DETROIT, Mich. — Passage, a cutting-edge event ticketing company launched in Detroit in 2014 and which operates a ticketing brand HauntPay for haunted attractions, is announcing the results of its 2022 Haunt Industry Report, a new survey of 2,100 haunted attraction industry professionals in the US and Canada. The report is believed to be one of the largest surveys of the haunted attraction industry in recent years. The survey found that the total number of guests visiting a haunt each year is increasing, with 68 percent of attractions seeing at least 1000 guests in 2021, and 78 percent expecting that number again in 2022. Around 41 percent of haunts expected more than 5000 guests in 2022. Haunted attractions also found that guests spent more than 35 percent more when completing their ticket purchase online with $53.39 being the average in-person transaction in 2021, compared with $71.77 for the average online transaction in 2021.  The survey also showed that many haunts are now offering more than the traditional haunted house; 17.3 percent of respondents were offering corn mazes, 14.9 percent haunted hayride, 13.8 percent escape games and 12 percent zombie paintball.

“We decided to do the survey to provide reliable data for the industry we work so closely with,” explained Passage CEO and Co-founder Alex Linebrink, a serial tech entrepreneur who has built multiple marketing and financial technology companies. “Every year we get asked questions by haunts about how much they should charge and other data points, so we wanted to be able to provide accurate information.” The survey found that 40 percent of respondents were charging $21-30 for entry to their haunts in 2021, while 25.9 percent were charging $11-20, and 17.1 percent were charging $31-40.

Linebrink said haunted attractions are now so much more than purely a Halloween-centered event because of year-round offerings, such as “Lights Out” tours in November, events in the holiday season such as “Scary Krampus” and, in the spring, “Zombie Prom” for adults. He added that the survey confirmed the importance of online ticket sales for increased revenue.

“Ticket sales are still the number one generator of revenue for haunted houses, but concessions, merchandise, midway games and ticket premiums, which offer guests shorter times waiting in line, are expanding that revenue stream. This offers more opportunities for haunts to expand their business,” said Linkebrink.  “Our own data shows that after an event has been with Passage for at least two years they more than double their revenue on our platform.” The company specializes in ticketing for small to medium-sized events, offering customized features to maximize sales for event organizers while keeping service fees low.

Linebrink added that many people were also not aware of the philanthropy of the industry. “Almost three-quarters of haunts are giving back to the community – they are either non-profits themselves or are giving a percentage of proceeds to a nonprofit,” he said. “People often visit haunted houses for a good scare, but they are often contributing to the greater good at the same time.”

Other notable facts from the survey showed that while staffing and Covid were concerns, location or lack of foot traffic was the number one issue that scared haunted industry professionals. In addition, the importance of the haunted attractions as small businesses was highlighted: 43.8 percent of those surveyed had 26-50 of employees at their own haunt.

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