It's all things scary as HauntCon comes to Orlando this week

HauntCon, the Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Conference is coming to Orlando this weekend at the Ramada Celebration Resort. It’s an expo and convention “designed by haunters, for haunters” that brings people together who love haunted houses and Halloween. Attendees may tour local haunts, wander the tradeshow floor, check out the hearse show or attend a costume ball.

The HauntCon tours start tomorrow (April 28, 2010) with a pre-show overnight bus trip that includes lights on and lights off tours of the Grimm House, Grey Manor, Terror of Tallahassee, Castle Dread and Warehouse 31.

On Thursday night, attendees will meet the design team of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights and get a behind the scenes look at this annual event now in its 20th year. The Friday night spotlight tour is of two haunted houses for Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream event in Tampa.

A key component of HauntCon is education. More than 40 hours are included in the full admission. Seminars, workshops and demonstrations are designed to help attendees learn new techniques on makeup, prop and set building, and for those in the business, advertising and marketing.

The tradeshow floor, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday, will be filled with the latest in fright services and equipment for the professional haunted house owner and Halloween enthusiasts alike. From horror makeup and highly detailed masks to static props and large animatronic creatures, everything a haunter needs will be for sale and many at wholesale prices.

On Saturday night, haunters from across the country will show off their most creative costumes at the massive Haunted Attraction Magazine Costume Ball. It’s like Halloween in May.

On Sunday afternoon, the hotel parking lot will be filled with a collection of creepy tricked-out vehicles and funeral cars for the Hearse and Parade Car Rally, followed by a social and meal at Pirate’s Dinner Adventure later that night.

Tickets for the full weekend are $95. Single day passes are $35. Prices and availability for the tours and other events are available at www.hauntcon.com, as is a full schedule of events.