The Business of Halloween: Scott Swenson

We are joined by Scott Swenson, mastermind behind some of the greatest haunts in the country. For over 30 years, Scott has been bringing stories to life as a producer, director, writer, and performer. His work in theme parks, consumer events, live theater, and television has given him a broad spectrum of experiences.

After over 20 years working with SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Scott formed Scott Swenson Creative Development to provide entertainment and development consultation for clients around the world.

Transcript

Scott Swenson 0:34

Take it back. Okay. Ready?

Kristy Chase Tozer 0:41

Scott, welcome to The Hive.

Scott Swenson 0:42

Thank Thank you so much. I love you've done

Kristy Chase Tozer 0:46

Oh no. Here, we're not going to even get through this. I'm going to keep the introduction short because think anybody watching this probably knows both already.

Scott Swenson 0:55

Well, at you. At least you. Who's that guy? Who's the old guy sitting next to her?

Kristy Chase Tozer 0:59

Oh, please. Alright, Anyone that doesn't know. We talking today with Scott Swenson, who's a brilliant creative director, an event producer, and Halloween

Scott Swenson 1:09

Wow, wish that all fit on a business card. That'd be really cool. I'd take that.

Kristy Chase Tozer 1:13

Well, I would I think you're actually the real Jack Skellington, the real Pumpkin King.

Scott Swenson 1:19

If only I could that waistline.

Kristy Chase Tozer 1:24

This We're gonna laugh through the whole thing.

Scott Swenson 1:25

It's Sorry. my fault. my fault.

Kristy Chase Tozer 1:28

All so we've known each a long time.

Scott Swenson 1:30

Yes, yes. We actually we're. So funny, we were talking about this morning. We've known each other over 20 years. were 6 when Yes. When you were six. Very, very young. You 6, I was 40. I don't know, but, uh, not even nine. Nine. Okay. Okay. I'll go with that. But yeah, we've known each other a long Worked together on a lot of different projects. A lot of different projects. Both officially and unofficially. Yes. Occasionally it's, uh, we'll onto a project and go, and go, Oh, you're here! Okay, cool! That was, that's great. I love that.

Kristy Chase Tozer 2:02

Kind of like our little reunion show morning.

Scott Swenson 2:03

That's right.

Kristy Chase Tozer 2:05

Uh, so way back then, you were on a radically new event called HowlOScream.

Scott Swenson 2:10

Oh gosh, Yeah. Yeah. 20, 24 years since HowlOScream started. I know, What? I know, normally I don't up with this stuff, but I just ran into some folks, uh, who are doing HowlOScream Who I hired when they were 18, and, um, but yeah, 20, Yes. but uh, this is year 24. And I was with it for the first Fifteen of those twenty four.

Kristy Chase Tozer 2:38

Holy cow.

Scott Swenson 2:39

yeah, it was, but was, again, just a little history. It's time for a little HowlOScream history, kids. Uh, the, the interesting thing about HowlOScream is it was originally conceived to be a shoulder season, quote unquote, shoulder season event. Because not everybody was doing Halloween events back And so we needed something to bridge between the summer rush and then the winter holiday rush. Right. And, um, so they took They took three of us from our regular jobs and locked us away and, uh, we did, we did research and development, we did, um, you know, all kinds of brainstorming and, and figuring out what would make money and what didn't. And, we had originally set out that we were not going to do a Halloween event was our, that was our, we said, uh, there's too much competition, Universal Studios is already, had already established themselves at the time. And, uh, Then after we did research, we discovered nothing else generates during the fall season, other than Halloween. And that's good as we've seen, as we've seen, you know, it's no longer shoulder it is now for not just Busch Gardens, but for for pretty much everybody. It is a season. It is a season, and it is now the holiday season, which starts late August. Uh, late mid september, and runs all the way through the end of the Yeah, trust

Kristy Chase Tozer 3:56

trust me. Trust me. Understood.

Scott Swenson 3:58

understood.

Kristy Chase Tozer 3:59

So HowlOScream first foray into halloween

Scott Swenson 4:02

Um, events, yes. Um, but I, you know, I, I often say that the reason I, I, I'm so tied with Halloween is because I, well, I do it a lot, but the, the reason I can write for Halloween and the reason Halloween is because as a kid, I was a huge chicken. I was terrified. What?

Kristy Chase Tozer 4:21

I know, I know. I was, I was horrified. I was

Scott Swenson 4:24

one. I was the one who ran around like Andrea. I'm

Kristy Chase Tozer 4:28

Okay, good. La la, la, la la. I had no idea. Yeah, I was, I was a big

Scott Swenson 4:32

I was terrified at like Haunted Mansion. Terrified me. Terrified me. Those little rinky dink, uh, that you go to the fairs and they have the dark rides. you know, terrified me Those are terrible. They they ho they, they absolutely horrified me. And I think it's because I know what it feels like to be afraid. That makes it easier for me to write things that scare Ooh. Because I know both sides of that, you know? That's insightful. It's just, it's like, I know, I know how creepy, I know what it feels like to want to cry and run. So, let's see. What can I do to elicit in other people?

Kristy Chase Tozer 5:06

Okay, so you have like moved into like

Scott Swenson 5:09

Yeah, therapy. There's no question But my first haunted house was a friend the mastery of that. in their basement. Okay. And, um, I was, you know, Trying to be one of the cool kids and and yeah, okay, I'll be involved and um I think anybody ever came to it. I think it was just us getting into it.

Kristy Chase Tozer 5:28

was home hunt, a whole new.

Scott Swenson 5:29

Yeah, was, yeah, it was, but we, we into, we got into full makeup. we did a full rehearsal, we opened up for for anybody who wanted to come in and zero people showed up. And, uh, think the biggest lesson I learned from that is don't use nail polish as blood on your face.

Kristy Chase Tozer 5:45

Oh my are you serious?

Scott Swenson 5:49

Yeah, I wasn't a sharp kid, I don't know. I'm Right? Oh no. Yeah, so, uh, but that was my, that was my first real haunted attraction and then it wasn't really until, until we started to do research for, for, uh, for Busch Gardens, that, for came back to it and thank goodness it happened because it's really blossomed into

Kristy Chase Tozer 6:09

oh my gosh

Scott Swenson 6:10

a majority of what I do. It's not everything that I do, but it's a, it's a majority.

Kristy Chase Tozer 6:14

All right. So since you moved on from Busch Gardens and now have your own creative that's once in creative development. How many different halloween events or haunt events have you worked on?

Scott Swenson 6:27

Oh my gosh. Um, Can you even count them? I honestly, well, so it's funny. I know that, know this have had finger in at different Halloween events. the just the 23 season. Wow. Um, I've done haunts as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Um, I've done haunts in Indianapolis, in Texas, in Florida. Um, I've done some corporate stuff for some theme parks, some stuff that never, or is still in development, let me put it that way, stuff I can't necessarily talk about, um, didn't happen in the timeline it was supposed to, let's put it put it that way, is not dead yet. Um, so, and then I, uh, there is a strong possibility working on project that, May open in Bogotá, Colombia, coming future. And, uh, No habla espanol.

Kristy Chase Tozer 7:18

No hablo espanol. No

Scott Swenson 7:19

got we got something. That's good, that's good. Oh, you speak Spanish? So, um But I think part of the reason that I can't really remember, I can't really count because it's been, you know, Scott Swenson Creative Development has been around a little over, well, approaching nine years, approaching nine years, which seems like I just left Bush yesterday,

Kristy Chase Tozer 7:39

But, um,

Scott Swenson 7:40

but it grew very fast, and In fact, my very first client I got a week after I left Bush. was the vault of Souls, so.

Kristy Chase Tozer 7:49

Thank you. It was, uh, yeah, I'm, I'm thrilled. We may work together on that. Yeah, we just, just might have.

Scott Swenson 7:54

Well, no, it's that kind of us coming back together. Because Because we worked together, and then we kind of got our separate ways. And when I got the gig for Vault Souls, were saying, who knows how to market Halloween events? And I said, wait a minute, I know someone. And, uh, we on the phone and we chatted and, uh. Uh, Reconnected, and the rest is history.

Kristy Chase Tozer 8:16

And here. Yeah, I know. I in fact, we're even in the building! The building. The building. I know, I know. Alright, so these are not all scary gory adult oriented Halloween events. No. charm children too.

Scott Swenson 8:29

I try. We try to it. I I'll tell you, it's interesting because... When I first started, I wanted everything to be over the top and bloody and gory and terrifying and completely edgy and, you know. But as as I, I don't want to say matured, because, well, you've seen that I haven't matured at all. As you evolved. As I've evolved. Um, I've discovered the, the joy and the power of training the next generation of folks who are going to enjoy Halloween. You know, um, there, there, I often say that I come from the golden era of halloween when could go out, when you could go out and trick or treat, and it was safe, fun, was a little bit of hell raising going on, but not, nothing, you know, nothing too dangerous, nothing too It involved, involved toilet paper and shaving cream, that was about the extent of it, um, not that I have any experience with that, course. But, um, but I think what happened is, that era, my generation, grew up Now has income that they can spend on either themselves or their families try to capture some of that same Halloween And I think that's, I think that's really neat. So, in doing things like, um, the Indianapolis Zoo, um, Zoo Tampa, know, very, very family friendly events. I did, uh, one season I did, um, Franklin Philadelphia. um, creating things that work not only with the core brand of the client, but also core audience. And finding ways to, as we say at ZooTampa, to startle the giggles out of you. You know? I love that. That's my vibe. There you go. That's my vibe. It's like, And like, aww. my whole feeling there was, you know, they, zooTampa is a unique, is a unique client for me. Because, um, what they, what up happening is they tried to fill a void. They didn't want to be, or at least that's where they are now, they wanted to try to fill a void between being the trunk or treat that churches do, which is lovely and wonderful and fun, or, um, The, the HowlOScreams, the Halloween Horror Nights, the Screamageddons, those kinds of things, which are completely on the other end of the spectrum. Right. They wanted to fill that, that teen tween what recall. Which is

Kristy Chase Tozer 10:40

In fact, I remember talking a lot about those kids don't have That's right. And they're too young to really, Fully e en enjoy the trick-or-treating anymore, they will but they wanna do something that feels a little more grown up. Right. Right. Yet they're not quite ready for the hella screens or the Halloween night.

Scott Swenson 10:58

Of course. and and it's funny because it's because of you Joe and you know, the rest of the, team at the the zoo that I got involved with that. Yeah. And, uh, and I'm still involved with that actually. So the, the team, the team still keeps me around. Aw. It's so close to my heart. I know. It's a fun It was and, and this year it was an especially fun event Um, just simply because there were some challenges and I, I love years, I know this sounds weird, but I love years where early in the season we go, Oh, we've got this huge challenge, what are we going to do? And it ends up turning out better than, than you ever doesn't it? Um so I'm, I'm really excited and I think, I think ZooTamp is going to be a great, going to continue to be a great event throughout the

Kristy Chase Tozer 11:35

I'm going ask you to disclose your favorite you know. I am. All right, but I want you to tell us what your favorite element is, whether it's a prop or a gag something that kind of every time.

Scott Swenson 11:50

So, so tell, I will tell I will My favorite Halloween event, like I'm saying, I've never Oh, I cannot never said this out it. My favorite Halloween event the next one I start working on. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Okay. Yeah,

Kristy Chase Tozer 12:05

way to dodge that. He does improv.

Scott Swenson 12:08

So, well, and to be fair, that sounds like a dodge, and yes it is. But it's also, it's also true. I'm always focusing forward, which is why I can't remember how many I've done. Which is why, when people start talking about the first 15 years of HowlOScream, they'll say, remember X, Y, Z, Haunts and where we did such and such, like, no, I don't. I don't it at So have to turn out to the fanboys and girls and figure story is. But as far as gags go, I, um, there is nothing more impactful than the simple stuff. You know, uh, I, I love camouflage characters. I love people who blend into shrubbery and bushes because they work every single time. Every single, and they don't require, um, they don't require. Huge technical aspects. They don't require a of, I mean, honestly, they don't require a whole lot of acting experience it's just someone with great timing and And if you can because they just literally disappear in the in the camo suits or the ghillie suits. Um, also like the idea and I've used it a couple times. um, I also really like the idea of putting members into the experience look like guests. And then grabbing them out of line, that's me to, to create a victim. Um, and, and I think the reason I like that is one of the haunts that I wrote years and years ago for SeaWorld, SeaWorld San Antonio, um, was called Prey, p R E Y. And it was all about a serial killer roaming the, uh, the the scrub or the, the brush in Texas, and they literally carved, the of the park, if you've never been to SeaWorld, Texas, it is. is gigantic. And are huge areas that just simply aren't used. So they were able to carve out in this brush the pathway. They didn't have to build walls or anything. And was first year that they wanted to, they coming out with their marketing saying, Halloween is, HowlOScream is scary now. It's not just family friendly, it is scary, so be prepared. so we had three different performers that were snatched out of guest experience, carried screaming into the darkness, and everybody loved it, they were like, oh, this is until I get a a phone call Scott, called 1 1.

Kristy Chase Tozer 14:14

I knew 9 1 1. I knew you were 9

Scott Swenson 14:17

True story. They called 9 1 1 because someone had been abducted. In park,

Kristy Chase Tozer 14:23

Oh geez. In the, it got, oh no, the

Scott Swenson 14:25

came out. What? The uh, the department were helicopters flying park park. And I thought, I have lost my job Until the following morning when SeaWorld San Antonio was nationwide on and I think it was the marketing team that actually saved my life, because because they were pr and and especially when you're trying that's publicity. And when you're trying say, this year we're scarier than ever. Mm-Hmm. to have a guest, you know, that's not me saying it, that's not their marketing director saying it. That is a guest saying. It was so realistic. It was so terrifying. I had to call nine So, I will never, I will never give up my, my victim concept. I don't do them everywhere, but I think it's, I think it's a fun, fun thing to throw in every now and

Kristy Chase Tozer 15:12

victim house in, uh, Tampa. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Scott Swenson 15:15

That was, that was the one where the, the guy, was, I, it was later, later in the evening, and, and I behind this guy, he was by himself, and the victim and she to him, she so sorry, from my group. Can I walk you? And was like, uh, my group's left me too, and they're walking, grabbed, pulled into the screaming and kicking, and he just freezes, and turns around, and wearing a name tag. He at my name tag, and just kind of went, And I just, I looked at him and I went, Yeah, I looked at him and I went, He took and ran through of the haunted house. was hysterical. So, it, that's, that's, that's one of my favorite gimmicks. you'll notice that I don't like to rely too heavily on technical stuff. I think technical stuff is really fun. But, technical stuff reinforces the storytelling. It reinforces the performance, if you can to do that. Um, I obviously live performance now becoming more and premium. Things are getting more and to cast. But, uh, but, you know, i, my, uh, If you've ever taken a workshop from me before, heard say, Give me two actors and and a candle, and I can scare the crap out of you.

Kristy Chase Tozer 16:24

I absolutely believe that's true. I was going to say. Alright, so as a marketing agency that plans Halloween events, I'm curious about your perspective as a creative director, entertainment creative director. Yes. How does marketing,

Scott Swenson 16:44

Well, part the that you and I I work together. because, I'm serious, and all of RumbleBuzz, but I've just worked with you more directly for a longer period of time. Um, I believe storytelling starts with marketing. I believe that, you the be consistent from the moment they see their first teaser to the last wrap up survey that gets sent to you know, via their, via MailChimp or whatever. Um, I think the is integral. It's not separate from the experience. It's integral to the experience. And this why, um, and not everybody believes this. I will be completely honest, everybody feels this way, but I strongly feel this way because I think that, um, you know, going back to the HowlOScream days, there a time, when I was that we would have a different icon for each year and that's how people identified the years. It made it so that, uh, whether the, element of the event changed or not, a different look, it had a different feel, it had a different vibe, new, and felt new, and we were able to, um, Because the timelines for uh, marketing development and entertainment development are not We had to make certain that we were talking each other early and figuring how we can find a way to incorporate the, the, uh, marketing content into the experience and one of favorite examples of that is, it goes back years. Um, it goes, it goes back the of Vane.

Kristy Chase Tozer 18:13

I knew it. You knew I to...

Scott Swenson 18:16

This I would love to say, and so darn smart back then, no I stumbled on this completely but it worked. It worked. House of Vane, for those of you who don't remember, house vane was a, uh, an ad campaign for HowlOScream that was all about vampire fashion And the commercial was incredible. It was edgy, it hip, it was sharp, um, basically it a where revealed themselves be vampires So I said, I want to create this as we walk in. And did, literally a recreation the and on stage. And on stage. super cool. And people to this day... I had somebody, I had somebody at a convention earlier this year come up to me and they said, Oh, gosh, were you there when they did House of Vane? Right. And I was like, yup. Okay, he said, it's because of that walk in experience, that first that I got involved

Kristy Chase Tozer 19:13

No That's amazing.

Scott Swenson 19:15

it was, I was super cool. And, again, it just, when marketing and, and creative content can work together, it It makes both of our jobs easier and better. Um, we can create a synergy that doesn't necessarily happen working in

Kristy Chase Tozer 19:29

that and

Scott Swenson 19:31

Again, that's why we work together. know, right?

Kristy Chase Tozer 19:34

all right, last professional question.

Scott Swenson 19:36

Okay. Have you, we're going to unprofessional questions a No, to get personal questions. Oh, okay.

Kristy Chase Tozer 19:42

I'm going we're going to go personal.

Scott Swenson 19:43

you rather?

Kristy Chase Tozer 19:46

Ooh, maybe I'll add that. Bring it on. If one of our partners wanted to launch a brand new Halloween event, say they're a small or sized organization and they have a limited budget, what would first bit

Scott Swenson 20:02

My first bit of advice would look at what is going on in your market. And don't try to replicate it, try to find what's Find, find, you if you're in a that has a, uh, a haunted hayride and a, a church haunt. Perhaps look at something that might be a haunted dining experience that is, that not targeting two audiences. Um, find to overlap, if that makes any sense at So that you you build off of the synergy. Now, if you absolutely can't do that, if you discover, if you discover everything's covered, then what I would do is say, take a look at your assets. Where are you trying to do this? So many of the, of the haunts that I have been able to do over the last few years are based on the location. I I the Vault of Souls 100 percent inspired by the the Uh, back Undead in the Water, uh, on a, on a ship Completely defined everything. Uh, dark Fort Edmonton Park, with their very first year. They're an outdoor history museum, so I took the outdoor history of the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and created chapters that, that tied into the scary the spooky. Oh, that's great. So, uh, number one, what's out there. Don't, don't start in a vacuum, know, your market already exists, even if you don't think and if you do your research you discover there no one a 75 mile radius that's doing anything Halloween, great. do what you is right. Whatever feels good. You can own it. it. Yeah. Um, I would say if you do discover that, out why. Yeah. why. Good point. Because it there could be a lot of elements, It could be, it could be, um, there is a very conservative, um, group of people living in that area. It could be that the, the, the fire marshal rules are strict. It could, there's a lot of different reasons that, that may.

Kristy Chase Tozer 21:53

Things you don't think about you're just.. Exactly. ideas on the

Scott Swenson 21:56

research, research, research, Do that first. Before you say, I'm going do a haunted house, and then I'm going do a haunted house that targets 17 year olds. Or I'm going to do a haunted house that targets 35 year olds. Um, out what's not being addressed in your market. that's, mean, I that's something you can with You know, you guys do a of kind of base research. And, um, and then once you've out, okay, here's where we can in this in this market. And then you figure out, you know, here are our assets. Here's what we've got to, here's what we've got to play with. Um, then put together a realistic budget And you've put together a realistic budget, and you're looking at your rOI, return on investment, make sure that it's based on about 50 percent and adjust accordingly.

Kristy Chase Tozer 22:50

That is phenomenal advice. Because... Because everyone thinks they're going to kill that first year out.

Scott Swenson 22:54

Oh yeah, they I I can, can get 100 through 15 minutes. That's right. But you're not going to. Right. I'm you that, you're going

Kristy Chase Tozer 23:02

great marketing, people to know how the experience works. Exactly.

Scott Swenson 23:06

Exactly. then share all of that information with whoever's doing your because that give them, I if somebody gave me that kind of research and that kind of direction, would make my job so much simpler.

Kristy Chase Tozer 23:19

Ha ha ha, yeah. All right. So for the final question. Lightning round. Okay. Are you ready? Yes. Okay. What are you you currently watching?

Scott Swenson 23:31

What I watching? Um, I am currently watching, oh crap, what's the name of it?

Kristy Chase Tozer 23:36

That's probably not the name of it.

Scott Swenson 23:37

Timewheel? Timewheel? Timewheel, I think it's on Netflix,

Kristy Chase Tozer 23:41

Netflix. Netflix. okay, alright. What are you

Scott Swenson 23:46

am I reading? There's great that it's called Your Brain on Art. It's great. It's really science y. like, it shows how art um, helps develop new neural pathways. and it's a whole new branch of science called NeuroArts.

Kristy Chase Tozer 24:02

Alright, what's your favorite lunch spot? And doesn't have

Scott Swenson 24:06

Favorite lunch spot, um, oh, this is a Um, I like to eat. Favorite lunch spot, I... I just, uh, well, god, no, I'm gonna go with it as a standard. I love Portillo's hot Okay!

Kristy Chase Tozer 24:22

from Chicago. Yeah, I'm from Chicago. Take me, take me to Portillo's. I

Scott Swenson 24:27

get, uh, uh, uh, Polish sausage and, um, a piece of their, if it's summer, a piece of their lemon cake. Life is good. Alright, right on.

Kristy Chase Tozer 24:36

What's the next show on your

Scott Swenson 24:38

Next show on my is, tonight.

Kristy Chase Tozer 24:40

Which well, kind of funny, didn't know that.

Scott Swenson 24:42

which it's, uh, it's tonight. Um, so I've, uh, why take on extra things during the Halloween season I I know. But, uh, next show on my calendar is I am, uh, a a recurring cast member or an in going, out coming cast member. of, um, a show called the Rocky Horish Patter Show at the Fringe Theatre in Tampa. And it is a really twisted, warped, inappropriate, uh, fringe style show, um, at the Fringe Theatre, and I'll be doing that five select nights between now and October 31st. And then, uh, tomorrow, which is October 14th, I will be at an art show at, uh, the studio at 620 in St. Pete, um, because when I do have time, I love to paint, is kind the dark side of beauty, So that's, those two, the two most recent, no, the ones that are coming up quickest. The the I'm still panicked because not done yet. Oh my gosh.

Kristy Chase Tozer 25:34

Alright, that's it. Thank you so much. you. We appreciate it. Um, been fun. It has been fun. do again?

Scott Swenson 25:41

Absolutely. Absolutely. Next time I'll bring honey. it's the hive.

Kristy Chase Tozer 25:46

Oh my.

Andrea Alava 25:48

Who is your favorite person and why isn't Andrea? Alright, thanks for watching the Halloween buzz.