Halloween Promises Boost to Struggling Economy
Sep 16th, 2009 by Jeff Westover
An economy that was once shatteredby the collapse of one housing market may in fact be resurrected by another -the haunted housing market. According to the Haunted House Association,
(www.hauntedhouseassociation.org), a collective
of the most successful and renowned haunted houses and attractions in the
country, money spent this fall on national Halloween Attractions are expected
to pump over $1 billion dollars into the American economy.
Halloween Attractions can best be described as haunted houses, hayrides, corn
mazes and other related activities with each attraction requiring as many as
several dozen paid employees to staff them – which equals much needed jobs for
the unemployed. The Halloween Attraction Industry surpasses all other forms of
Halloween entertainment during the September/October months, including
Hollywood movies, and according to retail data, over 18% of Americans will
visit a haunted house this season.
“Ten years ago people might have snuggled up in the dark watching horror
movies but today they have the option of going to massive, terrifying new
attractions that will scare even the bravest of visitors,” said Larry
Kirchner, board member of the Haunted House Association. “Modern haunted
houses use professionally trained actors and the latest technology to
transport people into an insane, realistic and horrific environment. Visiting
a haunted attraction is like stepping onto a full-scale Hollywood-quality
horror movie set and we are expecting unprecedented crowds of people to
re-discover the thrill of the Halloween season.”
Halloween is now the second biggest retail holiday in America behind Christmas
with Americans expected to spend over $7 billion this year on costumes, candy,
attending parties and much more. Over the past three years, the popularity of
Halloween has tripled and the tremendous influx of money spent on its
celebration will hopefully jumpstart an otherwise struggling economy.