Thread: Halloween philosophy (or Why do we do it?)

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Why do we do it? Why do we go through all the often back-breaking work, getting little sleep, abusing our wallets (we've all gone just a wee bit over budget at one time or another!), and generally going all out? It's certainly not for the money! What makes us open our doors for complete strangers, inviting them in, be it house or haunt, and having an almost instant comradery with them? Is it just our love for Halloween? Is there a certain sense of community that seems almost lost these days? (insert note of irony here as I am indeed in my home typing no my computer, not physically interacting with my immediate neighbours!) I'm not sure that there are truly any "right" answers out there. For all of us it means something different. Sure we get a kick out of scaring somebody with a prop we've put a lot of effort into. It seems justified, rewarding. But even more rewarding is seeing the smile on their face once their jackhammering heart slows a little, being able to joke with them about it afterwards. For all it's blood, gore and fright (on one end of the scale) there seems to be a pervasive sense of something good in it all, almost wholesome in it's core.

For me I'm not sure what it all means. Heck, I'm not even sure if I'm posting this discussion in the right place! What about you? What does Halloween mean to you? Why do you set up these awesome haunts? What makes you want to be "that house" that all the kids have to see?

For me, honestly, to continue that magical feeling that I had when I was a kid. Im also wanting to give that same feeling to my children and hopefully to the kids that come TOTing. I love being "that house". I want to bring back all those memories for the adults and create those memories for the kids.

It really is a difficult question to answer. I've always loved that time of year and Halloween itself. It's just.....a feeling I always got. Like, it does something to my soul. Wakes me up and makes me feel really alive. And I think everyone here knows what feeling I'm talking about. It's not something you can put into words easily. For someone who isn't into Halloween and all that the season brings, it's hard for them to understand. There are many things I adore about Halloween, but to pinpoint a specific reason? Just can't do it lol

You know, it's funny. A coworker and I were just discussing this yesterday. Everyone knows that Fall is "my time". She is also very Fall oriented herself and she asked me, what is it that happened in our lives that made us so drawn to this season and everything that goes with it? We both agreed that it just couldnt be explained and laughed about how those who "dont get it" cant understand. lol

Power, control, a cry for attention, ego stroking, artistic release, escape...

Originally Posted by MissMandy

It really is a difficult question to answer. I've always loved that time of year and Halloween itself. It's just.....a feeling I always got. Like, it does something to my soul. Wakes me up and makes me feel really alive. And I think everyone here knows what feeling I'm talking about. It's not something you can put into words easily. For someone who isn't into Halloween and all that the season brings, it's hard for them to understand. There are many things I adore about Halloween, but to pinpoint a specific reason? Just can't do it lol

agreed! For me... its just... FUN! very few people really see what i do, I dont get a lot of ToT, and i live in the back, older part of the neighborhood, so i dont get much traffic going by... but I do it anyways. For me, my kids, my kids friends... whatever. It also gives me a creative outlet, as im really not much into home decor, so for most of the year my crafty side gets shoved down. But at halloween, I can let it out and have fun with it!

or... maybe we are just sick, twisted, tormented souls...

We love Halloween and we love our homemade haunted house! Every year, our whole family, plus some friends , work together to transform our backyard.

Check my Haunted House WEBSITE... http://www.wix.com/liuoliveira​/haunted-fay

Originally Posted by Scatterbrains

Power, control, a cry for attention, ego stroking, artistic release, escape...

Lol.......brutal honesty, but I have to admit it.

Good fun too!

I dunno- there's a lot- one definite thing for me is for one reason or another when I was a kid I was drawn to "fall". The leaves turning, apple cider, the cool, crisp breeze, pumpkins... I also loved making those "brad-pin" hinged skeletons in elementary school and singing this one song about it "being chilly with no skin on."
As I got older it developed into decorating for Halloween. part of it is community- we look forward to seeing our neighbors on Halloween... they always make a special trip to see our house- part egotistical- it always feels great to hear the neighbors say" You've outdone yourself again- this is great!"

Feel like I'm writing a book! There's a million different little nuances that keep me going... You have a very interesting question.

We enjoy it, so why not?