Here’s Why Blood Manor, a Haunted House in NYC, Costs $45

Why Entering This Haunted House Costs $45 (or $65 for the ‘R.I.P.’ Line)

Oct. 29, 2024

Thrills don’t come cheap in New York, where every square foot counts. In TriBeCa at Blood Manor, one of the city’s biggest haunted attractions, admission is $45 around Halloween (or $65 for “R.I.P.” treatment, to skip the line).

Keeping expenses down hasn’t been easy, even with a shortened season to cut costs, said Jim Lorenzo, the owner. For just 23 nights, he spends between $15,000 to $20,000 on makeup, applied by up to eight artists.

It wouldn’t be a Halloween production without some theatrical flair. Every year, makeup artists splatter the performers with close to 20 gallons of mint-flavored stage blood at a cost of $33 per 32 ounces — over $2,500.

Then there are the performers — this year, a crew of about 75 horror enthusiasts, including a teacher, a welder, a lawyer and a dog sitter — who make up the biggest share of the annual $250,000 independent contractor budget.

Setting the stage is equally important. The company spent nearly $1 million several years ago to gut-renovate part of the landmark commercial building they occupy year-round. Another $50,000 was spent this year on updates, including props.

Part of the renovations included over $100,000 on lighting and audio effects, like motion sensors and black lights., Mr. Lorenzo said. A 55-gallon drum of “swamp juice,” a long-lasting fluid feeding the fog machines, costs $1,500 a year.

But the scariest thing about running a business is often the rent. Mr. Lorenzo pays about $200,000 a year for 15,000 square feet across three floors. It was around $168,000 in 2019.

Why Entering This Haunted House Costs $45 (or $65 for the ‘R.I.P.’ Line)

It’s not as if Blood Manor can just transform into an office after Halloween.

Subleasing is difficult for the business, which has occupied the same building since 2018, because most tenants don’t need, say, an indoor graveyard or a demonic morgue. Both would be costly to deconstruct and resurrect.

So Mr. Lorenzo is stuck renting the space year-round.

“The only thing we do the rest of the year is spend money,” he said.

To try to make the most of its space, the business hosts pop-up horror events, like “My Bloody Valentine” in February and a Krampus-themed Christmas in December, but they don’t cover the bills, Mr. Lorenzo said.

For Halloween, the business has cut back on performances in its 21st year, from five to four hours a night, to reduce costs.

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Still, ticket sales for these businesses has been brisk nationwide since the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, experts in the industry said, attributing it in part to people seeking some escapism.

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