Eventbrite Helps The Haunted Tavern Grow Revenue by 25%

The Haunted Tavern isn’t your typical pop-up experience. It’s a cocktail of immersive theatre, ghost stories, and spirited mixology. 

“We take the folklore of a city and the hidden stories behind it to create this unique 90-minute experience where people get scared, and they learn their area’s history,” says Ryan Wieczorek, Executive Director at Midnight Creative, the team behind The Haunted Tavern. “There are little surprises throughout the night. And then we pair our stories with cocktails—so as people are sipping on spirits, they’re learning about spirits.“

As soon as guests enter, they’re transported to a macabre world. What goes on behind closed doors is under strict lock and key, but the seated theatre show promises haunted house horror, an eerie atmosphere, and heart-stopping moments.

“Everything from the smells that we’re pumping out into the air to the intermission music, it all coincides with keeping you on the edge of your seat,” Wieczorek explains. “Our goal is to keep you hooked for the duration that you’re there.” 

Eventbrite is a trusted partner for running The Haunted Tavern events at scale

Midnight Creative is a big operation. To put its scale in perspective, it has five headquarters across the US and up to seven teams of performers, mixologists, and production experts touring the country to put on shows year-round. The Haunted Tavern has been running for six years and has toured more than 200 cities across the US, with no sign of slowing down.

Along with The Haunted Tavern, Midnight Creative runs the Boozy Cauldron and Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy. Each offers a unique twist on immersive theatre and intimate cocktail experiences, with huge success on Eventbrite.

Midnight Creative has used the Eventbrite platform since 2012. Over the past 13 years, the team has hosted more than 1,400 events and sold over £9.5 million worth of tickets on the platform, with 160,000 tickets sold in the past year alone. 

The Haunted Tavern team needs a ticketing partner to deliver events at scale and at speed, with options for multiple locations and time slots.

The team credits Eventbrite’s user-friendly timed entry solution, robust end-to-end management system, and dedicated support as contributing to its growth and success.

Timed entry drives a 25% increase in revenue from ticket sales

Midnight Creative started using Eventbrite’s timed entry solution in October 2024 and has seen significant growth since, with a 25% increase in revenue from ticket sales.

With numerous events and teams to manage, ease of use is crucial to event growth and success. “Eventbrite is a very user-friendly system,” says Wieczorek. The team launches new events all the time—with new locations and dates announced weekly or even daily—and the tool’s agility and mobile accessibility are essential to scaling up and selling out.

“We’ll put up our event and watch the sales. If tickets are going fast, we keep adding sessions,” Wieczorek explains. “It’s simple, I can do it from my phone, and it takes me less than 30 seconds to add a new session.” 

This flexibility allows Midnight Creative to quickly respond to ticket demand, especially during strong marketing pushes. “Eventbrite offers an easy, scalable way to manage the supply and demand,” he adds.

Events can expand from one session to busy four-day runs with multiple time slots. “You literally only have to put up one session to begin with and, who knows, it could be 20 by the time the event comes around,” Wieczorek says.

Compared to competitor offerings, Wieczorek praises Eventbrite. “We have used other well-known timed ticketing solutions, and they’re not as easy to use. I think some systems don’t have the advanced technology that you have.”

“Eventbrite offers an easy, scalable way to manage the supply and demand.”

End-to-end management provides full control over events  

And it’s not just setup and planning that’s simplified with timed entry. Eventbrite’s Organizer app offers seamless end-to-end event management at your fingertips.

From check-in to curtain call, the app has everything you need to manage your event. You can monitor real-time ticket sales, check in attendees by scanning a QR code, and accept secure payments for tickets, merchandise, and refreshments on-site.

“It’s easy for the customers when they get there, with an easy check-in on the app,” Wieczorek explains. “Someone from our team runs the front door with a phone, and they’re able to check everyone in super easy, super fast.”

Organic search and discovery contribute to 15% of Midnight Creative’s ticket sales on the platform

Based on Eventbrite tracking, 15% of the 160,000 tickets sold last year were influenced by Eventbrite marketplace activity, including consumer search and browsing on the platform.

“Whenever we search around each city to see what’s going on, you see our events,” Wieczorek says. “We’re usually on the top of Eventbrite’s homepage, which is really awesome. So I can imagine it’s getting a lot of traction that way because people are going to the platform as a tool to explore events.” 

Another potential contributing factor is The Haunted Tavern’s 15,000 followers on the Eventbrite platform. Those followers are automatically notified whenever The Haunted Tavern posts a new event, making it an effective, low-effort marketing tool for existing fans.

Wieczorek believes this feature drives organic interest for organisers. “When we’re near our followers’ area and they’re getting notified, they’re more likely to buy a ticket,” he says. “If you go back to the same area and repeat an event, you will get a lot of organic traction from that tool.”

He believes the follower tool is a great asset for organisers, particularly those starting out and operating in the same locations. “If you’re a same-city organiser and your primary market is like Minneapolis, as you’re building your following, it’s a really good way for them to know of your events in real-time as it happens.”

Eventbrite reporting tools help inform The Haunted Tavern’s marketing spend

The Haunted Tavern has carved out a distinct niche where supernatural storytelling meets artisanal cocktails. And its popularity isn’t confined to Halloween, with guests flocking to events year-round, but especially throughout spring and autumn. 

When it comes to deciding where to spend marketing dollars and for how long, Eventbrite’s reporting tools provide valuable information. 

“We mostly look at daily sales by event or by organiser page [each of Midnight Creative’s brands has its own account],” he explains. “That way, we know whether we should keep pouring money into the marketing or not. We also structure some of our marketing campaigns to see how well things sell on certain days of the week.”

A paranormal pop-up for everyone

A savvy multi-channel marketing approach, from influencer partnerships to local press coverage, has earned The Haunted Tavern a broad mix of fans with a passion for all things supernatural.

“People are drawn into haunted experiences, and they might have heard about our experience in a neighbouring city,” Wieczorek says. “So by the time they’re even seeing our ads or hearing about it, they already know we exist…it has quite a reputation behind it.” 

With each iteration of The Haunted Tavern offering fresh twists and stories, no show is the same. When asked what’s next for The Haunted Tavern, Wieczorek says: “We want to bring the show to as many people as possible. We want to create newer versions of The Haunted Tavern in the years to come. So once you’ve seen this Haunted Tavern, the new version will be coming around and give you different stories and give you a different twist.” 

This blend of immersive storytelling, niche community fandom, and strategic promotion makes The Haunted Tavern a must-see attraction wherever it appears.