Haunted Toy Run

Haunted House staff and crew took the day off to do a little shopping for the Holidays. After watching a story ... http://p.ost.im/p/efK4NA

Happy Holidays

In this joyous holiday season, we want to wish you all the best for the new year!  We would like to wish you ... http://p.ost.im/p/eyEskg

RipCrew Paranormal Investigation

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Haunted Toy Run

Haunted House staff and crew took the day off to do a little shopping for the Holidays. After watching a story on a local news station about how the economy was effecting toy donations, Boneyard staffers organized a shopping trip and proceeded to fill their carts with toys.

Our goal was to fill three pick-up trucks with as many toys, games and bicycles as we could. As our team started filling shopping cars it didn't take long to get the attention of the store managers and security as well. After a brief Q&A we were back on task with the help and support of the store employees.

We loaded up our Haunted House trucks and made our way to a local drop-off location where WFAA Ch8 News had organized a "Toy Drive" with other local businesses. We arrived to a full choir, band and a large cow handing out "Chick Fil-A" Sandwiches. And of course the Big Guy himself "Santa" was on site.

Hats off to WFAA and their sponsors for hosting the event and going out of their way to make sure this Christmas will be a happy experience for children of all ages here in North Texas.

Decorating for the Holidays

Decorating for the Boneyard Haunted House annual Toys for Tots drive. Each year we hold a Christmas party inside the Haunted House - admission is a new unwrapped toy. 2011 marks our fourth year to collect Toys for the U.S. Marine Corps.
This year a crew of volunteers hit the ground running to help transform the scariest haunted house in Texas into a winter wonderland. Over 30 trees, oversized ornaments and too many lights to count round out the decorations.

For more information on the Toys for Tots program please visit http://www.toysfortots.org/

The Human Shield

This has to be one of the most common occurrences I see at the Boneyard Haunted House. Friday night October the 15th 2011 I am at the exit of the Haunt getting customer feedback, how was it? What was your favorite actor? etc. So I approach this one couple and start to ask my standard questions when the Husband starts in.. " Well it was OK, I guess... Nothing much scares me" and the whole time his wife has that look in her eye, (if your married, you know what I mean) So, the wife stays quite during her husbands speech, and then tells me that it was great as she grabs her husbands arm and leads him to their car.

So, I make note of the time and after we close for the night I decide to review the video footage from our "Haunt-Cam" and guess who I find using his wife as a human shield? Yep! Mr. "It wasn't that scary" This guy not only grabs his wife, Yanks her in front. he then hides his head behind her shoulder. The best part of the entire thing. His wife never threw him under the bus. She just stood there and let him tell his story.. {Or at least till they got in the car}

Haunted House QR Codes

QR Codes have been around since 1994, originally used for tracking parts in the automotive industry, Quick Response Codes were slow to make their way into the consumer market. It wasn't until the widespread use of smart phones that the codes began showing up in public.



We first started using Quick Response Codes for promotional tracking in 2009, a very basic code that directed users to our website www.theBoneyard.org. Our plan was to place the code on print advertisement and business cards. Almost immediately we met with resistance, printers had not seen them before, they could not guaranty the codes would scan in their ads. Bottom line - people fear the unknown. On top of that very few smart phone users at the time were familiar with the codes and were reluctant to download the needed app. Read More

Urban Myths in North Texas

A prominent urban myth in North Texas, screaming bridge has been visited by many locals over the decades. From teenagers out having fun to paranormal investigators, the story draws many in search of their own screaming bridge experience. Trying to hear the screams of the departed has been a ritual of passage for many Arlington teens

On the night of February 4th, 1961 a car filled with six Arlington teenage girls plunged off a burned out wooden bridge where then Arlington-Bedford Road (renamed Greenbelt Rd) approached the railroad tracks in far North Arlington. The tracks themselves run parallel to a drainage ditch (mistakenly reported to be a creek in various newspaper articles of that time) which the bridge spanned. Read More

DFW's Most Haunted

Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Investigators spend the night upstairs at the Dallas Haunted House and get some unexpected results.

CBS 11. Joel Thomas explores the Boneyard Haunted House in Arlington. Reporter: Dan Hall runs the haunted house in the abandoned sears building. We work hard all year to perfect our scares and technique for a short time in the Halloween season...

Upstairs is a massive, dark, unused floor. When we first acquired the building, and the mall maintenance guys and mall security handed the keys over us to, they jokingly told us don't go upstairs. Reporter: soon, Mr. Hall began to think he was not the first person to haunt the building.

In the last year, there's been two or three things I can't explain. The rolls of receipts were stacked up on the table. And one of them came rolling across the floor at me one day. It just brushed my foot. Reporter: now, the floor is littered with the paper. Another event was downstairs. One of the trash cans just started moving toward us. Read More.

Promoting with Vehicle Graphics

Haunted House unveils latest wrapped Vehicle

August 2011 - The Boneyard Haunted House in Texas unveils it latest entry into the Wrapped Vehicle Arena. A 2010 Dodge RAM was selected to be completely covered or wrapped in vinyl graphics. The Boneyard, one of the top Haunted Houses in Dallas has been using vehicle wraps since 2008 and currently has a total of six vehicles that make up their fleet. Ranging from a H2-Hummer all the way down to a VW-Bug.

The Boneyard has consistently built their Branding and public image from the start. "Quality and Value are vital when presenting your companies image to the public, and is what our customers have come to expect from the Boneyard" said Dan Hall - Owner of the Boneyard Haunted House. "If you put your name on it - it has to be right! it doesn't matter if its a Hummer or a coffee cup" said Hall.

Choosing the right team to partner with to wrap vehicles for the Haunted House promotions was crucial for Hall. "It was important to find someone that could take my vision and create a vehicle wrap that reflected our image" Said Hall. The Boneyard has been working with Dallas based 360 Wraps for three years, for more information on custom wrapped vehicles check out 360Wraps.com

Ghost Hunting Texas Style

Investigators spend the night in Haunted House

Investigators from the Texas based group "Fort Worth Paranormal" Spent the night inside the Boneyard Haunted House.

Almost immediately the team started receiving signals on their ghost hunting equipment. Having broken up into several teams to cover the massive space that makes up the Boneyard complex. The members were unaware of what was happing with each individual team. It would not be till the next morning when they could start reviewing the evidence collected throughout the long night that they would find out what happened. Read More.

The Electric Chair - Halloween prop

One question I get asked often as a Haunted House owner is " What is your favorite prop or animatronics?" And it's like asking a parent what kid is their favorite! However I have to admit the classic "Electric Chair" makes my top 10 list year after year.

In 1881, - Dr. Albert Southwick, a dentist and former steamboat engineer, sees elderly drunkard touch terminals of electrical generator in Buffalo, New York. He is amazed at how quickly and apparently painlessly the man is killed and describes episode to friend State Senator David McMillan.

Currently the Boneyard houses a total of five electric chairs. one of the chairs has been imported from Europe. Originally manufactured as a arcade style novelty, the chair has been restored and updated with modern electronics. And is currently available for customers. Read More.

Grand Prairie Army reservists filed into a haunted house in Arlington Texas ..., hoping to better prepare for an upcoming mission in Haiti. Roughly 120 Soldiers practiced clearing rooms, dealing with hostiles and search and recovery in dangerous surroundings. The soldiers from the 302nd Military Police Unit were carrying unloaded guns, but able to practice real-life scenarios.

Inside The Boneyard Haunted House, former pilot Dan Hall -- who is allowing the military to use his facility for free -- is using all of his equipment to simulate a real life urban environment. "Someone could take fire on the troops, so as they come in they'll be assessing the area have to clear it for any potential dangers," said Hall. ~ Read More...

Halloween Weddings

A Haunted House may not be your first choice when it comes to a wedding venue. However each year this Haunted Haunted House in Dallas Texas holds several wedding ceremonies. Complete with Zombie Ushers and Monster Groomsman the Boneyard Haunted House has become a Hot Spot for Halloween theme weddings. Dan Hall - Owner of the Boneyard said that he did not know how to respond the first time he had a request for a wedding. "I had to make sure that the couple knew that this was a Haunted House" Hall said. That was in 2005, Since then the number of weddings has only increased.

Read More

Boneyard Caretaker.mov

Boneyard Haunted House TV Commercial

Scared to Death – From A Distance

RSU To The Rescue

Ever been scared breathless by a kid playing a video game? Ever screamed when they pressed their joystick? Come to the Boneyard, a Haunted House located the Dallas-Fort Worth Market. Aside from being a commercial Haunted House, it also benefits local charities and Non-Profit groups. Primarily we support Local Special Olympic Teams. Many of the athletes we support also work in the Haunted House as Actors, Tech Assistants and in other basic staff positions. While most of our special needs kids have fairly high-level functional skills, meaning that that they are able to interact well with others and can handle the overwhelming sights and sounds that go with working inside a Haunted Attraction, a few do not function at an independent level and need to be supervised. Now just because these kids don't function at a higher level don't think for a second that they don't want to take part in the action... trust me: they do. If you have ever snuck up on your friends or hidden just out of site to pounce on a co-worker to scare them then you to understand the feeling that goes hand in hand with making someone scream like a school girl.

In the past we have tried several different approaches to get these kids in the game, from building specially constructed rooms, as well as hidden drop panels they could sit behind that would let them participate in the show while still affording them some level of protection. While they all worked to some degree, nothing ever really fit the bill. For one thing it's very hot inside a Haunted House. While it may be October and in the 40's outside, temps can exceed 100 degree's on the inside. Cram a few thousand customers in a small place and chase ’em around the room with a chainsaw, and it heats up quick. So even though we fixed a spot for the kids, the conditions were not suited for them. They could not communicate basic information that we may take for granted.... " I am too hot"..."I need a drink" and so on. So we ended up with hot, tired and dehydrated kids. Not good.

So what to do? It turns out the solution was here all along. The Boneyard is more than just a haunted house. We have a large stage with live bands, the VooDoo Lounge where you can grab a cold beer (if you survived the haunt!) Or hang with the puppies if you didn't have the nerve to enter in the first place. We also have a large game room, where it all started to come together. It's your basic setup: pool tables, air hockey, classic arcade games (yes, we have Ms. PacMan), and first person shooters & driving games. Over the years several of the games end up getting taken apart and used for parts, so we have, in a manner of speaking, a second Boneyard: a room with a large collection of out of order arcade games.

Around March we were doing a little house cleaning, fixing some games, sending some to auction, and so on, when we came across a two seat racing console. The racer was not in good shape--the computer boards were missing, steering wheels gone and who knows what happened to the monitors. So with out much fanfare, it was pegged as a "Dumpster" and set aside. As the day goes on, however, I kept finding myself back at this game cabinet. Finally one of the crew asked me what my deal was with this cabinet. “I think I have an idea,” I said. No one likes to hear that come from my lips. It usually means late nights for everybody, long hours and unpredictable results. The cabinet, reprieved from the dumpster, got dragged into the Prop-Shop. “Now this is perfect for the ‘Remote Scare Unit’,” I proclaim with a straight face. Silence. So I think to myself, maybe they didn't hear me. Oh, they heard me all right; they just didn't think it was very funny (it's OK... I get that a lot).

So now we have a two seat game console, stereo speakers in each seat—and did I mention that the seats were adjustable? , Plus, they have gas and break pedals and a two-speed stick shift. In my minds eye...the perfect RSU. So here's the plan: We install high resolution color cameras inside the haunted house, some totally cool animatronics, air cannons, water squirters and perhaps some electrified shocking wallpaper. Hook it all up to the new monitors in the RSU's and...Bada-Bing, Bada-Boom! Problem solved. How cool is this for the kids? They can sit back in the actors lounge and play video games (and we all know that they absolutely love Video games). The only difference here? Their not chasing Mario around the screen--their chasing YOU!. They sit back in their chairs, watching the crowd go by, and thanks to the speakers installed in the seats they can hear exactly what’s going on, live, inside the event. They wait for just the right moment, and with the skill of a true gamer, they shoot you down.

So the next time you find yourself at the Boneyard, winding your way through the darkness, don’t be surprised, when out of nowhere, you get plastered with a shot of air. Or a monster swings down out at you. Just remember (after your heart rate slows and the screams subside), somewhere in the far reaches of the labyrinth, a kid laughing his head off. Because of you, he just scored and made it to the bonus round.

Come share in what we’re doing. We look forward to seeing you one dark windy night at the Boneyard.

Haunted House Website upgrade?

My first website while not much to look at, was very functional. After all it got the job done. In other words the site conveyed information and was very successful at bringing customers to the event. The last major revision was in 2001 "yea I know" my-Bad. In 2001 several things were changing in terms of marketing on the Internet and what was state of the art in web design then was not ageing well in mid 2009. So I decide "with much needed nudging from the world at large" that it's time to completely toss out the old frame-based site in favor of the new. Well it's not that easy~ now faced with CMS "Content Management Systems" Joomla, Word Press, CSS2,CSS3,PHP Dynamic based sites?? Where to go? What to do? - IE8 is out! OK. So no clear path lay in front of me.

What I decided to do was look at our current traffic. And that surprised me to say the least. Browser share and Monitor Resolution were my two areas of concern. I learned the hard way that just because you design at 2560x1600 doesn't mean that your customers will view at that screen size. So as of today Aug 6th 2009: 28.73% of visitors to http://www.theboneyard.org/ do so using IE6; 26.70% are on IE7; and only10.76% are fling IE8. FireFox, Safari & Opera bring up the rear in the low single digits.

Well after that stimulating foray into the wonderful world of browsers my choice was clear. Design the new site to be IE6 compliant. So for now we have decided to push the new site in three phases. Phase one is CSS2 based using PHP, a dynamic site that is database driven. The site was uploaded on Aug the 4th. And in my opinion... a well deserved make-over. Phase two will be implemented after this years Haunted House Season. And will be CSS3 based using the new CSS.table based system. Coding will allow for older browsers. Phase three will take place when 90% of visitors to our site are CSS3 compliant.

So for all of you out there that wanted the latest greatest bells and whistles? Well for now we are going to go with the numbers and give the customers what they want! Content that's designed for the browsers that are in use..... Well we did add a few things that make this site a bit more current. At least in terms of information. One of my favorite additions is Dynamic Barcode generation! What’s so cool about Barcodes you ask? well take a look at our web Coupon this year, better yet print one out and use it at the Boneyard. The barcode on the coupon is a dynamically generated Jpeg. It is a new picture each time the Coupon page is displayed. That code is stored in our Database and when the Coupon is present at the ticket window we can automatically tell when it was printed, where it was printed, the browser it came from, the monitor is was displayed on etc. For me that's good to know when I am deciding on content for the site.

Well I have gone on enough about the new site, And I will admit web design is not my favorite aspect of running a Haunted House. It's just one of the things that has to be done. Take some time and look at the new site. http://www.theboneyard.org/ let me know what you think.

Thanks for taking the time to read our post and we look forward to seeing you one dark windy night at the Boneyard.

Boneyard Haunted House

Well,, just getting around to my first Blog Post. Haunted Houses have been around for several years in one form or fashion. Twenty years ago events were put on by schools or groups tyring to raise money, some hay, a few kids in sheets and just turn out the lights. Fast forward to present day. The Boneyard is housed in a 200,000 SqFt building, staffed by 120 plus, Computerized effects, lights and animatronics are now prerequisites. The average person is exposed to advanced special effects on a daily basis. Advertising, Television and Movies just for starters. It takes a great deal to impress the average customer not to mention get them to a psychological state of fear. That's where we come in! The Boneyard Haunted House is in a constant state of change, using every trick in the book to get you out of your comfort zone. My intent here is to keep you abreast of the going-ons behind the curtain while at the same time not giving the ending away. Thanks for taking the time to read our post and we look forward to seeing you one dark windy night at the Boneyard.