TWISTEDNIGHTMARES
OUR EXPERIENCE
Twisted Nightmares is built on 38 years of hands-on experience in haunted attractions and immersive entertainment.
From the performance floor to the operations office.
THE HAUNTED HOTEL · BEAUMONT, TEXAS
Barry Blaisdell has spent nearly four decades gaining hands-on experience across performance, operations, actor management, scenic construction, effects, maintenance, marketing, guest flow, and problem solving.
That breadth of experience now shapes the consulting work behind Twisted Nightmares.
A HISTORY BUILT ON REAL PROBLEMS SOLVED
Barry Blaisdell became involved with Beaumont's Haunted Hotel in 1986 and eventually served as General Manager, gaining hands-on experience across nearly every part of running a haunted attraction.
Over the years, that meant far more than developing scares. The work included performance, actor management, scenic construction, effects, maintenance, marketing, guest flow, day-to-day operations, attraction development, and the constant problem solving required to keep a live entertainment business moving forward.
The Haunted Hotel also changed dramatically over those years. The attraction experienced relocation, severe weather, operational challenges, an electrical fire, rebuilding, a return to downtown Beaumont, and later expansion. Each chapter required adaptation, practical decision making, and an understanding of how creative ideas have to function in the real world.
Experiences like this shaped a practical approach to attraction work. Creative ideas matter, but so do construction, maintenance, operations, contingency planning, and the ability to adapt when circumstances change.
Experience is not just how long you have been doing something. It is what you have had to solve along the way.
That history matters because consulting is most valuable when it is grounded in experience with real guests, real performers, real construction, real operating constraints, and real problems that have to be solved before opening night.
Bring that experience to your attraction.
Industry source: HauntWorld documented Barry "Bear" Blaisdell's involvement with the Haunted Hotel beginning in 1986 and identified him as General Manager.
Barry Blaisdell becomes involved with the Haunted Hotel.
The attraction operates through relocation and the disruption caused by Hurricane Ike.
An electrical fire forces another major transition.
The Haunted Hotel returns to downtown Beaumont at 447 Orleans Street.
Rosehill Asylum adds approximately 5,000 square feet to the experience.
Barry's hands-on, day-to-day involvement with the Haunted Hotel concludes, capping 38 years of firsthand haunted attraction experience from 1986 through 2024.
BEYOND ATTRACTION DESIGN
Creative ideas have to work for guests, performers, and the people operating the venue.
Barry helped develop, construct, and maintain six escape rooms, bringing together scenic design, interactive puzzles, physical challenges, and immersive storytelling. That experience informs guidance on player experience, puzzle sequences, reliability, and room resets. Explore escape room consulting.
Work includes props, masks, practical effects, scenic elements, and interactive environments. Fabrication capabilities include sculpting, mold making, silicone and latex casting, fiberglass, woodworking, scenic finishing, laser cutting, CNC, and 3D printing. We consider durability, maintenance, and function alongside appearance.
Years of performing, developing characters, training actors, and coordinating scene timing inform practical coaching. We understand how sound, lighting, environment, and performer placement can shape an audience’s experience. Explore actor coaching.
Our perspective includes staffing, guest movement, maintenance, operational efficiency, marketing, and public relations. Creative development has to account for the real demands of opening and running an attraction.
A PRACTICAL CONSULTING PHILOSOPHY
We consider the guest experience alongside staffing, maintenance, guest movement, operational efficiency, and the practical demands of a live entertainment business. Our goal is to help clients make informed decisions and develop memorable experiences that can work in operation.
READY TO TALK ABOUT YOUR PROJECT?
Whether you’re planning an attraction, developing an escape room, or coaching performers, we’ll start by understanding your goals.
How consultations work Based in Southeast Texas; remote consulting available nationwide.