Thread: I think I might be done...

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Greetings fellow haunters. It's been a little bit inspiring to see some of the posts from people that are getting more and more into haunting. That's wonderful and I wish you the best.

As for me, I think I'm going to jump ship. It started out with just my wife and I and grew to a cast of 8 over 6 years.

This year's haunt was the biggest, craziest, and most time consuming ever. My work pales in comparison to some of the amazing works of art people here build regularly - but the haunt was so huge this year that it ate up all my free time for months. It became stressful instead of fun.

Of course, we made many wonderful kids and parents happy. They are the ones that make it all worth it. And if it was just them, that would be enough.

But then you have the angsty teens... The ones that come in groups without their parents. The ones that need to prove how cool they are in front of each other. The ones that will interrupt you while you go over the rules, demanding that you "hurry up" so they can get candy. The ones that will grab your props or actors just after you tell them not to touch anything or anyone. The ones that you just want to smack into next week, but can't due to not being able to afford the inevitable lawsuit.

Then you have the parents who don't set a good example. That curse in front of small children. That grab candy without asking and without saying thank you. That throw litter on the ground as they stuff their faces with said candy. That let their kids run amok with no sign of discipline or care.

Or the kids that can't be bothered to wear an actual costume (What is wrong with parents for even allowing this?).

Or what about the fact that you put up flyers around the neighborhood advertising your free event and leaving your phone number in case parents have questions. Only to get crank called or asked for rides to your house?

Anyway, I took a step back and evaluated the good and bad. The time, money, stress... and most importantly the irritation with people and their complete lack of respect and general courtesy.

The ratio of cool people to jackasses was just too little to make it worth it.

Anyone else have any stories of being just let down? Or maybe some happy stories to bring back the flame? I want to love Halloween again... but people just anger me so much.

I'm so sorry to hear that you're feeling down with society right now. And you are absolutely right that there are a whole lot of people out there without the sense or care to show respect to others. But there are a whole lot still who do care and they likely look forward to what you do with your haunt every year. I'm not sure if the 'bad' apples outnumber the good but I think its those bad ones that stand out the most so it makes them seem more plentiful, or this is what I choose to believe.

Things have a way of becoming overwhelming and that usually happens when we're not expecting it. You'd mentioned that your haunt has taken up so much of your time and its ceased to be fun and is now stressful? Maybe you'd feel better to get back to basics a bit? Less involved would mean less time you'd have to spend and those children would still love it!

Sorry I can't offer a lot of suggestion or words of wisdom but there are a whole lot of us out there who are the kind to totally appreciate your hard work and who understand what kind of hard work it takes to put on a large haunt. And to do this for no monetary gain, its not like you get a paycheck in the mail to do what you do. Its a whole breed of people like you others in this forum who do this stuff for no reason other than to see the joy in the faces of the people who come and spend some of their Halloween time with you. Its this generosity which make Halloween the joyful and precious holiday that we all love.

I'm really sorry all of that happened to you. If I were you I would not put my number on flyers. We're planning on advertising next year and only our address will appear on the flyer. Maybe set up a free temporary email account where people can email you questions instead.

The only bad that happened was people leaving wrappers and whatnot around our street. When I took my dogs for a walk this morning, at the park by our house, I picked up 7 empty containers of that fun sized play dough. That may have been from the soccer people though. We didn't give this out as treat either. Other than that nothing major. Kids were wonderful and I had so much fun doing it. Trouble makers would be kicked off my property immediately. We did let people go right up to our props and we didn't have to really worry about any problems. It may be because of the neighborhood we live in plus we knew most of the people that came just from walking our dogs all around our neighborhood during the spring and summer.

That sucks, around here parents would tell their kids "what do you say" and they said thank you..very polite people around my neck of the woods..

Sorry you are feeling bummed.

If it is not fun for you... something needs to change...

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.

Im sorry to hear how things went for you. It is true that some people forget what Halloween should be about. When I was a kid I we wouldnt think about going out without a costume. Now people just think that if they show up they get candy. At my house this year it was motsly teens not dressing up looking for free hand outs. Most of the younger children that were with parents would be dressed. But as for you feeling bummed Maybe next year scale back some and just have a display.

I am so sorry that you feel abused and burned out.

It might be time to take a year or two off, or move the location of the haunt to someone else's house and hand over control to them.

Or restrict who is allowed to attend the haunt. Do a haunt for your children and their friends, your immediate neighbors, your family, your friends, your church, you coworkers etc.
Give wristbands or buttons to allow entrance... direct anyone else to the outside display.

Or charge a small fee to enter the haunt to cover the price of candy, security, and a cleaning crew. Pay others to do the policing and the cleaning so you can focus on the aspects you enjoy.

Yeah, I hear you on some of the frustrations. I had one kid run through part of an area I really didn't expect anyone to ever travel through and ended up taking out a line that was holding some candles suspended. I am going to chalk it up as a lesson learned for next year. I had one kid that when I gave him candy, his mother kept encouraging him with a "what do you say". The little TOT was actually way too distracted by a prop near the door to even think of saying "thank you". Then just as he was about to say it, he stepped backward and my pumpkin (with a pir sensor) fired on him and spooked him good. The little kid wondered back away from our house then got distracted by the peeper coming over the top of the tombstone! He pointed and yelled "what is that!". I informed him that it was another little guy that was kind of scared too and hadn't decided whether to stay out or not! He then proceeded to play "peek-a-boo" with the peeper for about a minute while the peeper rotated around about 5 times. He left but had given me some great enjoyment and compliments with his smiles!

Sorry you're down about the whole thing...but I can relate. A year ago Sept. my brother was almost killed while working in the train yard. He's doing good now, health and mentally. He did however, lose both legs.
The last 2 years, I really haven't been in the blood and gore mood. I watch the horror and slasher movies, but I can't get myself to set up a display that depicts blood, gore or death. I talked with my brother about it Halloween night. He told me to put stuff out. It didn't bother him.
The strange thing about it is that I still make props. They just don't get set up. I also have a notebook with a ton of ideas.
I guess we'll see next year if stuff makes it out or not.