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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

Scott Simmons and Kate "Dudders" Dudas join fellow haunters, hustlers, and provocateurs John Laflamboy (Zombie Army Productions) and Pat Konopelski (Shocktoberfest) for an extended conversation about modern haunted attractions. John shares the birth and legacy of Chicago's Zombie Army and their much beloved Party Bus The true story behind the world famous "Naked and Scared" challenge at Shocktoberfest The controversy within our industry about "extreme haunted houses" How a...

Creative Director Scott Simmons travels to Baltimore to catch up with former ScareHouse audio masters Glenn Ricci and Ursula Marcum from Submersive Productions to talk about immersive theater. Scott and Glenn first worked together in sixth grade on a friend’s basement haunt then again at the Cloverleaf YMCA and ScareHouse How Sleep No More and Then She Fell inspired The Basement and Submersive Productions The struggle to define what immersive theater is and isn’t How the...

Creative Director Scott Simmons catches up with Todd McDevitt and Jon Engel from New Dimensions Comics at Rock Bottom to chat about the comic book industry, pushing your ventures, and 3 Rivers Comicon. Scott asks Jon and Todd when and how they first got into comic books Jon talks about how Magic the Gathering was the gateway to comic book collecting and his current job Todd has been collecting comic books for 31 years and has over two million comic books Jon and Todd...

The award winning Atrocity Exhibition’s ninth performance will take you to hell. Katie “Dudders” caught up with Macabre Noir, Aaron Doctor Morose, and Lori Howsare “The Mad Muse” at Atrocity’s command center, aka Macabre’s living room. They talk about the creative process, theater theory, and Atrocity Exhibition IX: Inferno. Lori credits her theater education and experience for her ability to be such a successful stage manager Macabre and Aaron Doctor Morose discuss how the...

Scott Simmons and Katie “Dudders” hang out on a loading dock in Pittsburgh’s Strip District with Rob Johnston to talk about social media and the importance of being genuine with your audience. Highlights: Rob, former ScareHouse Podcast host, reminisces about his favorite ScareHouse Podcast episodes Discussing the rise and fall of Vine Why Vine was such a great fit for Rob’s creative vision and how enjoyed the challenge Using old school techniques and humor to engage with...