Autumn sales are scary good for some Central New York businesses
Syracuse, NY — The first signs of Halloween — the candy, the costumes, the pumpkins — used to emerge in early fall, sandwiched safely between the back-to-school season and the Christmas rush.
During the last several years, however, those orange and black bags of treats have found their way onto shelves shortly after the Fourth of July and kids start dreaming up their costumes even before the first school bell rings.
Halloween has become big business.
In response, family friendly fall and Halloween attractions and activities are on the rise locally. Pumpkin patches, corn mazes, apple picking, haunted houses and Halloween retailers have managed to stretch a one-day celebration into a six-week — or longer — autumnal event that is proving to be popular with customers and profitable for creative entrepreneurs.
When businessman Doug Waterbury bought the Sterling Renaissance Festival in 2008, he saw an opportunity to capitalize on this growing trend by finding an additional use for his medieval festival grounds.
In 2008 he created Screamer’s Hollow, a haunted attraction on the grounds in northern Cayuga County. Waterbury, who owns Empire Attractions operating Sylvan Beach Amusement Park and Santa’s Workshop near the Adirondacks among others, said the decision to add a Halloween attraction on the site in Sterling was a natural one.
“It was a shame to let the grounds sit idle,” he said. “We had the infrastructure already, the parking and food service, and the property lends itself to a haunted attraction; it’s scary at night.”
