes that make lightweight foam look like centuries-old granite. You’ll also learn the secrets behind using Monster Mud to add durability, texture, and that unmistakable weathered cemetery look that takes your props to the next level. Whether you’re building your very first graveyard or looking to elevate your haunt artistry, this session is packed with professional techniques, creative inspiration, and practical tips. Come learn how to create tombstones so realistic… your guests may start checking the dates.

• 31 Scares in 60 minutes

  Ben Armstrong - Netherworld Haunted House & Allen Hopps - Dark Hour Haunted House / Stiltbeast Studios

  Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The best scares we ever designed or implemented. With over 70 years of haunted attractions under these two amazingly creative Haunters, they are looking through time and sharing the ideas, room designs, plans, and products that brought them the best scares over the years- great scares that work for small haunts and the ones that allow massive throughput to work seamlessly. Every haunter at any level will get value from this class. Fast-paced and packed with high-value tips- be prepared to take notes!

• The Future Is Already Here: Winning the Next Generation of Haunt Fans

  Scott Simmons - ScareHouse

  Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The next generation of haunt fans is changing the industry and rewriting the rules entirely. Following last year's vital session, this updated seminar returns with the very latest consumer research and emerging trends that every haunted attraction owner needs to understand RIGHT NOW. Built on years of research and the most current data available from nationally recognized leaders in tourism, attractions, and consumer behavior, this presentation focuses on the rapidly evolving habits of Generations Z and Alpha (the audiences that now drive the overwhelming majority of haunted attraction attendance.) Consumer behavior isn't static. The way your guests discover, research, evaluate, and choose entertainment experiences is changing faster than ever. Many attraction owners learned the hard way that marketing strategies and operational approaches that worked just a few years ago no longer deliver the same results. This seminar will show you how to avoid those costly mistakes before Fall 2027. You'll discover how these emerging generations use AI, social media, online reviews, and digital communities to make decisions; what kinds of advertising they trust (and instantly ignore); what they expect before they ever purchase a ticket; and how their engagement habits are fundamentally reshaping the haunted attraction industry. Most importantly, you'll leave with practical, research-backed strategies you can apply immediately to your marketing, guest experience, and long-term planning.

• Foundations of Fear 201: An ADVANCED conversation on Scaling, Sustaining, & Going Full-Time (Part 2 of 2)

  Spencer Terry - Fear Factory

  Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Opening a haunted house may actually be the easy part—building a sustainable, profitable empire that allows you to quit your day job is where the real work begins. How do you transform a seasonal passion project into a premier destination that guests and staff are dying to return to year after year? Join Spencer Terry—Equity Owner & GM of Fear Factory SLC and former President of the Haunted Attraction Association—for a transparent, no-nonsense masterclass in building a haunt that lasts. In this highly requested masterclass, Spencer will peel back the curtain on what it actually takes to scale and sustain a profitable attraction AFTER your first 5 to 10 years in business. Whether your annual attendance is 2,000 or 70,000+, Spencer has seen it all. He'll share the financial, operational, and marketing strategies that built one of the world's consistently top-rated attractions, Fear Factory SLC, unveiling the raw, unfiltered learning moments and high-level frameworks his team used to scale a 100,000 sq. ft. screampark safely and successfully. Take your attraction from a seasonal success, to a thriving long-term business.

• Beyond the Scare: Advanced Haunt Actor Training

  Carl Augustine - Witch Doctors

  Friday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Methods and techniques for deep character development, storytelling and creating the environment for your best actors to flourish beyond simply getting the scare.

• Injuries & Emergency Planning: Protecting Guests, Actors and Your Business. Understanding your duty of care and the hidden risks many attraction owners ignore until it is too late

  Billy Groeneveld - HauntShield Risk Advisors

  Friday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Protecting your guests, actors, and business is one of your most important responsibilities as a haunt owner. But do you understand what that responsibility means—and where your attraction may be vulnerable? This seminar breaks down Duty of Care, Standard of Care, and the potential limits of common defenses, including assumption of risk, independent contractor status, and operating in a leased building. Explore how negligence and vicarious liability can affect your business, and learn practical steps to strengthen safety procedures, prepare for incidents, and maintain thorough documentation and training records. Whether you oversee safety personally or rely on your team and legal counsel, understanding your role is essential. Walk away better prepared to manage risk, respond to the unexpected, and protect the people who make your attraction possible.

Seminars Sponsored By

Saturday Seminars

• Scenic Secrets: The Methods Behind World Class Attractions

  Bryce Alexander - BryceHhorrorFX & Brittany Patterson

  Saturday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Go behind the scenes with professional scenic artists whose work has helped shape some of the industry’s most recognized haunted attractions and themed entertainment experiences. This seminar explores the techniques, materials, and workflows used to create realistic aging, layering, texture, and shocking scenic finishes. Whether you’re building a haunted house, escape room, or theme park attraction, you’ll leave with practical methods and professional insights you can immediately apply to your next project. Transform your sets and scenes overnight with the techniques discussed in this seminar.

• Open Safely: A Fire and Life-Safety Checklist for Haunted Attractions

  Holly Burgess - National Fire Protection Association

  Saturday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  How to identify and correct common fire and life-safety hazards before opening night. This session will examine emergency exits and egress routes, overcrowding, combustible décor, electrical hazards, fog and special effects, fire extinguishers, employee training, and other issues that can delay an inspection—or place guests and employees at risk. Attendees will leave with a practical checklist they can use to evaluate their own attraction.

• The Psychology of Fear: Inspiring Terror in a Desensitized World

  Angelica Karns - Laurel’s House of Horrors

  Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in other ways is endlessly fragile. It only takes a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it. Learn how to transfigure a stagnant scare pattern into a series of interactions that encroaches upon, infiltrates, and contaminates your unsuspecting guests minds and leaves a mental void in its wake that you can live in far beyond the time they leave your attraction. From biological reactions that trigger from each fear response, to what can break the mind's ability to process patterns, learn to utilize and wield the unknown to mentally overpower guests and heighten their experience to unforeseen levels.

• From Spectator to Participant: Designing Interactive and Engaging Experiences

  David Peace - Experience Lights

  Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

• Monster-Making Master Class: Faster Makeup, Bigger Impact with Nix Herrera

  Nix Herrera - Nix Body Art

  Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Create monsters your guests will never forget! Join special effects makeup artist Nix Herrera as he shares tips, tricks, and time-saving techniques he has learned over the past 30 years. Discover how to work more efficiently, keep your makeup line moving, and transform your actors into unforgettable characters. Explore how to add depth, detail, and personality with airbrush techniques, makeup, and prosthetics. Nix will demonstrate practical shortcuts, explain where to focus your time for the biggest visual impact, and share ways to avoid common mistakes and handle touch-ups throughout the night. From organizing your station to getting your cast ready for opening, learn how to streamline your process without sacrificing the details that bring your monsters to life!

• ITS ALIVE! Building Colossal Creatures from the Prop Graveyard

  Ryan Visingard - Woods of Terror

  Saturday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Lightning strikes, the thunder roars, and the spark of life is yours to command! Step into the realm of pure mad science and learn the forbidden art of reanimating forgotten graveyard scraps, shattered armatures, and discarded prop remains into towering, colossal abominations. Channel your inner Dr. Frankenstein as we dismantle the graveyard of broken gear, harness scavenged engineering, and stitch together gargantuan silhouettes that will shock and terrify all who gaze upon them. Dare to breach the boundaries of conventional creation—it’s time to unleash your greatest, most monstrous masterpiece upon the world!

• Making Haunt Content: Build the audience you want!

  Britain Bennett - Digital Creator / Dave Appel - Horrorprops / Jay Grenier - Wicked Makers

  Saturday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

• Dragons, Dinos & Demons, Oh My! — The Art of Creating Giant Foam Creatures

  Dan Faupel - Erebus Haunted House

  Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Creating a giant creature is one thing. Creating one that is lightweight, durable, believable, and actually buildable is another! In this seminar, veteran attraction designer and fabricator Dan Faupel will share more than 30 years of experience designing and building oversized creatures, characters, props, and scenic elements for haunted attractions and themed entertainment. Follow the process from the first sketch to the finished monster as Dan breaks down how large-scale foam creations are designed, engineered, carved, assembled, textured, coated, detailed, and finished. Learn how to: *Choose the right type of foam, create strong but lightweight structures, select the right tools and adhesives, hide seams, build convincing textures, and turn simple blocks of foam into massive dimensional creations. Dan will also take a behind-the-scenes look at several of his recent projects, explaining the challenges encountered during fabrication and the techniques used to solve them. Whether you're preparing to tackle your first large foam project or you've been carving for years, you'll leave with practical techniques, shortcuts, and tricks you can put to work on your next dragon, dinosaur, demon—or whatever giant creature you can dream up!

• Engineering Fear: Designing Haunted Attractions That Keep Guests Guessing and Engaged

  Dylan DeFatta - Haunted Hotel / Haunted Trail of Balboa Park - San Diego

  Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Great haunted houses don't happen by accident! Learn how attraction layout, pacing, sight-lines, bottlenecks, and scene transitions are critical for creating stronger scares, smoother operations, and unforgettable experiences from entry to exit.

• Mastering the Monster Business

  Ed Edmunds - Distortions Unlimited & Allen Hopps - Dark Hour Haunted House / Stiltbeast studios

  Saturday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Ed and Allen have built, lost, rebuilt, and reinvented businesses around one thing they know exceptionally well—making monsters. In this candid one-hour session, they’ll pull back the curtain on decades of experience, sharing favorite projects, difficult challenges, hard-earned successes, costly failures, near disasters, and the decisions that kept them moving forward. Why should you take this class? Because succeeding in the monster business takes more than creativity and a great product. It takes knowing when to take a risk, when to change direction, how to recover when something doesn’t work, and how to recognize the next opportunity before it passes you by. Ed and Allen have pivoted their careers multiple times and will share the signs that told them it was time to change lanes, rethink their approach, and pursue a different path to success. You’ll hear real-world lessons learned from decades of turning creativity into a business—and discover how those lessons can apply to your own attraction, product, or company. Whether you're building monsters, running an attraction, developing products, or growing a creative business, you'll leave with practical insight, inspiration, and a better understanding of how to adapt, survive, and build your own monster success story.

• Virtual Tour of The Prison of the Dead at Shocktoberfest including Scares, Behind the Scenes and Full Design

  Pat Konopelski - Schocktoberfest

  Saturday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Join 36 year haunt veteran and Shocktoberfest owner Patrick Konopelski, as he takes you on a Virtual Haunt Tour of the 50,000 ‘scare’ foot Prison of the Dead Mega Haunt located at Shocktoberfest in Reading, PA with behind the scenes and in-depth explanation of design and scares. You will learn how to build a haunted house from start to finish! For the first time ever at Transworld you will tour and see everything from design, floor plan, scare effects, animatronics, and actor hides. More than just a haunt tour, you will learn the psychology behind every scare and scene. You will tour POV in the comfort of the classroom setting. This video will be an actual experience as if you were at Shocktoberfest. It will include the tour of the attraction from the customer’s perspective using show lights and then house lights. Additionally, the seminar will show the overview of the design of the Prison and placement of the scares including lighting, sound, animatronics and actors. Patrick will then be available to answer questions after the tour.

Seminars Sponsored By

HALLOWEEN SEMINARS

• Scare Without Touching: No Touch Means Bigger Scares

  Allen Hopps - Dark Hour Haunted House / Stiltbeast Studios

  Thursday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  You don't have to touch people to scare them. Let's work on what is scarier than being touched in a haunted attraction: the psychological reasons why touching might not be the best choice for bigger scares. We will talk about promise breaking through touch, the drawbacks of touching in haunts, and the path to better psychological scares. You will learn practical techniques for building tension, invading personal space without making contact, and creating stronger psychological scares that are safer, more consistent, and easier to reinforce across your entire cast.

• Foundations of Fear 101: A BEGINNER’S tutorial and conversation on launching and sustaining a haunted attraction in the first 5 years (Part 1 of 2)

  Spencer Terry - Fear Factory

  Thursday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The haunted attraction industry is evolving faster than ever. Shifting consumer expectations, changing spending habits, and new operational realities mean the old playbooks just don't cut it anymore. Whether you're starting a home haunt, expanding a seasonal corn maze, or running a massive, multi-building, 100,000 sq. ft. screampark like Fear Factory in Salt Lake City, Utah, launching in today’s market requires a battle-tested strategy and learning from others’ mistakes to get ahead—FAST. Join Spencer Terry—Equity Owner & GM of Fear Factory SLC and former President of the Haunted Attraction Association—for a transparent, no-nonsense roadmap to building a haunt that lasts. Spencer will peel back the curtain on what it actually takes to launch and sustain a profitable attraction, big or small, through your critical first five years. Whether your annual attendance is 2,000 or 70,000+, Spencer has seen it all and will share the proven lessons he’s learned along the way. Don't just build a haunt—build a business that thrives. Speaker Bio: Spencer Terry is the President Emeritus of the Haunted Attraction Association and the Equity Owner & General Manager of Fear Factory Screampark in Salt Lake City, Utah. Beyond the entertainment industry, Spencer is a serial entrepreneur, board member, and executive advisor—serving as CEO and founder of Mountain High Chai and principal at STCG, a specialized consulting group. His 20+ year career spans over a decade in hospitality, casino operations, retail, property management, large-scale event management, and non-profit leadership, with roles including C-level executive, Executive Director, elected City Councilman, and firefighter. Out of the spotlight, Spencer is an avid outdoor enthusiast, mountain explorer, gardener, devoted dad, life coach, and volunteer—usually found with a cup of chai in hand.

• Sensory Overload: Live FX, Lighting & Atmospheric Effects That Wow Every Guest

  Justin Abundo - iLuminateFX and Josh Letournea - Light Up The Night Productions

  Thursday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  A great set gets noticed. A great scare gets a reaction. But when lighting, atmosphere, live FX, sound, animations, and perfectly timed effects hit together that’s the moment guests remember. Led by two industry professionals with backgrounds in haunted attractions, escape rooms, theme park entertainment, and large scale events, Sensory Overload dives into the techniques behind creating high impact immersive experiences. We’ll explore dynamic lighting, fog and haze, environmental and live FX, sound integration, reveals, distractions, misdirection, and effects timing and how to layer them together for maximum impact. You don’t need an unlimited budget to create a massive reaction. You need the right effect, in the right place, at exactly the right moment. Learn how to make guests see it, hear it, feel it, and remember it.

• HR Matters: There is a Cost to Getting It Wrong - Strong HR practices build productive teams, protect company culture, and reduce legal and financial risk.

  Kelly Hookham - Dreadful Damsels

  Thursday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Every HR failure in a seasonal attraction shows up in one of three places: the hire, the season, or the exit. At the hire, it's illegal application and interview questions, missing documentation, and the person you hired in a hurry who is now costing you good staff. During the season, inconsistent leadership, unclear expectations, and undocumented decisions become wage claims and complaints; usually at your busiest moment, when they are easiest to mishandle. At the exit, it's final pay deadlines, rehire eligibility, and payroll taxes. This session follows the money with real examples: what each failure costs, why it compounds, and the small fixes that stop it. Built for seasonal attractions, not adapted from corporate HR.

• Every Guest Is Worth More: Strategies to Increase Revenue Without Raising Ticket Prices

  Kim Shapiro - Factory of Terror / The schoolhouse and Lab

  Thursday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Increasing revenue doesn’t have to mean increasing admission prices. This fast-paced session will explore practical, proven ways to generate more revenue from every guest—and even from visitors who may not be ready to enter your attraction. Topics include premium and VIP parking, ticket insurance, online upsells, bundled packages, midway-only experiences, food and beverage sales, vendor partnerships and revenue-sharing opportunities, premium add-ons, behind-the-scenes and lights-on tours, and off-season events. Attendees will leave with a variety of creative, actionable ideas they can adapt to their own attraction to increase guest spending, create new revenue streams, and generate income beyond the traditional haunt season.

• Scenic Design to Scare: Creating Environments That Bring Your Attraction to Life

  Alejo Casalotti - Laurel's House of Horrors & Marco D'Andrea - Fear Columbus

  Thursday 3:15pm - 4:15pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Turn ordinary spaces into unforgettable haunted environments! Discover how set design, lighting, textures, and props work together to pull guests into your story, build suspense, and set the stage for powerful scares. Whether you’re creating a new attraction or refreshing existing scenes, get inspired with creative ideas to make every room more believable, more exciting, and more memorable.

• Active Shooter - Improving Safety and Security in the Entertainment Industry

  Bill Cahill - Retired Law Enforcement Professional

  Thursday 3:15pm - 4:15pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Participants will learn practical strategies to strengthen security, develop effective emergency response plans, recognize potential warning signs, respond to an active-shooter incident, and navigate the recovery process. The seminar emphasizes proactive preparedness, coordination with law enforcement and emergency responders, and proven strategies to enhance safety and security for employees, guests, and patrons Speaker Bio: William “Bill” Cahill is a retiree with 35 years of law enforcement experience and currently serves as Security Manager for The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Bill spent four years assigned full-time to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Federal Task Force Officer, a certified FBI Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Instructor, providing active-shooter response training to law enforcement personnel at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Throughout his career, Bill has developed extensive expertise in law enforcement, emergency response, active-shooter preparedness, and security operations, establishing him as a recognized authority in the safety and security community.

• Precision CNC Fabrication for Modern Haunt Production

  Buck Burdick - Station 5 Productions

  Friday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  From 3D CAD models to terrifying realities—unlock faster builds, repeatable animatronics, and industrial-grade props without burning out your shop crew. In the modern haunted attraction industry, handsaws and manual foam carving simply can’t keep up with tight offseason deadlines and rising guest expectations. Whether you are building massive structural facade walls, precision-milled animatronic linkages, or hyper-detailed EPS foam creatures, CNC technology is the ultimate force multiplier for your shop. ​This seminar demystifies computer-controlled routing and machining specifically for haunt owners, prop builders, and scenic designers. All your questions about adding CNC capabilities to your attraction will be answered here. Buck will also discuss how to build in 3D. If you want to learn how to take a flat piece of building material and turn it into a 3D set piece, this is the seminar for you. Who Should Attend - Haunt owners, scenic artists, lead builders, prop fabricators, and technical directors looking to scale up production quality and automate tedious manual labor. Speaker Bio: Buck Burdick from Station 5 Productions and Fear Asylum Haunted House. Buck is a 17 year veteran of the attractions industry. He has built attractions all over the United States and overseas. Buck has been one of the "Go-To" experts when it comes to scenic design and CNC fabrication in the industry. Buck has presented numerous times at Transworld and is a trusted vendor of some of the Top Attractions in the Country.  ​

• Beyond the Haunted House: Creating New Experiences, New Audiences, and New Revenue

  Scott Simmons - Scarehouse

  Friday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  For decades, haunted attractions have proved that people will pay for unforgettable experiences in the fall. But what happens the other eleven months of the year? And what if your next successful attraction doesn't require a permanent building at all? In this idea-packed seminar, 25+ year industry veteran Scott Simmons explores the growing world of experience-driven entertainment beyond the traditional haunted attraction. Drawing from decades of work with the nationally recognized ScareHouse, along with recent projects produced independently for haunted attractions, museums, escape rooms, entertainment districts, and hospitality clients, Scott shares real-world examples of experiences that build brands, generate revenue, and keep audiences engaged throughout the year. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking to launch your first experience without investing in a permanent facility, or an established haunt owner searching for new ways to maximize an existing property, you'll discover practical ideas that can be adapted to nearly any market and budget. From immersive movie screenings and interactive character encounters to themed pop-up bars, mocktail experiences, vendor markets, seasonal festivals, tailgates, escape experiences, and other creative activations, this seminar examines what makes these events successful, how they can complement your existing business, and how they can introduce entirely new audiences to your brand.

• Engaging in the Queue & Owning the Midway: Front‑of‑House Scareacting

  Jonathan Glickman - Fright Nights at the South Florida Fairgrounds

  Friday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  This seminar is designed for actor trainers and performers looking to elevate their work in the queue line and midway—two of the most dynamic, high‑impact spaces in any haunted attraction. In the queue line, we’ll explore a character‑driven method of guest engagement, providing practical tools and techniques for building, inhabiting, and sustaining a character that connects quickly and meaningfully with guests. In the midway, the focus shifts to maximizing visibility, movement, and teamwork. Participants will learn how to utilize the space effectively, employ hit‑and‑run style interactions, and coordinate with fellow performers to maximize the impact of these characters that are often the guests’ initial encounter with your attraction.

• Projection Mapping Boot Camp: 10 Tangible Ways to Go from Static to Spectacular

  Ross Arroyo - Illumibot & Todd Fedyshyn - His and Hearse

  Friday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Stop settling for static. In this hands-on boot camp, Ross and Todd walk you through 10 tangible, real-world ways to add projection mapping to your event and make it instantly more memorable. This is not a lecture. It’s a guided tour of the cheats, tools, and methods we’ve actually used in the field. Bring a notebook — you’ll leave with tactics you can put to work right away. You do not have to be a super nerd. AI has changed the game, and we’re sharing the secret sauce that now lets almost anyone do this. Built for haunts, escape rooms, Christmas events, municipalities, zoos, and anyone who wants to turn ordinary surfaces into something people talk about. Roll up your sleeves. Get ready to become a mapper.

• How to Greatly Improve Your Attraction’s Marketing Without Increasing Your Budget (So You Sell More Tickets & Build a Following)

  Brad Weinstein - Newbridge

  Friday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Want to learn how to greatly improve your attraction's marketing so you can sell more tickets (and grow your fan base) in 2027? This fast-paced seminar is designed to help people of all experience levels (newbies to industry veterans) and will cover a spectrum of ways you can take your marketing to the next level (that don't involve spending more money). With over a decade of experience that includes top attractions and brands (such as Disney World and Google), Brad Weinstein will share valuable insights and takeaways with you that will make the small cost of this seminar more than pay for itself! Topics covered in this seminar include: How to be more strategic with your current marketing budget (and tips to avoid wasting it). Why your marketing is probably not as effective as it should be (and how to fix it). Critical factors to keep in mind when developing & shaping your attraction's brand (to increase long-term success). Expensive marketing mistakes you should avoid this year. How to increase the chance your marketing attracts the right customers (who are more likely to leave positive reviews & spread good word of mouth). Learn strategic tweaks you can make to your ads and messaging to increase success (small tweaks can make a big difference). Insights on how to create the right brand personality & ads for your specific audience and market (to sell more tickets). And more! You will leave this seminar empowered with clear & actionable takeaways you can implement this season to greatly improve your attraction's marketing in 2027 and beyond! Speaker Bio: Brad’s experience includes The Walt Disney Company, Elitch Gardens Theme Park, Google, professional haunted attractions, and world class advertising agencies in NYC.

• Killer Foam Tombstones & Monster Mud Statues

  Cheryl Callendar

  Friday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  In-depth, hands-on look at creating terrifyingly realistic foam tombstones for your home haunt, yard display, or professional attraction. This seminar will cover everything from selecting and carving foam to adding realistic aging, cracks, epitaphs, stone textures, and eerie paint finishes that make lightweight foam look like centuries-old granite. You’ll also learn the secrets behind using Monster Mud to add durability, texture, and that unmistakable weathered cemetery look that takes your props to the next level. Whether you’re building your very first graveyard or looking to elevate your haunt artistry, this session is packed with professional techniques, creative inspiration, and practical tips. Come learn how to create tombstones so realistic… your guests may start checking the dates.

• 31 Scares in 60 minutes

  Ben Armstrong - Netherworld Haunted House & Allen Hopps - Dark Hour Haunted House / Stiltbeast Studios

  Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The best scares we ever designed or implemented. With over 70 years of haunted attractions under these two amazingly creative Haunters, they are looking through time and sharing the ideas, room designs, plans, and products that brought them the best scares over the years- great scares that work for small haunts and the ones that allow massive throughput to work seamlessly. Every haunter at any level will get value from this class. Fast-paced and packed with high-value tips- be prepared to take notes!

• The Future Is Already Here: Winning the Next Generation of Haunt Fans

  Scott Simmons - ScareHouse

  Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The next generation of haunt fans is changing the industry and rewriting the rules entirely. Following last year's vital session, this updated seminar returns with the very latest consumer research and emerging trends that every haunted attraction owner needs to understand RIGHT NOW. Built on years of research and the most current data available from nationally recognized leaders in tourism, attractions, and consumer behavior, this presentation focuses on the rapidly evolving habits of Generations Z and Alpha (the audiences that now drive the overwhelming majority of haunted attraction attendance.) Consumer behavior isn't static. The way your guests discover, research, evaluate, and choose entertainment experiences is changing faster than ever. Many attraction owners learned the hard way that marketing strategies and operational approaches that worked just a few years ago no longer deliver the same results. This seminar will show you how to avoid those costly mistakes before Fall 2027. You'll discover how these emerging generations use AI, social media, online reviews, and digital communities to make decisions; what kinds of advertising they trust (and instantly ignore); what they expect before they ever purchase a ticket; and how their engagement habits are fundamentally reshaping the haunted attraction industry. Most importantly, you'll leave with practical, research-backed strategies you can apply immediately to your marketing, guest experience, and long-term planning.

• Foundations of Fear 201: An ADVANCED conversation on Scaling, Sustaining, & Going Full-Time (Part 2 of 2)

  Spencer Terry - Fear Factory

  Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Opening a haunted house may actually be the easy part—building a sustainable, profitable empire that allows you to quit your day job is where the real work begins. How do you transform a seasonal passion project into a premier destination that guests and staff are dying to return to year after year? Join Spencer Terry—Equity Owner & GM of Fear Factory SLC and former President of the Haunted Attraction Association—for a transparent, no-nonsense masterclass in building a haunt that lasts. In this highly requested masterclass, Spencer will peel back the curtain on what it actually takes to scale and sustain a profitable attraction AFTER your first 5 to 10 years in business. Whether your annual attendance is 2,000 or 70,000+, Spencer has seen it all. He'll share the financial, operational, and marketing strategies that built one of the world's consistently top-rated attractions, Fear Factory SLC, unveiling the raw, unfiltered learning moments and high-level frameworks his team used to scale a 100,000 sq. ft. screampark safely and successfully. Take your attraction from a seasonal success, to a thriving long-term business.

• Beyond the Scare: Advanced Haunt Actor Training

  Carl Augustine - Witch Doctors

  Friday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Methods and techniques for deep character development, storytelling and creating the environment for your best actors to flourish beyond simply getting the scare.

• Injuries & Emergency Planning: Protecting Guests, Actors and Your Business. Understanding your duty of care and the hidden risks many attraction owners ignore until it is too late

  Billy Groeneveld - HauntShield Risk Advisors

  Friday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Protecting your guests, actors, and business is one of your most important responsibilities as a haunt owner. But do you understand what that responsibility means—and where your attraction may be vulnerable? This seminar breaks down Duty of Care, Standard of Care, and the potential limits of common defenses, including assumption of risk, independent contractor status, and operating in a leased building. Explore how negligence and vicarious liability can affect your business, and learn practical steps to strengthen safety procedures, prepare for incidents, and maintain thorough documentation and training records. Whether you oversee safety personally or rely on your team and legal counsel, understanding your role is essential. Walk away better prepared to manage risk, respond to the unexpected, and protect the people who make your attraction possible.

• Scenic Secrets: The Methods Behind World Class Attractions

  Bryce Alexander - BryceHhorrorFX & Brittany Patterson

  Saturday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Go behind the scenes with professional scenic artists whose work has helped shape some of the industry’s most recognized haunted attractions and themed entertainment experiences. This seminar explores the techniques, materials, and workflows used to create realistic aging, layering, texture, and shocking scenic finishes. Whether you’re building a haunted house, escape room, or theme park attraction, you’ll leave with practical methods and professional insights you can immediately apply to your next project. Transform your sets and scenes overnight with the techniques discussed in this seminar.

• Open Safely: A Fire and Life-Safety Checklist for Haunted Attractions

  Holly Burgess - National Fire Protection Association

  Saturday 10:15 am - 11:15 am

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  How to identify and correct common fire and life-safety hazards before opening night. This session will examine emergency exits and egress routes, overcrowding, combustible décor, electrical hazards, fog and special effects, fire extinguishers, employee training, and other issues that can delay an inspection—or place guests and employees at risk. Attendees will leave with a practical checklist they can use to evaluate their own attraction.

• The Psychology of Fear: Inspiring Terror in a Desensitized World

  Angelica Karns - Laurel’s House of Horrors

  Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in other ways is endlessly fragile. It only takes a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it. Learn how to transfigure a stagnant scare pattern into a series of interactions that encroaches upon, infiltrates, and contaminates your unsuspecting guests minds and leaves a mental void in its wake that you can live in far beyond the time they leave your attraction. From biological reactions that trigger from each fear response, to what can break the mind's ability to process patterns, learn to utilize and wield the unknown to mentally overpower guests and heighten their experience to unforeseen levels.

• From Spectator to Participant: Designing Interactive and Engaging Experiences

  David Peace - Experience Lights

  Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

• Monster-Making Master Class: Faster Makeup, Bigger Impact with Nix Herrera

  Nix Herrera - Nix Body Art

  Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Create monsters your guests will never forget! Join special effects makeup artist Nix Herrera as he shares tips, tricks, and time-saving techniques he has learned over the past 30 years. Discover how to work more efficiently, keep your makeup line moving, and transform your actors into unforgettable characters. Explore how to add depth, detail, and personality with airbrush techniques, makeup, and prosthetics. Nix will demonstrate practical shortcuts, explain where to focus your time for the biggest visual impact, and share ways to avoid common mistakes and handle touch-ups throughout the night. From organizing your station to getting your cast ready for opening, learn how to streamline your process without sacrificing the details that bring your monsters to life!

• ITS ALIVE! Building Colossal Creatures from the Prop Graveyard

  Ryan Visingard - Woods of Terror

  Saturday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Lightning strikes, the thunder roars, and the spark of life is yours to command! Step into the realm of pure mad science and learn the forbidden art of reanimating forgotten graveyard scraps, shattered armatures, and discarded prop remains into towering, colossal abominations. Channel your inner Dr. Frankenstein as we dismantle the graveyard of broken gear, harness scavenged engineering, and stitch together gargantuan silhouettes that will shock and terrify all who gaze upon them. Dare to breach the boundaries of conventional creation—it’s time to unleash your greatest, most monstrous masterpiece upon the world!

• Making Haunt Content: Build the audience you want!

  Britain Bennett - Digital Creator / Dave Appel - Horrorprops / Jay Grenier - Wicked Makers

  Saturday 12:45pm-1:45pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

• Dragons, Dinos & Demons, Oh My! — The Art of Creating Giant Foam Creatures

  Dan Faupel - Erebus Haunted House

  Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Creating a giant creature is one thing. Creating one that is lightweight, durable, believable, and actually buildable is another! In this seminar, veteran attraction designer and fabricator Dan Faupel will share more than 30 years of experience designing and building oversized creatures, characters, props, and scenic elements for haunted attractions and themed entertainment. Follow the process from the first sketch to the finished monster as Dan breaks down how large-scale foam creations are designed, engineered, carved, assembled, textured, coated, detailed, and finished. Learn how to: *Choose the right type of foam, create strong but lightweight structures, select the right tools and adhesives, hide seams, build convincing textures, and turn simple blocks of foam into massive dimensional creations. Dan will also take a behind-the-scenes look at several of his recent projects, explaining the challenges encountered during fabrication and the techniques used to solve them. Whether you're preparing to tackle your first large foam project or you've been carving for years, you'll leave with practical techniques, shortcuts, and tricks you can put to work on your next dragon, dinosaur, demon—or whatever giant creature you can dream up!

• Engineering Fear: Designing Haunted Attractions That Keep Guests Guessing and Engaged

  Dylan DeFatta - Haunted Hotel / Haunted Trail of Balboa Park - San Diego

  Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm

  Room 132

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Great haunted houses don't happen by accident! Learn how attraction layout, pacing, sight-lines, bottlenecks, and scene transitions are critical for creating stronger scares, smoother operations, and unforgettable experiences from entry to exit.

• Mastering the Monster Business

  Ed Edmunds - Distortions Unlimited & Allen Hopps - Dark Hour Haunted House / Stiltbeast studios

  Saturday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 123

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Ed and Allen have built, lost, rebuilt, and reinvented businesses around one thing they know exceptionally well—making monsters. In this candid one-hour session, they’ll pull back the curtain on decades of experience, sharing favorite projects, difficult challenges, hard-earned successes, costly failures, near disasters, and the decisions that kept them moving forward. Why should you take this class? Because succeeding in the monster business takes more than creativity and a great product. It takes knowing when to take a risk, when to change direction, how to recover when something doesn’t work, and how to recognize the next opportunity before it passes you by. Ed and Allen have pivoted their careers multiple times and will share the signs that told them it was time to change lanes, rethink their approach, and pursue a different path to success. You’ll hear real-world lessons learned from decades of turning creativity into a business—and discover how those lessons can apply to your own attraction, product, or company. Whether you're building monsters, running an attraction, developing products, or growing a creative business, you'll leave with practical insight, inspiration, and a better understanding of how to adapt, survive, and build your own monster success story.

• Virtual Tour of The Prison of the Dead at Shocktoberfest including Scares, Behind the Scenes and Full Design

  Pat Konopelski - Schocktoberfest

  Saturday 3:15pm-4:15pm

  Room 120

  $55/attendee (Early Bird through Feb 20th) $65/attendee (After Feb 20th)

  Join 36 year haunt veteran and Shocktoberfest owner Patrick Konopelski, as he takes you on a Virtual Haunt Tour of the 50,000 ‘scare’ foot Prison of the Dead Mega Haunt located at Shocktoberfest in Reading, PA with behind the scenes and in-depth explanation of design and scares. You will learn how to build a haunted house from start to finish! For the first time ever at Transworld you will tour and see everything from design, floor plan, scare effects, animatronics, and actor hides. More than just a haunt tour, you will learn the psychology behind every scare and scene. You will tour POV in the comfort of the classroom setting. This video will be an actual experience as if you were at Shocktoberfest. It will include the tour of the attraction from the customer’s perspective using show lights and then house lights. Additionally, the seminar will show the overview of the design of the Prison and placement of the scares including lighting, sound, animatronics and actors. Patrick will then be available to answer questions after the tour.

Seminars Sponsored By

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INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SEMINARS

EVENT REGISTRATIONS

L.I.T.E. LIGHTING INSTITUTE TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

Seminars Sponsored By

Installer Intensive Training Programs

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SEMINAR PACKAGES

Free Early Bird Seminars

• Taking the Scare Out of Marketing: Strategies for Budgets from $0 to $100k

  David Baker - Denton Halloween

  Thursday 9:00am-10:00am

  Room 123

  In this session, David will share the marketing playbook behind one of the country's largest Halloween celebrations, which reached over one million visitors in two years. He'll begin with the free tactics that drove most of his growth, then move through the pros and cons of different paid strategies so you can make informed decisions on where to stretch your marketing dollars. David will show you how he uses AI to do the work of a team he doesn't have and share the secret tactics he has developed over a decade in event marketing. Whether your budget is $100,000 or nothing at all, this session will provide valuable information you can implement on your own before your doors open this season.

• From Big Idea to Big Business: The Story Behind Game Show Battle Rooms

  Tyler Donges - Game Show Battle Rooms

  Friday 9:00am-10:00am

  Room 123

  How do you turn a creative idea into an entertainment experience people will pay for and a business built to grow? Join Tyler Donges Director of Operations of Game Show Battle Rooms as they share their journey from the initial concept to a successful business model. Hear about the challenges, unexpected setbacks, and key decisions that shaped their success. Explore their approach to engaging guests, hiring entertaining hosts, attracting group bookings, and delivering a consistent experience

Free exhibitor seminars