Snapchat looks to “spark some frightful fun” with star-studded ‘Phantom House’ series

Snapchat is ringing in spooky season with help from a few big-name creators. The social app has launched a series called Phantom House, which features Snap stars Sofie Dossi, Tony Talks, and Ezee.

Within the Snapchat app, Phantom House will be distributed across multiple formats. According to Marketing Dive, Phantom House viewers will be able to experience the series on the Chat, Camera, Stories, and Spotlight tabs. As Sofie, Tony, and Ezee use Snap tools to solve puzzles and escape the titular haunted house, ordinary users will gain access to their own themed effects. Snap’s Phantom House content includes custom AR Lenses and a Spotlight Challenge.

Phantom House began with a series of vlog-style updates, in which the series’ three stars received invites to a mysterious and devilish location. As they enter the house (which only appears after Dossi locates it with a Snap filter), the show takes on a darker and more cinematic tone. New episodes will be released each week.

“Snapchatters can tune-in to the weekly content series to watch the story unfold, participate in the adventure by helping the creators gather new clues and solve puzzles, and share what

they’ve seen with friends through AR Lenses and AI-generated Dreams selfies inspired by the Phantom House,” reads a post in the Snapchat Newsroom. “With 80% of Snapchatters planning to use Snapchat during Halloween, what better way to get into the spooky spirit and spark some frightful fun than with a mystery that only Snapchatters can help solve?”

In recent years, Snap has used Halloween-themed activations to show off new products and features during the month of October. The app’s decision to launch a spooky series is a notable reversal for a company that lowered its investment in original content after enduring a major round of layoffs in 2022. One year and one more round of layoffs later, Snap is testing whether a creator-driven approach will get its user base into the Halloween spirit.

But Halloween won’t be the only tentpole served by Phantom House. Snap is also launching a live activation based off the series as part of its efforts for Advertising Week New York. At that gathering, which begins on October 16, brands like Disney+ and Maybelline will help Snap put on an IRL Phantom House experience.