CorpComms Magazine

Halloween may be a way off yet, but in the US, the Haunted House Association has already launched its annual PR campaign in the run up to the big event. For the uninitiated, this is not a support group for people who are pestered by ghouls in their residences. What we have here is a professional association for the owners of haunted attractions.

These are essentially seasonal theme parks throughout North America, with Hollywood special effects teams, expensive sets and numerous actors, and they are pretty big business on this side of the pond. According to the Haunted House Association, a top haunted attraction can make half a million dollars in the Halloween season once the last thrill-seeker has stepped through its door.

For any journalist who remains sceptical about the scale of the haunted house industry, New York-based Dukas Public Relations, which is handling the campaign, can arrange a behind-the-scenes tour of a haunted attraction once they open for the season. That could take you to The Bates Hotel and Haunted Hayride in Gradyville, Pennsylvania, or perhaps the Headless Horseman Hayride in Ulster Park, New York.

But as a back up, there's another PR stunt aimed at capturing media attention this year. Just when we thought the US presidential race was getting quite scary enough, the association is launching a third candidate for president, Senator Frank N. Stein.

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