Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Trahan.
Hi Corey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always loved horror films, Halloween, and, generally speaking, all things spooky. I graduated from UT-Austin with a Ph.D. in quantum physics in 2004 and subsequently went to Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX, for a post-doctoral position. In Lubbock, I decided to open a haunted house. Still, after some industry research, I discovered that multi-attraction Halloween theme parks had higher success rates than just single haunted houses. So, I found my current business partner in Lubbock, TX, and opened Nightmare on 19th Street in 2007, which is still in business today. Nightmare draws thousands of people each October from all over the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico. I moved back to Austin shortly after my post-doctoral position at Tech, and in 2016, my partner and I decided it was time to expand into my hometown, Austin, TX. We purchased the land that was to form Bat City Scaregrounds.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The journey to open Bat City Scaregrounds was a “Nightmare” of land development in Austin, TX. I was warned that Austin was one of America’s most difficult cities to develop in, particularly for small businesses. While I can’t really compare it to other cities, the process was an emotional roller coaster. The 15 acres of land Bat City Scaregrounds sits on had to be commercialized with the City of Austin and Travis County. I quickly found out that both the CoA and Travis County (1) took forever to review site plans and were out of sync with one another and (2) cater to large businesses with ample development funds. It took three full years of deliberating with CoA and Travis County officials and far more funds than expected to open the park. After commercializing the land as an entertainment complex, I still had to build a Halloween theme park. Having minimal funds left to do this, I was stuck with countless days of endless personal labor. Luckily I was able to build a team of passionate people to help build and produce with me.
Thanks for sharing that. Can you tell us more about your work next?
Having specialized in directing teams of technical and creative productions for nearly 20 years, I felt a natural extension of my theme park career was towards film. With the help of the Bat City Scaregrounds creative team, I am now directing and producing feature length films under the production company HW Productions, LLC (DBA HorrorWeb). Of course, the production company specializes in horror films. Our first short film won over 45 international film festivals, and our first feature length film will be distributed in 2024. While film has become a huge part of my life, weekly work continues all year long at Bat City Scaregrounds and Nightmare on 19th Street to further place the two Halloween parks on the map as some of the greatest places in America for October fun.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11314406/
- Current band: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063591394186
- Theme parks: www.nightmareon19thstreet.com, www.batcityscaregrounds.com
- Production company: www.horrorweb.com
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was a creative kid. I liked to draw and write short works of fiction and poetry. I picked up the guitar in 7th grade and immediately fell in love with music. I loved playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends and was always the Dungeon Master. The game allowed me to create and narrate stories my friends could enjoy. My grades were always good but far from perfect until late High School, when I took my first physics class. I found I had a passion for the subject, and after that, my grades moved to mostly A’s and stayed that way through college and graduate school. While my early motivation for physics was existential curiosity, my scientific career became just another way to create.
Pricing:
- General Admission Tickets to Bat City Scaregrounds are $25 on Thursdays and Sundays and $30 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.batcityscaregrounds.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/batcityscaregrounds/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/batcityscaregrounds
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/horrorweb
