Downtown Winchester Prepares for a Frightful New Neighbor

As thoughts turn to bon­fires, pump­kin patch­es, and Halloween, there’s talk around Clark County about some­thing ter­ri­fy­ing mov­ing into the for­mer build­ing that housed the Winchester Sun. Greg Walker, the vet­er­an haunter behind Fright Nights at Jacobson Park and Fright Nights Horror Park, is bring­ing this five-sto­ry attrac­tion of ter­ror to town.

It’s no sur­prise that both mer­chants and res­i­dents are buzzing about what this means for the down­town econ­o­my and com­mu­ni­ty spir­it. However, to under­stand the excite­ment and con­cern, it is help­ful to exam­ine the his­to­ry of haunt­ed attrac­tions, how they evolved into a big busi­ness, and why haunt own­ers describe the work as both gru­el­ing and rewarding.

The Business of Fear

The mod­ern haunt­ed house owes its exis­tence to the Great Depression, when civic groups cre­at­ed makeshift “spook hous­es” to keep chil­dren out of mis­chief on Halloween night. In the 1960s and ’70s, back­yard haunts start­ed to become more pro­fes­sion­al. Disney’s Haunted Mansion demon­strat­ed that the­atri­cal sets and sound could cre­ate a new kind of immer­sive fright, while block­buster slash­er films made blood and gore more mainstream.

By the 1990s, haunts had evolved from back­yard fun and small char­i­ty events to an indus­try of their own. Today, the Haunted Attraction Association esti­mates that there are more than 4,000 pro­fes­sion­al haunt­ed attrac­tions across the U.S., gen­er­at­ing hun­dreds of mil­lions of dol­lars in tick­et sales each fall.

Running a haunt­ed house isn’t all cob­webs and caul­drons. It requires up-front invest­ments and metic­u­lous man­age­ment. Industry sur­veys show that even a mid-sized attrac­tion can eas­i­ly spend $50,000–$100,000 or more on sets, light­ing, sound, cos­tumes, insur­ance, and mar­ket­ing in the first year. However, well-exe­cut­ed haunts can gross six fig­ures in just six to eight weeks, with tick­et prices com­mon­ly rang­ing from $20 to $30 and thou­sands of vis­i­tors per weekend.

Few peo­ple under­stand this bet­ter than Dean Stephens, own­er of Wicked World Scaregrounds on Tates Creek Road. Stephens, who has oper­at­ed haunts for more than twen­ty years, sees first­hand how care­ful plan­ning and pas­sion com­bine to cre­ate an unfor­get­table expe­ri­ence. “Our aver­age atten­dance is close to 2,000 on a busy night in October,” he says, a fig­ure that would make any small-busi­ness owner’s eyes widen. But he states that suc­cess is not with­out its chal­lenges. “Ours is we don’t have enough park­ing for our vol­ume, so it caus­es traf­fic issues,” Stephens admits. Yet for him, the rewards are worth every late night and logis­ti­cal headache.

Stephen’s com­ments under­score a truth known to many haunt­ed attrac­tion oper­a­tors: prof­itabil­i­ty depends as much on guest expe­ri­ence and com­mu­ni­ty good­will as on tick­et sales.

Haunted Kentucky by the Numbers

For a statewide per­spec­tive, Nora Proffet, co-own­er of the haunt­ed house review site and direc­to­ry TheScareFactor.com, offers a data-rich view.“Kentucky has about 70 for-prof­it haunt­ed attrac­tions, and anoth­er 10 that are char­i­ty-run,” she explains. “Jefferson County has the most haunt­ed attrac­tions in the state.”

Kentucky’s haunts can also vary wide­ly in for­mat. “Most haunts oper­ate out of build­ings in the state, but there is a healthy blend of hayrides and trails, too,” Proffet says. “Field of Screams in Brandenburg, KY, is the state’s largest attrac­tion.” And while a typ­i­cal haunt­ed house can attract fam­i­lies and old­er thrill-seek­ers, Proffet notes that younger adults tend to dom­i­nate the audi­ence. “Our traf­fic sees those aged 18–34 the most,” she reports.

TheScareFactor.com has been track­ing the indus­try for near­ly two decades. “We start­ed review­ing haunt­ed attrac­tions in 2004,” Proffet notes, giv­ing her a long view of trends and challenges.

Big Thrills and Local Opportunity

By locat­ing in the heart of down­town Winchester, rather than in a remote ware­house or farm field, this new haunt can offer both eco­nom­ic promise and unique chal­lenges. The eco­nom­ic boost includes increased busi­ness for restau­rants, cof­fee shops, and bou­tiques. Visitors can grab din­ner, browse shops, or sip late-night drinks before or after the scare.

It’s also a tourism mag­net. Central Kentucky already draws fall trav­el­ers for bour­bon tours, col­lege foot­ball, and leaf-peep­ing. Adding a high-pro­file haunt­ed attrac­tion to the list could encour­age vis­i­tors to spend the night and explore the area fur­ther. There is also the addi­tion of new jobs. Midsize haunt­ed attrac­tions need 80 or more employ­ees to oper­ate effec­tive­ly. These posi­tions are sea­son­al and are typ­i­cal­ly filled by teens and young adults.

On the oth­er hand, down­town haunts can bring their own headaches, includ­ing traf­fic and park­ing man­age­ment, as well as noise. With this haunt being locat­ed across from the police sta­tion and next door to the jail, things shouldn’t get too out of hand.

Locals Weigh In

For Jamie Gillette, a Winchester res­i­dent who oper­ates the pop­u­lar Historic Winchester Haunted Tours, the arrival of Fright Nights is good news. “I have always enjoyed the haunt­ed sea­son in one way or anoth­er. It has always been my favorite time of year. I worked at sev­er­al haunt­ed attrac­tions as a teenag­er and always dec­o­rate to the max,” Gillette says.

Her love for spooky sto­ry­telling fol­lows her wher­ev­er she goes. “While trav­el­ing, I have made a point of tak­ing in every haunt­ed walk­ing tour I could. I love to learn the his­to­ry of new places, and with such a rich his­to­ry here in Winchester, I felt it was a great place to be able to host one!”

Gillette sees haunt­ed tourism as more than just fright. “People grav­i­tate to haunt­ed tours and attrac­tions not just for the scares but the expe­ri­ence of being able to do some­thing unique. You nev­er know what you are going to find or see. People love to won­der about the unknown, and his­toric tours real­ly offer an edu­ca­tion into the towns they live in and vis­it, along with the mys­tery that lies beneath the surface.”

When she learned Fright Nights was com­ing to town, Gillette wel­comed the news. “Having this lev­el of haunt­ed attrac­tion in down­town Winchester allows peo­ple from all over to come vis­it and expe­ri­ence what Winchester has to offer! And we have so much to show them.” She expects that vis­i­tors will nat­u­ral­ly sam­ple the city’s many restau­rants and bou­tiques before or after their haunt. “I see this as an excel­lent oppor­tu­ni­ty for those com­ing into town to have din­ner at our many fan­tas­tic restau­rants before the attrac­tion and to see and vis­it the incred­i­ble shops all along Main Street.”

Parking, a con­cern for any down­town event, doesn’t wor­ry Gillette. “I think Winchester has made the effort to pro­vide ade­quate park­ing to sup­port down­town activ­i­ties from com­merce to fes­ti­vals. With the addi­tion of the Main Street project, we will have a beau­ti­ful main street that deserves to be show­cased, and I would expect that alone to bring in more cus­tomers and tourists to our town.”

She points to the town’s past suc­cess in han­dling crowds. “The last cou­ple of years, we have been able to accom­mo­date thou­sands of vis­i­tors for the Halloween Mania down­town as well as sev­er­al oth­er fes­ti­vals through­out the year.” Her bot­tom line? “My hope in hav­ing the addi­tion of Fright Nights Haunted Attraction is to bring more new peo­ple into town to show every­one just what Winchester has to offer. I firm­ly believe that there can nev­er be too much Halloween fun!”

Looking Ahead

Beyond eco­nom­ics, haunt­ed hous­es tap deep cul­tur­al roots. Folklorists note that shar­ing a con­trolled scare ful­fills a time­less human need: to con­front fear in safe­ty and laugh at the dark­ness together.

While the first screams are still a few weeks away, the antic­i­pa­tion is grow­ing. Residents are notic­ing all the social media teasers that hint at ter­ri­fy­ing char­ac­ters and intri­cate sets. Not to men­tion the mys­te­ri­ous build crews work­ing late into the night. For mer­chants and res­i­dents, the new neigh­bor brings both oppor­tu­ni­ties and adjust­ments. For vis­i­tors, it promis­es a warm wel­come and a night of fright-filled entertainment.

As Dean Stephens of Wicked World Scaregrounds puts it, the pay­off comes when “peo­ple enjoy themselves—it makes all the hard work worth it.”