Thirteenth Floor, led by Chris Stafford, is expanding from Halloween attractions into Christmas events after building a seasonal workforce of 4,500 people. The move gives the company a second major holiday market and could extend paid work past the Halloween season.
The expansion also signals a wider shift in seasonal entertainment. Operators known for haunted attractions are looking for ways to use their sites, staff, and production skills during more months of the year.
Halloween Business Reaches Major Scale
Thirteenth Floor now pays 4,500 seasonal workers each Halloween. That figure shows the size of the operation and the labor needed to run large holiday attractions.
Seasonal entertainment depends on concentrated periods of demand. Halloween venues must hire, train, schedule, and pay thousands of workers for a limited run. Roles may span performance, guest services, site operations, and event production, though the company has not provided a detailed breakdown.
The workforce figure also highlights the economic reach of Halloween entertainment. Temporary jobs can provide income for performers and other workers. However, the short season may limit job stability and predictable earnings.
Christmas Offers a Longer Operating Window
Branching into Christmas could help Thirteenth Floor reduce its reliance on one holiday. It may also allow the company to reuse locations and operational systems soon after Halloween ends.
The two holidays require different experiences. Halloween attractions often focus on fear, suspense, and theatrical scares. Christmas events usually serve families and broader age groups. That difference may require new designs, training, marketing, and safety plans.
The expansion could offer several business advantages:
- More weeks of revenue from seasonal sites
- Additional paid shifts for some temporary workers
- More use of equipment and event-production teams
- Less dependence on Halloween ticket sales
Those gains are not guaranteed. Christmas entertainment is a crowded category that includes light displays, markets, concerts, and family attractions. Thirteenth Floor will need to show that its production experience can translate into a different holiday setting.
Seasonal Workers Remain Central
The success of the Christmas push may depend on staffing. A business that already manages 4,500 Halloween workers has experience handling rapid hiring and short-term schedules. Yet Christmas events may create different labor needs and customer expectations.
Extending employment into another season could benefit workers who want more hours. Still, the company has not said how many Halloween employees will move into Christmas roles, how long those jobs will last, or whether total seasonal hiring will increase.
Those details will help determine the expansion’s effect on local labor markets. Pay levels, scheduling practices, training, and worker retention will also shape the outcome.
A Test of Year-Round Growth
Thirteenth Floor’s move reflects a practical growth strategy: take skills built around one major holiday and apply them to another. Its Halloween workforce gives the company scale, but Christmas will test its ability to reach new audiences.
The next measures of progress will be attendance, repeat visits, job creation, and the number of markets served. If the Christmas events perform well, Thirteenth Floor could become less dependent on a single seasonal rush. For workers and customers, the key question is whether that expansion creates lasting value rather than simply another short operating period.
