We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Roseann Harpold. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Roseann below.

Hi Roseann, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

I have found that the horror and Halloween industry has been exploding in recent years, with what I believe is partially due to the rise in young, open-minded individuals finding their place in the world. While many previous generations tend to lean toward the “Happy Fall Y’all” approach to Halloween (as I like to call it, coming from the South), I have grown up in a generation that embraces the strange and unusual. I believe this acceptance and celebration of the macabre also comes along with being comfortable with one’s self and being willing to break from the traditional norm. With that being said, I do not mean to imply that there have not been horror enthusiasts before my generation – rather, this new generation adds new and exciting features to this witches’ brew of ghouls. Not only is the Halloween season itself gaining more traction, but macabre markets have been popping up left and right! In fact, I recently discovered another business owner, my same age, who is doing a very similar traveling market as HauntFest. We have since become good friends and plan to collaborate on events in the future. Along with this, artsy towns like Athens, GA, and Asheville, NC, have been building up the spooky scene in everyday life, with themed bars and costume parties galore. It is such a delight to me to see these trends grow, and to play a part in it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Roseann Harpold, an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia. I entered school not knowing what I wanted to do. Both of my parents are in the medical field, so they suggested I major in Biology. I was always drawn to the art world, however, sculpting and painting whenever I found the opportunity. This led me to add a Studio Art minor, but I was always warned to not make my hobby a career – there were always compelling arguments to this. I continued with the biology route with a neuroscience emphasis, later falling in love with my psychology classes, leading me to add a psychology major as well.

I had always loved Halloween, and I credit much of this love to my father. He had always thrown a huge Halloween party every year and offered a free haunted house dubbed “Harpold Manor” in our home for the neighborhood. I grew up being used to seeing goblins and monsters in the house during the season, so they never bothered me much. With my love for Halloween also came a love to party. In college, my house was always the place to be during the holidays. It would be decked out in decor, with snacks and games to keep everyone involved. I fell in love with planning these events and setting the scene. I was always inspired by places like Universal Studios that could make you feel like you were in a whole new world, and I had a strange epiphany – I suddenly wanted to own a haunted theme park. We have theme parks that focus on kids, families, and geeky adults, but what about those with a dark side? Horror should not be viewed as a Halloween-only genre. It simply isn’t! Horror movies come out all of the time – why can’t we have some fun with it too?

I spent countless hours researching artists from Universal Creative and Disney Imagineers, meeting with many over Zoom to get their advice on what I should pursue in school. Most told me it didn’t matter – that owning a business or being an artist didn’t require a degree, and many of them did not have one at all. I was surprised by this. I knew I didn’t want to pursue a business degree, but I figured an Entrepreneurship Certificate would do a good job of teaching me the basics. So, along with the million other things, I added this to my degree program.

In one of my intro ENTR classes, my professor mentioned the Idea Accelerator program. I joined this outside of classes with the haunted theme park in mind, and the program pushed me to test my idea. Would people go to a Halloween/horror-themed event outside of October? To test this, HauntFest was born. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and I came up with the name on the fly – it was literally the first thing that came to mind. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. HauntFest, LLC is a Halloween/horror festival business, celebrating the macabre through horror art vendors, live music, bewitching entertainment, and interactive activities.

I planned the first HauntFest for May 2023 at a venue in Athens, GA, and the event was a wild success. We quickly ran out of parking and the vendors made huge profits. The entire event was sponsored and used volunteers, as I did not have a budget to work with. It turns out that was all that I needed, as the community really wanted to see this thing come to life. Since then, I hosted a second HauntFest in April 2024, which nearly tripled in size, and have now begun spreading to areas outside of GA. We just had our first NC event in September and are planning our first December event in SC. And, I am still in school! I will actually be graduating the day of the December HauntFest (Friday the 13th, ironically enough). The plan is to eventually host an annual off-season event in every state, ultimately building a reputation that I may later use to gain investors for the haunted theme park. But, who knows? I will see where life takes us.

One thing I am really proud of is my realization that I can just DO things. This goes for anyone. If you have a dream, just GO FOR IT. The only thing truly holding you back is yourself. I did not realize this for a long time, but once I opened my eyes to the idea, my whole life changed. Don’t have the money? Find sponsors or others who are passionate about the project. Hoola-hoop on the street. Think of weird and whacky ways to make it happen. You’ve never done anything like this before? No experience? Who cares! I didn’t have any either. I had to learn so much so fast, and there are always hiccups along the way, but you CAN do it. Don’t think – just DO. I promise it can make you do more than you could ever imagine possible.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn was that I shouldn’t spend too much money. Growing up, I was always taught to be careful with money. We would yardsale and bargain as much as we could, and my father was always big into couponing. When I got money for my birthday, I would stash it away because I was always “saving it for something,” but that something never came. When I started the business, $100 felt like A LOT of money to me. My mentor was always trying to nail into my brain that spending money is a GOOD thing and that $100 is nothing. To him, even $1,000 was nothing. This is not because he was rich, or that I am rich by any means – it simply is a lesson that must be learned in order to have a successful business. Spending $1,000 on marketing may bring in $30,000 in revenue, but you have to spend that $1,000 first. I was always afraid to do that. I am finally getting used to the idea, and it is helping me try new things that could benefit the business in the long run. Take the big risks and they can have big returns! If you don’t take the risk at all, you can fizzle out.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I have had two business partners so far in my journey who have worked very close with me to make the events a success. The first event was all on my own, the second event was with the help of a volunteer, Abigail, and the third event was with the help of a paid contractor, Megan.

I met Abigail at a party, through mutual friends. We chatted about books we had read and what we wanted to do with our futures. Abigail later told me that she had been inspired by my ambition and thought HauntFest could really go somewhere. She acted as a general volunteer for the first event, HauntFest Mayhem, and I saw her dedication. She was the stage manager, and boy was she reliable. She was always rushing around, making sure everything was running smoothly and on-time. I liked that about her. For the next event, HauntFest April Ghouls, I asked if she would like to play a bigger role in the backend. She was thrilled by the opportunity. Throughout my time working with her, she was constantly coming up with new ideas and offering her views on how to contribute. She had a completely different way of thinking about things because her passions were more based in literature. Abigail played a huge part in bringing authors in for the festival, which also started a new ghost story reading segment for future HauntFest events. Working with a partner was hard for me at first. I had gotten used to making decisions on my own, and I am often quite stubborn. I did learn very quickly, however, how much of a benefit she was in making the event successful, and she taught me things along the way too.

I met Megan through Indeed. I was looking to hire an Event Director for the NC event because it was a long drive for me. I did plenty of interviews with other applicants, but something about her really stuck with me. The other applicants had much more experience. She had none. But, weirdly enough, I loved that about her. I felt that I needed someone who could think out of the box, and that is easier to do when you haven’t gotten into a routine. She is young and ambitious, and she got outstanding reviews from her references. I gathered that she could do anything she set her mind to, and the other applicants did not seem like they had that fire in them that she had. I followed my gut and hired her. She has been an absolute lifesaver, and I couldn’t have asked for anyone else. Not only is she flexible and driven, but she has experience in music management. She was especially helpful in planning the lineup and determining payments and contracts for bands. I plan to continue working with Megan for future events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hauntfest.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hauntfest.athens/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551337902116
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roseann-harpold-695562191/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HauntFestEst2023

Image Credits

GA Reptile Society, Laura Taylor, Will Crowe, Andrew Shearer