Thread: Will asking for a donation keep the trouble makers out?

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Last year I haunted our neighborhood clubhouse and we charged $2 donation for a charity. I am not going to do it there this year. It just isn't the same as having a haunt in your own yard! Anyway, I have had trouble with some punks that I hope I never get my hands on! At Christmas, they tackled my inflatables to the point of destruction. They egged my house at Halloween. Now they seem to enjoy my fits of rage when they ring the $%^#&(! door bell and run! I disconnected the door bell, and last night they knocked!
I think I will ignore the knocks and quit giving them the reaction they want.

My question is with all of this crap happening, I'm not as comfortable as I once was putting on a yard haunt. I was thinking of setting up a maze through my back yard. I would open the weekend before Halloween and the night of. Will charging a donation help discourage these punks from ruining the haunt? I worry that if I don't charge, they will keep going through until they finally destroy something. I am tempted not to have a haunt this year because of these kids! Please help!

put up sign saying the are being taped. might be a deterrent. sometimes just a sign is enough to keep people honest. i had no vandalism last year (very nice sine the year before i had) but on group of kids had a paintball gun and were blank firing it in the street. most of the people though didn't know that. i ran up to them and told them to put it away or i'd call the cop. about 10 min later they came back out so i call the cops. that was the only problem. except one car drove by around midnight and trew 2 eggs. (were both really bad throws and only went 10 feet past the car window) i was still outside picking up. this year when it's over i'm cleaning up with a few eggs in my pocket to throw back =D

if you know what the kids look like, keep an eye out. pull them aside and let them know you are not going to send them away, but that you are aware and watching with the cop on speed dial.

Hard to prevent, but maybe some fake cameras and signs telling them they are being watched would help. Maybe also a large sign that tells them they will be prosecuted for trespassing and/or destruction of property, without exception.

Or you could get real cameras to set up a few places in the haunt and if they break anything you have video of it and you can show that to the police. If they dont mess with it, you still have video of peoples reactions

we charged $2 donation for a charity. I would go to the police cheif and tell him you are doing this Haunt for charity some times you can get an off duty police officer to hang around for " crowd control " if the punks show up you gotem dead to rights. My son-in-law is a police officers and he likes doing this sort of stuff to bad you dont live close by. talk to the police in your neighbour hood maybe one will want to help you by hanging around .. Good LUCK

Last year was the first year that I accepted donations, and I had more problems than ever. I was told that you can accept donations but you cant set a required amount. If you set an amount it is then considered a business and you get all the hassles that come with that. Off duty cops are the best bet if your love for halloween is enough to pay for it. Here the cost is $150.00 per officer per night.

Hey Octman, sorry to hear about the troubles you had. If you know who these kids are, and this is still going on, you can call the cops and report them. At least this way, they'll have it on record.
I had a friend at work who had to do this because her new boyfriend's ex was hassling her, throwing eggs at her place, etc. She had to call the cops a few times before it finally stopped.

i agree , put signs that sais "your being watched "and a camera logo next to the text sign and put fake or real cameras in a tree or edge of house roof that can be seen but not reached .....or use a motion detector with an alarm sound and you can even put a police flash thats goes on

as for ringing your doorbell well do the same .....or rent police uniforms , have friends dress as police and when they rang the door bell have the fake police open the door hehehehe

or jump the current on your doorbell and wet a welcome rug on your porch so when they ring the doorbell they get one heck of a shock

Somebody stole two lightbulbs from me last night!
They were those low-voltage twisty designed ones, in brilliant red and brilliant blue, they were pointing at my billboard at the back edge of my yard. They had to stand on a little steel railing to reach them. Those bulbs were $7.00 each!
Now I have to build something to keep those bulbs from getting messed with.
I also need some grease for that railing.
When my admission was $2 to $3 I had lots of miserable drunks frequenting my house, they seemed to begin dropping off as the price went up....
I have always had the theory though that if your haunted show is over-priced it will inspire retribution in the form of prop damage and theft. Of course some azwholz are just going to show you how low they can be no matter what.
Maybe it's a "You Scared me! So now I'm gunna revenge/you!" ("Duh?")
You paid me to scare you!
Fragile egos to blame?
"Ego"? Iz that a big bird with a white head?"