Meet Jake Farmer | Haunted Attraction Creator & Travel Vlogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jake Farmer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jake, why did you pursue a creative career?
I never really thought of it as pursuing an artistic career, so to speak. I’ve always just spent time on things I found to be fun, which often requires creativity to some degree. The more you do something, the more the “less fun” parts (like the business aspects, etc.) just become part of the overall thing you’re trying to accomplish. Something about it is instinctual and in your youth you may not realize that. Only in hindsight can you say “Yeah, that’s all I cared about back then. That’s what I was doing all the time.” Eventually you realize you’ve made a career out of something you love by following that instinct. The thought of just “getting a good job” never really crossed my young mind, It never made sense to me that some people would just settle to do work for work’s sake without it being something they are passionate about or are using to build towards a larger end goal.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m in a blissfully weird position professionally in that I have a stable “day job” at a large scale haunted attraction. Additionally, I build effects and do installation work on the side for other attractions with my own small business. Oh, and sometimes I shoot professional fireworks displays for another company I work for on a gig by gig basis.
The bulk of my creative efforts goes into developing environments that will enhance the guest experience in a haunted attraction. Have you ever come out of a haunt screaming and laughing with your friends and thought about why you enjoyed the experience? Lighting, audio, and special effects design for these kind of environments is what I love to do. What’s the theme? What’s the story we’re telling? What’s the setup & punch that get’s the reaction from people? All of this is subconsciously supported by the atmosphere. Just like with a major touring production, the performers usually get the credit but it’s the behind the scenes folks that setup the performers for the best possible outcome. It’s all about theatrics.
In an industry that’s largely viewed as seasonal carny work, it’s crazy that I’ve “made it” to doing this stuff all the time. When you aren’t working on your own projects, there are clients out there with their own projects that want help from people with experience… So then I get to go do something new for their event, leaning on my own past trial & error to streamline it. In this industry it’s all about networking. I just got back from a gig installing a new haunt at a theme park. The guy who called me is doing the same thing – he has a company and he’s getting work based on past experience and industry acquaintances. He needed a tech guy so I got a call.
It doesn’t hurt that I’m a theme park enthusiast as well. It’s fun to go to parks but it ultimately ties back into work… As a guest I’m always looking at how the major parks do things, from queue operations, to marketing, to the special effects they have in their attractions. It doesn’t always apply directly to what I do, but I always want to watch & learn from the best. Everyone has their heroes, ya know?
My latest fun venture has been travel vlogging. The performer in me needed an outlet, and since I like to go do touristy stuff anyway, a YouTube channel was born: Farmeritaville.
I’m not retiring on YouTube money anytime soon, but if you can find a fun thing that pays back a portion of what you put into it, then why not? The fun part is that I get to just be myself and just go to these fun places and have a good time. I give my commentary based on my industry observations and experiences so hopefully it’s a little different than most theme park and attraction vlogs out there. Having cocktails and cracking jokes along the way probably doesn’t hurt either.
I have a policy though: I don’t ever want to put out negative content. If I go somewhere intending to vlog about it and I don’t have a good time or wouldn’t recommend the event to people, the “vidya” (as I call them.) gets scrapped. That’s the joy of it being a hobby and not a career – I can call the shots all the way. I’m not leaning on it for income or trying to only appeal to the audience. It’s for me to have fun and usually the audience does too. But it’s not “content by design” like a lot of channels.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, assuming they’re one of MY friends, they are going to largely share my tastes in entertainment. (Probably food too.) They’d get the red carpet treatment at Dark Hour Haunted House of course. I’d probably take them to check out Reindeer Manor as well, since the team there are close friends of mine and generally groovy people. We might rent a boat on Lake Ray Hubbard, check out the new Meow Wolf in Grapevine. Grandscape in The Colony is worth a visit. They have adult mini golf, escape rooms, and several good dining options. Dallas Karting Complex in Caddo Mills is always a fun stop too. If it’s the right time of year, I’d drag them to The State Fair of Texas, if for nothing else to give them something to talk about on social media. We’d have to eat at my favorite places while they’re here: Gloria’s Latin Cuisine and Torchy’s Tacos.
We’d invite some people over and spend at least one evening at my house, which I just want to feel like a relaxing party environment for my friends anyway. We’d drink margs around the fire pit and play mini golf. Yeah, I built some creative redneck mini golf holes in my backyard. My house IS my favorite spot in the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
For starters, my mom. Between her and my grandparents, I was a pretty loved kid. As a single parent, she worked a lot and always had unconventional work hours but still made time to take me fun places like museums, FECs, haunted houses, or any other local stuff that could be considered “touristy attractions.” She always supported my weird hobbies or creative endeavours without resistance. I never got the “you can’t make money doing that” speech. Sure, like most people my age, I got the standard urging to “go to college and get a good job” but even during that period in my life those loving suggestions were targeting a film making degree since I was big into home movies at the time. (Remember the days before smart phones and YouTube?) But yeah, I don’t fail to recognize the solid launch pad I had in a family that cared for my well-being. I wish everyone could be so lucky. Throughout the years I’ve met and/or worked with several figures I would consider mentors, whether they know it or not. Anyone who’s said a single sentence of advice that I have remembered and utilized in some way has made a difference, large or small. I came to understand that people with experience in the things you want to do are the best ones to listen to.

Website: www.effectstogo.com

Instagram: @farmeritaville_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farmeritaville/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Farmeritaville