Once again without warning October is here and (as usual) way too soon for many of us. As I often relay to clients and seminar audiences: "A Haunted House is never finished…you just have to know when to stop!" Otherwise you will keep adding things and changing things until you run out of both money and time (you have to run out of both, because if you run out of time, you can still spend money, and if you run out of money, you can still spend time). Eventually, with some visions uncompleted, we are forced to sell tickets and let the public in (hopefully in large numbers) to experience our twisted creations.

As with the last few Halloween issues of Haunted Attraction, the spotlight of this issue is Disney's original Haunted Mansion! Over a year in the making, this special double issue will be a collector's item for Haunters and Haunted Mansion fans alike. This collection of articles is the most in-depth look ever of the most famous Haunt in the world, with articles by the utmost authorities on the attraction and an interview with one of the creators. Some of the design sketches in this issue have never been in print before and provide a wonderful look at the development of this classic "benchmark" attraction that each of us measures our attractions against. I know that you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you.

This has been a busy year for Haunted Attraction Magazine, with appearances at several gatherings and conventions throughout the year. It was great meeting so many of you and such a pleasure to hear how much you enjoy reading our publication. The Haunted Attraction Magazine is truly a labor of love and I hope that it shows in every issue. With each printing we try outdo the previous magazine; I would rather delay publication than print a sub-par issue.

Once again this year, we will be hosting a Design Lab educational series during the IAAPA amusement trade show in November. This year's program will be more like a workshop than in years past, with hands-on demonstrations in Designing a 3D Haunt (by John Burton), Haunted House Design (by yours truly), Marketing, Sponsorships, and much more. You can sign up for this invaluable day-long one-on-one "How-To" on the web site at www.hauntedattraction.com or contact us at 704-366-0875.

One last note: At the VA HauntFest, one of our readers, Louis Brown, approached me and asked if I knew that I am a Trivial Pursuit question. It seems he was playing the Genus 5 Edition of Trivial Pursuit when this question came up: "What kind of houses does Leonard Pickel design for Amusement Parks around the country?" To the surprise of his friends, he knew the answer: Haunted Houses! I told him that this was a great story, but I was not going to believe it without proof. So he emailed a scan of the card - now I know how it feels to be trivial!

Here's hoping that your October event is everything that you want it to be. We at Haunted Attraction Magazine wish each of you a safe and prosperous Halloween season!

See you in February!

Leonard Pickel
Editor