Building A Community Haunted Attraction In Manatee County

A haunted attraction can be more than a scream and a jump scare. We’re talking with Josh Danley of Scream Works Florida about what it takes to turn a lifelong home haunt into a real, public haunted house experience for Manatee County, built by the community and meant to grow year after year.

Josh walks us through the behind-the-scenes reality most guests never see: zoning, liability waivers, insurance, building a backstory, and creating an experience that feels intense, safe, and genuinely memorable. We also get specific about the plan for October, including nine event nights and a smart addition many Florida haunted attractions skip: family-friendly hours where younger kids can enjoy the atmosphere with games and activities before the scares turn up later in the evening.

What makes Scream Works Florida stand out is the mission. Local food vendors donate a percentage of nightly sales to Sunshine Hope Inc., supporting families with children battling cancer. Josh also shares the bigger vision: offering high school community service hours and creates programs that teach acting, makeup, and scene creation so local kids can build skills, portfolios, and confidence, especially the ones who feel like they don’t quite fit anywhere else.

If you’re searching for a haunted attraction in Manatee County, Florida Halloween events, or a family-friendly haunted house with a community heartbeat, this conversation is for you. Subscribe for more local stories, share this with a friend who loves spooky season, and leave a review to help more neighbors find the show.

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Virginia McConnell.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast Live. Are you in need of a haunted attraction? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Josh Danley, with ScreamWorks Florida. How's it going, Josh?

SPEAKER_02 0:33

It's uh it's going, it's going great, actually.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Good, good, good.

What ScreamWorks Florida Is Building

SPEAKER_01 0:39

So we're we're excited to learn about you and your business. Can you tell us more about your business?

SPEAKER_02 0:47

So we're actually building a grassroots haunted attraction for Manatee County and the surrounding areas, uh, built by the community and really for the community. Um, it's kind of something for me a little bit bigger than a haunted house. Uh, the goal is to create something that people can actually be proud of here in the community, uh, something fun, intense, memorable, uh, something that local people can help build, grow, and be a part of year after year. Um the biggest thing that makes us different um is we're kind of homegrown. We're not just we we started off as a home haunt and we just decided that we like this, the the community involvement. So we wanted to grow this bigger. So we want local artists, builders, actors, volunteers, sponsors, and families all involved in this.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Oh, that's awesome. And how did you start in this business?

From Home Haunt To Big Vision

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Um, so I have been doing home haunts since I was about 15. I'm 43 now. Um I have I I my my father took me to a haunted attraction um back in New England years ago, and I was hooked ever since. And then the year after that, I created my own little like scene, and then it just kind of progressed year after year. Um, we moved down to Florida, um, and every year since we've been living in our house, we've been doing a home haunt, and it's been getting bigger and bigger. This past year, we actually saw 700 people in our yard for one night, which was to me kind of crazy. So it was it was kind of one of those things where it was just like, you know, I I think I need to really step this up to bring more people in because I know a lot of people love this. And the other thing that I was looking at is like a lot of people have to go up to Tampa to go do a haunted attraction or like plant city, and there's nothing in this area. So I was talking to a bunch of people and they were like, Yeah, we kind of need something like that. So there was my calling.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Oh, that's

Haunted Attraction Misconceptions And Logistics

SPEAKER_01 2:59

exciting. So, what myths or miss or misconceptions are there in your industry?

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Oh, misconceptions? Oh, geez. Um, I am not just putting up a haunted house. I am not just putting up four walls and saying boo. Um, it is uh it it is a lot of work, um, especially for just starting off. Um, I mean, there's uh there's zoning and the liability waivers and insurances and just developing the backstory because we want to make it engaging and fun for the customers or what we call intakes, um, you know, to make sure that they have fun and they enjoy the experience. Um, so there is a lot that really goes into it. And I don't know if people fully see the whole backside of that. And there's ups and downs. It's like owning any other business.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Yeah, I mean, it's it sounds like a lot that goes into it, and it's like are you just basically one or two months a year for this big production?

October Nights And Family-Friendly Hours

SPEAKER_02 4:11

So for this year, we're gonna be doing nine nights. Uh, we're gonna be doing the second, third, and fourth weekend of October. Um, and we're gonna be doing the the hours are from 7 to 11, um, except for Sundays, which is gonna be six to ten, because of you know, kids need to go to school and stuff like that. But um, the other thing that a lot of haunts don't do around here are family friendly hours, and that's what somebody that that's what a lot of people in the parish community wanted was uh family-friendly hours. So from 3 30 to 5 30, we're gonna have family-friendly hours. Um, we're gonna be uh, you know, having the um Manatee County Sheriff's Department come in, the um parish fire department come in, we're gonna do you know games for kids, have a bounce house. These these are all the things that we want to do to you know to be able to have these kids have have younger kids come in and enjoy this this attraction. Um, we also are gonna have uh food vendors there. Um, all of the food vendors, um, they're gonna be giving uh 10% of their nightly sales to uh Sunshine Hope Incorporated, which is a local 501c3 nonprofit. Yeah, so I I I I fell in love with this nonprofit. Um they help families with kids who have uh cancer, um, you know, just pay bills and stuff like that because they go through a difficult time as it is. So um they they they do a lot for that. Um and there and believe me, there there are a ton of 501c3s that I was considering, but that one really that one really got to me. So I was like, you know what, that that's the one.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

And

Who It’s For And Community Impact

SPEAKER_01 5:55

okay, so we know marketing is at the heart of every business. Who are your target customers and how do you attract them?

SPEAKER_02 6:04

So target customers, I mean, are anybody, it's really anybody that enjoys just having fun, having a little bit of a thrill. Um, we're we're we're targeting families, obviously with the family-friendly hours and stuff like that. Um, but we, you know, anybody that loves horror, anybody that loves cosplay, um, or just anybody that loves going to haunted attractions that don't really want, you know, I mean, they don't mind going up to Tampa, obviously. Um, but you know, well, we're uh we're a stop on the way because you know, we we understand that you know there are there are other haunted attractions and we love them when we promote them actually. Um but um you know you can't go to every haunted, you can't go to one haunted attraction every weekend. So um we're just something on we're just something on we're we're we're we're we're something on the way. Um we're gonna be something great. Um, you know, our our goal is to create something, like I said, um, that is gonna be meaningful for the community. Um we're gonna be offering community service hours to high school students. Um we're actually creating our own 501c3 um to um um generate money for art scholarships. Uh we're gonna be creating programs to um teach kids on how to act um and create scenes and makeup and just everything that involve everything that the art involves within this industry. Um, because I went to a trade show the um a couple weekend ago, and I was completely just blown away, and it's my first time going, um, completely just blown away by the amount of talent and artistry that was involved in this industry, and I see so many kids that have that potential, um, especially those kids that are that feel like they're not part of something, that they feel kind of outcasted and stuff like that. Because I know as a kid I felt like that. Um, and but I've seen some of the artwork and some of the creativity that these kids have, and it's just truly amazing. And I want to be able to have them harness that and showcase that and create their own portfolios um to to you know really make something of what their talent is.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Oh, I love

Life Outside The Haunt

SPEAKER_01 8:41

that. Have you ever thought about having your own podcast?

SPEAKER_02 8:52

What's that?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Um, have you ever thought about having your own podcast?

SPEAKER_02 9:02

I have not ever thought of having my own podcast. I don't honestly, I would I wouldn't know how to even begin that, but um I mean it I I think it would be something kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Okay, and then outside of work, what do you do for fun?

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Um, so I'm so outside of work, what do I do for fun? So uh I I I work still. Um so I'm uh I'm a ER nurse outside of this. Um so I work three days a week there. Um other than that, um I help my wife. Um she owns a bakery, so I help her um with her with her stuff. Um, you know, we have we have a couple of dogs. We we have two dogs and a cat. Um, you know, pretty easygoing life. Um we just you know, we just we just enjoy life as best we can, you know, aside from working.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Yeah, no, that's great. I love that this is an outlet too for

What To Remember And How To Join

SPEAKER_01 10:10

you. Um okay, Josh, can you please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Screamworks Florida?

SPEAKER_02 10:24

So, Screamworks, this is a first-year haunted attraction. Um, we are not gonna be huge, but we are going to be impactful. We want you guys to come by, enjoy the scenery, um, enjoy the local vendors, um, just have have fun, make some memories, uh, because our goal, like I said, is to create something bigger and better year after year um to make sure that this community has something fun to do every October, and the goal is to maybe do, you know, maybe during Christmas time and maybe a midway to Halloween thing eventually. But for right now, just Halloween season.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Okay, and how can our listeners learn more about Screamworks Florida? How can they learn more about ScreamWorks Florida?

SPEAKER_02 11:30

Oh, so we have a Facebook page, Instagram page, TikTok page, and our fr and we have a um website as well. The website is screamworksfl.com. Uh you can find us on screen on uh Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at Screamworks Florida. Um so yeah, we're just posting right now. Actually, the TikTok thing actually just started because I was chronicling the journey from starting from literally nothing to here here I am. So that's that's that's the that that's the TikTok thing. The Facebook and Instagram is everything else.

unknown 12:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

But if you want to volunteer, if you want to volunteer, uh we do have a volunteer page on the um website, so please fill that out. We'll get back to you and we'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Awesome, cool, Josh. Well, I really appreciate you being on the show, and we wish you and your company the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpsarasota.com. That's gnpsarasota.com or call 941 949-1865.