When I was a little kid in Texas my parents took me to a haunted house which was being held at my grade school.
I wasn’t scared to go because, after all, it was at my school. I went there every day. It was totally familiar. What could go wrong?
Plenty as it turns out.
First, it was dark. Real dark. Like, night time dark…
Second, as soon as I entered the building I realized that things were not familiar at all. The light bulbs had been replaced with black lights and strobes. There were cob webs all over. The lockers and class room doors were gone – they had been covered with black paper.
And there was an awful lot of blood on the floor.
I immediately turned around and tried to leave but the doors were locked behind me. There was only one way out and that was to go forward. Straight ahead. Through the nightmare.
That’s when the creepy music, moaning, chain rattling, and screaming started.
I began to panic. My stomach started flipping. My legs turned to jelly and my heart sank.
My 8 year old brain said, “RUN, RUN,RUN!!!”
And that’s exactly what I did.
A full on Olympic class sprint for the exit.
I was doing good, going for the gold, almost out…
Until I rounded a corner and smashed into the coffin.
And the lid opened.
And the scary dead dude popped up.
I don’t remember anything else after that, except that I promised myself two things. I would always have a change of underwear, and I would never, EVER step foot in a haunted house again.
Maybe one day, after extensive therapy… but as of today I have no use for them.
Except this – haunted houses are one of the best places in the world to sell hot dogs.
Think about it. Hundreds of people, all in one place, night after night for weeks.
And they all ate dinner hours ago. Hungry humans in a party mood as far as the eye can see.
Now is the time to contact your local haunted house and secure a spot. Don’t wait because the organizers of these events are already working on them, have been for a while now.
A great approach is to offer them free advertising on your menus and fliers at your regular location in exchange for letting you set up. If you don’t have a regular location, offer to flier the local neighborhoods for them. I’m sure you can think of other creative ways to spread the word.
Free promotion. That’s the winning pitch.
Where are the best haunted houses? Here is a great place to find all the spooky stuff in your area. Click it to see your state:
If you haven’t gotten started yet it’s not too late – but only if you get on the fast track by grabbing a copy of my Hot Dog Biz 101 course. In it I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to be up and running in time.
Check it out at HotDogBiz101.com
Until next time, BOO!
-Steve
P.S. This is the scariest costume I’ve ever seen.
Click the pic for a “King” size version.
Hi Steve,
This is a great idea and I did email some local haunts but they already had their own vendors. I think I will try in August next year. By the way…I just got my cart this past week. If I don’t get a gig in October lined up soon I am going to do some self promotion in my neighborhood and hold a invitation only block party in my front yard. I’m giving away free hot dogs to everyone who attends to get my name out there and maybe secure some private parties for next year. Since I work a full time job I only can do this on weekends. I need to book far in advance and have a steady calendar of gigs lined up. What do you think?
Marge
Sounds like a plan. I do at least two block parties a year myself. Helps to keep you in front of the public.
Thanks Marge!
Woah! I’m really scared of the… Moose Knuckle! Aaaahhh! Why did you do that to us Steve? Bwah ha ha ha!
It’s truly terrifying.
Yikes! That story reminds me of the time “I” was chosen to “go first” through one of the most terrifiying haunted houses I’ve ever seen! And that was years ago when in my 20’s- (have’nt gone to one since). Great story Steve! ~and great idea to sell dogs!
Thanks Robert. I’m with you man!
Last year I teamed up with some of my neighbors and we gave 1 hot dog, 1 small bag of chips, and a capri sun away to Trick – O – Treaters. I just provided the cart, and they provided the money for the food. Great advertising by being part of a neighborhood event. As a result, my neighbors, and the nights recipients have been coming all year to my cart at the flea market. This one night of partnering with my neighbors has reaped dividends all year. I HAVE BEEN REAPING BECAUSE I SOWED INTO SOMETHING GREATER THAN MYSELF. How cool is that !
Great idea, and yes it is very cool indeed! Thanks Paul!
Do not forget to add hot cocoa to the list of selling items if living in a cooler damp area. Use one water pan for hot water and serve away
Yep, great add on profit center. Thanks Jerry!
Steve, I cannot thank you enough for mentioning this great idea. I jumped on it right away, and found the contact info for the only haunted house in this area, (the nearest one would be an hour away.) I would have never even had thought about approaching a haunted house. We contacted them, and as it turns out, they had been previously working in the local mall, with the food court providing the food. This year they moved it away from the mall, and they had nobody to service the huge line of people waiting to get in! They were hoping that someone would step up! We will be paying a flat fee of $250, to work weekends for all of October. The usual lines are 1,000 – 1,500 people per night. Two thirds of the cue line is outside were we will be.
P.S. We have never worked a crowd this big before. I would love to know what percentage of those crowds we should expect to buy from us so that we have an adequate inventory. We also would love to know any tips that would be helpful for working a large volume crowd! Thanks again Steve!
Awesome Sam! Good for you.
Here is an article I wrote on working big events. The comments from my slingers contain awesome info so be sure to read them all.
https://hotdogprofits.com/blog/how-much-food-to-bring-to-big-events/
Send me some pics of you working the haunted house. I’d love to see them!!!