If you are looking for education then check out their seminars – some of the best you’ll find. If you are looking to visit some haunted houses, then hop on the Haunted Attraction Magazine Pre-Show Bus Tour at MHC (yes that was a gratuitous plug – I’m just the sponsor though, the MHC put the tour together). If you are looking for props, costumes or makeup for your event, then you’ll want to hit the tradeshow. If you want to have a good time, then come to the make-up wars, the costume ball or one of the other events that are planned.

I can’t recommend this event highly enough. It has the professionalism and organization of a big trade show like IAAPA, but has that hands-on touch that the MHC provides because they care so much about the show.

So do yourself a favor and get to Columbus for the Midwest Haunters Convention!

How to Do the WORST Print Interview EVER!

The Best Ways to Make a Reporter Think You’re a Fool

By Marsha Friedman

Over the years, I’ve given out reams of advice to people on how to do great press interviews, but sometimes it’s difficult to cover all the bases. After all, the way I got smart about the media was to make mistakes and learn from them. So I thought it might be fun and informative if I assembled some tips from the reverse angle – the best mistakes to make. I mean, if you’re going to mess up, why not do it in epic fashion so people remember you.

Don’t focus on the interview. By all means, feel free to talk about whatever stream of consciousness pops into your head. Your family, your spouse, your health problems and the fact that your neighbor’s dog is doing his business on your front lawn. Make as much nervous small talk as possible, and if the reporter grew up in the same town as you, feel free to grill him for an hour to see if he had any of the same teachers as you in high school. After all, it’s not like he’s a media professional on deadline whose time is at a premium. There is nothing more he’d rather do than to talk about anything, except of course, the reason he’s interviewing you.
Preparation, shmeperation. Journalists get a kick out of people who are not prepared for the interview, who don’t know the reporter’s name or the publication for which they toil. They completely understand when you don’t know what area of interest they cover in their columns, or when you tell them you’ve never read any of their stories. The only way to score more points is to tell them you’ve read their stuff, and you think they don’t have a clue what they are writing about most of the time.
Schedules are for wimps. Don’t worry about being on time. Feel free to be late – in fact, be VERY late, especially if you are actually meeting them in person. These guys don’t like going back to the office, so the longer you can keep them out of the office – especially if they are waiting at a diner or coffee shop that’s at least 30 minutes away from the office – the better.
Trash talk is gold. Do you know what really plays well in the media? Trash talking your competition. There is nothing more fun than shooting off your mouth to a reporter, and then watching the sparks fly in the morning when the paper hits the streets. Your attorney will love you for it, because the fees you pay him to defend you in the business defamation lawsuit your competitor files are finally going to make him enough money to buy that new boat.
Lie, and then lie about lying. Nothing will get you more ink than if you lie, because reporters are pretty good at discovering the truth. And when they do, that means they’ll write another story about you. In fact, the bigger the lie, the better, because then you get the news coverage hat trick – the original story, the follow-up when they expose your lie, and the contrite news conference where you fall on your sword and admit the truth. I mean, think about all the people in the news today who lied, or who are accused of lying, and continue to dot the headlines. Of course, as with the trash talk tip, make sure you have a good legal budget, because a good long court battle over the lies is a sure way to keep stringing out those headlines.

Okay, it was fun getting all that off my chest. As you know, my usual writing style is more “positive and inspiring” than “bitingly humorous,” but it’s good to shake things up now and then. And when you think about the points above, we see these mistakes made in the press, in some shape or form, every single day. It always makes me wonder, if these mistakes are so obvious to me, why aren’t they obvious to the people who make them? Or their advisors?

The bottom line is that no matter how unschooled you are in public relations, common sense is a good baseline to guide your forays into the media. And if you’re just not sure about the best conduct during a media interview, get a good PR person, or a good attorney.

Or maybe both, just to be safe.

(Marsha Friedman is a 20-year veteran of the public relations industry. She is the CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.emsincorporated.com), a national firm that provides PR strategy and publicity services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. She also hosts a national weekly radio talk show, The Family Round Table, and is author of the book, Celebritize Yourself. marsha@marshafriedman.com)

Five Haunts with 14 Attractions in the North East Ohio region. Limited to four charter buses, this amazing tour includes the following 5 Awesome Haunted Attractions:

Factory of Terror

Bloodview Haunted House

Fortress of Fear

Ghostly Manor

Spooktackular Nights

Cedar Fair Dark Rides Transformed

Scooby-Doo to Boo Blasters: Sally Transforms Dark Rides at Four Parks

Jacksonville, FL: After much speculation by park fans and industry media, the secret is out: The Scooby-Doo-themed interactive dark rides at the four former Paramount Parks now owned by Cedar Fair have undergone a major transformation—Sally Corporation, has re-themed them into Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. Each ride has new characters, new storyline, new music and audio tracks and new, exciting special effects; even the ride cars have a new look.

When Cedar Fair opted not to renew their license for the Warner Bros.-owned Scooby-Doo and Mystery, Inc.™ properties, major re-branding was necessary in the children’s areas of Canada’s Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Island and Kings Dominion. According to Rob Decker, corporate vice president for planning and design at Cedar Fair, “We discussed other uses for the facility, but in the end we knew that a Sally dark ride experience would continue to be a good fit—longer term. Dark rides have proven successful for our parks; they give a positive, value-added experience that complements our other attractions quite well.”

Created as a family ride, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill pits guests against the wiles of the mighty king of ghosts, Boocifer, and his cohorts as they try to retain their hold on a stockpile of Scare Tonic, which they need to maintain their frightfulness and thus hold onto their haunted domain. The visitors are charged with zapping the Scare Tonic and driving out the ghosts…accumulating points along the way, of course. Many exciting and scary events happen throughout the sixteen-scene black-light ride.

“Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is a simple concept, and simple is often good,” says Decker. “Guests understand the interactive dark ride concept: it’s primarily a target shoot experience. However, riders come away appreciating the goofy, spooky, interactive elements that make each ride experience unique. It’s a laugh in the dark as much as it is a fun gaming experience.

]]> http://www.hauntedattraction.com/blog/general/cedar-fair-dark-ride-gets-a-makeover/feed/ 4 http://www.hauntedattraction.com/blog/new-joshua-hoffine-art/ http://www.hauntedattraction.com/blog/new-joshua-hoffine-art/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:41:41 +0000 john http://www.hauntedattraction.com/?p=1954 Anyone who knows me or the magazine knows that I think Joshua Hoffine is THE best artist out there producing horror art that is realistic yet somehow surrealistic at the same time. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Joshua and his work. His new piece is no exception. The piece is named Keyhole. Prints are available in the Haunted Attraction Store.