Slaughtered Acres lists auditions for Halloween season

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Slaughtered Acres Haunted House listed auditions for Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Wichita Falls as the seasonal attraction sought actors, scare enthusiasts and other performers for its Halloween run, according to a first-party post and audition flyer. For Gainesville and Cooke County readers, the notice is a regional jobs-and-entertainment item: the flyer places Slaughtered Acres at 2317 Harding Street in Wichita Falls and does not identify a Gainesville or Cooke County location.

The Slaughtered Acres flyer said auditions were set for 7 to 9 p.m. The attraction also posted that people interested in extra cash and joining this year’s team should come to auditions at 7 p.m.

No prior experience was required, according to the flyer. The flyer told auditionees to expect to meet the team, perform a short scene or improv, walk through the attraction and be ready to scare.

The audition notice arrived as Halloween operators around Texas began staffing and opening for the 2026 season. Cutting Edge Haunted House in Fort Worth says on its employment page that it is recruiting for its monster cast, event operations and guest-experience team. The 13th Floor Haunted House sites in Houston and San Antonio list 2026 application links, including actor and event-staff positions in Houston and an online application process in San Antonio.

Other Texas attractions have already posted fall schedules. Dark Hour Haunted House in Plano says its 2026 season opens Sept. 19 and runs on select nights through Nov. 13. The BooMont Hotel at Galleria Dallas says its Halloween walkthrough opened Sept. 4.

Halloween remains a large seasonal business, according to the National Retail Federation. In its 2025 Halloween survey, NRF projected record holiday spending of about $13 billion and reported that about one in four consumers planned to visit a haunted house.

State rules also shape how haunted attractions operate. The Texas State Fire Marshal classifies haunted houses as special amusement buildings and says they must meet assembly-occupancy requirements regardless of occupant load. The agency’s haunted-house guidance lists requirements including sprinkler systems, smoke-detection fire alarms, illuminated exit signs, emergency lighting, unlocked exits, portable extinguishers, trained crowd managers, staff emergency training and a written emergency action plan submitted to the local authority having jurisdiction.

Wichita Falls zoning materials list temporary commercial amusement uses, including carnivals and haunted houses, under temporary-use regulations. The city’s rates and fees schedule says the minimum building-permit fee for any permit required by the building code is $47, with separate fees for commercial construction or additions.

Gainesville’s city calendar lists a separate local Halloween event, the 9th Annual Scare on the Square, for Oct. 31, 2026, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Historic Downtown and the Farmers Market. The city listing says the free event includes trick-or-treating, a costume contest with child, adult, group and dog categories, a business decorating contest with a $200 prize, and $50 Farmers Market booths for businesses outside the Downtown District.