Thread: I think I might be done...

Tweet

Good thread, and one that hits close to home with me, particularly for those who have said they are downsizing. As I look at the pile of Halloween stuff still on my back patio and the garage in total disarray, I'm thinking it might be time to scale back as well. What started off as a modest front yard display has grown into a walk-through and what has become a major undertaking each year. With my oldest two sons gone, the set-up and tear down is a major chore unless I can enilst help. I have lots of helpers on Halloween night but the real work load falls on me for the most part. This year I was plagued with rain/wind and other set backs right up until a few hours before TOT. The night came off well though but the numbers were down by over half. As was mentioned, you look at the return on investment and wonder if it's all worthwhile. I have enough props to do a large walk through, but looking back to when it was just the front yard, we had huge numbers, and lots of fun w/o all the stress and work. I could continue to put up a killer front yard display and svae myself a lot of work and stress. By downsizing I could free up much needed storage space and focus solely on detailing one scene and making it as realisitc as possible. What we all do is a lot of work and takes a lot of dedication to keep up the pace. As Wolfman put it, people will stil come to your house but can always reminisce about the haunt that once was. They would stil be appreciative of the effort. So to the OP, maybe scale back and make it more manageable. You're not alone!

I understand burn-out, yes I do.

I know what it is to have hundreds of hours of effort and work seem fruitless, or at least not very rewarding.
I agree with the other posters, you can be the wildest house on the block without running a full-scale walk-through.

I find that having good decorations and sound is all the tricksters need to get jazzed.

My real effort goes into an indoor party a week before, with people I invite.

That might help, putting all that effort toward something people you know will love and remember. Consider a party.

Thank you all... each and every one of you. I really appreciate the replys. It's good to hear other people's experiences this year and in past years.

I'm going to go ahead and just scale it back to a front yard haunt with no live actors.

Just to give you an idea of how crazy it was this year... we have a large duplex (basically 2 houses with no space in between). The haunt goes completely around the house from one side, through both backyards, to the other side, ending at the garage where they play Skee Ball to win candy. It's a few hundred feet long and just going through takes about 15 minutes per group (I walk each group through individually, setting up each scene with a story and directing them where to go).

I haven't even finished half way cleaning up yet. I built a 28'x5'x5' wood tunnel ("tunnel of hate") and that alone will take me this entire weekend to disassemble.

I'll share some pics and maybe a video once I get organized.

Thanks again for all of your kind and helpful comments.

I've been thinking along the same lines. We didn't have any problem with kids but my wife and I have been working on Halloween since the end of July. I have a good time and enjoy building props but it gets her stressed out. Our haunt was expanded massively this year with a walk-through haunted house and four actors. We built major props and set pieces as well. We had a lot of people and even raised some money for a local animal shelter but the amount of work is just insane. We had six adults working more than six hours on Sunday and there is still a ton to be done. I had more help this year than ever before but it still wasn't enough and I can't count on it for next year. On top of all that, my wife is only willing to do a small part from now on.

All in all, it's not looking good for 2010.

Mike

yeah i put on a haunted house last year at my camp sight and shot way beyond what i could do and had a group of people that helped and totally burn them out ......... by the time it was time to scare we had just finish 5 minutes before that. Half the people left thier sights it was a mess and i worked everyday and night on it.....and some of the people were rude also..so i know how you feel.....but quiting isn't the answer i'm doing it again with better planning thiers so many props i want to biuld i couldn't think of quiting stay strong

This past weekend I was at a martial arts seminar. the speaker was writing math problems on a dry erase board. He wrote 9 of them. When done, people automatically started to point out what he did wrong.

The lesson was that out of 9, he got seven right and two wrong. Yet, all that anyone noticed was the two wrong, what about the seven right? I guess they don't matter. You see, It is human nature to notice the "bad", negative or incorrect. What we have to do is become a "Good Finder", what was good about it?

Now, Think about all those kids who did obey your rules, were thankful and most of all, had their night made by what you done. Does that not matter? Think back, I know that you seen that one kids face and the expression on it, that ONE look made you feel good, that ONE look made all the work worth it, that ONE look is why you did it in the first place. Focus on them, not the others. With that ONE look, you did what you set out to do.

If that speech doesn't work let me quote JFK "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". Isn't giving of oneself something this country can use more of?

DON'T GIVE UP, IF YOU DO THEY WIN!

I will now step down off my Pulpit.

It does make it all worth it great speech put a tear to my eye ............. before i came to this forum i thought i was the only person that even cared about halloween as much as i do all my friends say im crazy but they still help in the end.........Its all about the finished haunt if i could scare the **** out of half the people its well worth it......

Originally Posted by icezombie

downsize. no need for a big haunt. sometimes just a small display is just as rewarding and much less of a hassle. I have a few props and a fog machine and my house is the hit of the neighborhood.

Agree go back to the basics.A few props with some great atmosphere.

I remember this thread from last year, and have seen a couple others like it since then. I've been seriuously re-evaluating my own efforts and barring some big changes, this will be my last year for a full scale walk through. It's only July and already I'm feeling the pressure to step it up and start building some new sets. Will I? Yeah, for this year, but I'm thinking of not doing the garage next year, freeing up some valuable storage space and, simplifiying the entire haunt. I'll still have the front yard nd driveway/covered patio scenes, but that's it. More manageable, less set-up/tear down and a lot less stress. Much will depend on my numbers this year as were way down in '09. If they rebound, it will give me encouragement to keep it big. If they stay the same or drop, I'll scale back a bit more. Either way, what we do so far out paces anything in the neighborhood, we're still the big draw. I'll continue to do a scaled back walk through but just make it more fun for me and my helpers. It's sad in a way as I remember upping the ante each year for the past 5 or 6 years but practically speaking, the time has come for some change and less is more in this case.

I know how you feel. I'd imagine it happens to almost everyone at some point.

As weird as it sounds, every time I start feeling this way I think of Jack Skellington. He was the King of Halloween, he did it well, it worked. When he tried something else, it didn't work, so he went back to what he knows best & what's in his blood. Yes it's a movie, but it works for me.

I love Christmas too, but Halloween is in my blood.

I've done small, I've done big, spent a few years in an apt. & didn't do anything at all, wasn't even home from work in time to give candy away a couple of years.

Now that we're homeowners I've done it up big (& my big is probably small compared to some) & scaled down. It usually depends on my work situation & the weather. We actually closed on our house on Halloween so that year there wasn't any Halloween in the house or apartment!

I usually decorate inside too but in the last few years I've skipped that too. In fact I have more inside stuff than outside stuff. But I'm working on that. We have a pretty big yard so each year I add something.

I'm all for scaling back when necessary, for physical, monetary or mental reasons, it's a good thing. Your usual ToTs will appreciate even something small. Less is better than nothing, especially when you're THE house on the block to see.

It's a hard thing to come to grips with, not doing it up big, but in the end, you will feel better & maybe the next year or the one after you can go back to it. Those pesky teens will have moved on & up or off to college & those cute little toddlers will be the right age to scare properly.

Just don't beat yourself up about it. When you look back on the season, you'll feel better for not trying to kill yourself over it all.