Sounds like me....plus, it's expected of me.

My girlfriend of 7 years moved out at the end of September...the neighbor lady came over and asked me two questions: "Are you okay?" & "Are you still going to go big at Halloween?"

I think a lot of it is trying to live up to your reputation

One of the reasons I do it is because once a year you can really let your imagination thrive and be something fun and unusual. I love the reaction from the people. Once you start, they won't let you stop. Before I moved to Washington from California I did a small but effective haunt at my moms. After I moved she said people were disappointed that there was nothing there.

Well for one I must say that being able to wow my fellow haunters on here with something I've poured my entire creative mind into, is a big one. The other must be the little ones hanging around my house every day in Oct when I'd get home from work to see what the new item of the day to go out in the yard would be. Then the grand finale was the guy who told me that he had to stop at my house every day to let his kids see the house. One night they were all asleep when he went by. The kids woke when he got home. They made him come back so they could see it before going to bed. So I guess I do it for me and for all the kiddies big and small.

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We've come for your Daughter Chuck!!

For me its a creative outlet from the daily divorce lawyer job. Funny thing to me is I'm really not into horror movies. Love zombie flicks but that's about all. Just do it for the fun of it. Don't care who comes by or what they really say or if I get in the paper or tv at all. Those are my thoughts.

I agree with everything said! This was our first big haunt this year, and I will officially do it until I can no longer walk. I think for me it was the mystified look on not only the kids but the parents faces. Kids will remember it forever, and hopefully it will motivate them to do something similar when they get older.

I blame it on my Mother, she always had fun with Halloween.

Halloween is such a unique experience because it's okay to be scared and everyone has one night to be a kid again. Families come to our house on Halloween night to be scared and they thank us for it. I know kids will always remember "that" house. I hope some of these kids will pay if forward.

I like scarying the poo out of people... there's no other day I can do it. Well, and because it's tradition and fun and a chance to do something out of the ordinary.

Stress reliever, distraction from troubles.
Gives me something else to think about besides the problems in my life.

As bizarre as it may be, I think it's all just an extension of my true self. It's the one day of the year when I can totally let loose and be as insane as I want and everybody thinks it's "cool".

I think this has been brewing my entire life. As a child, I had one of those old portable AM radios. I used to set my alarm clock to wake me up at 3am, and then stick it under my pillow. I'd turn on the radio and put that under my pillow so i could listen to the half-hour horror show.
My parents never knew, but I did that almost every night.

maybe that's why I wake up every night around 3am to this day. I guess it's the price I pay. Oh well, at least it explains the insanity. LOL

So I think halloween is just who I am.

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"I have a secret...........I see stupid people....and they don't know they're stupid..."

There are elements of almost everything the posters before me have mentioned, but the quote above is probably my primary motivation. What I love most about Halloween is that you get to come as you truly are, or want to be - not as your everyday self.

In my case, that's compounded by suffering from a painful, chronic illness that hasn't exactly done wonders for my outward self and precludes me from participating in many "normal" activities. Halloween is a lot cheaper than therapy, especially without health insurance. I highly doubt that it's coincidence that my displays always feature a happy afterlife that has no traditional spiritual components.

On a practical level, I can work on Halloween at my own pace over the course the year while still being motivated by a drop dead date to be sure that things get done rather than remaining theoretical. Every year, elements get dropped at the last minute for one reason or another, including my own health, but who cares? No one's the wiser, and I can always incorporate them next time. Try pulling that off in corporate America.

Halloween is also not only a bonding experience for my somewhat fractured family, whose members don't exactly fight but have little left in common, but also for my neighborhood. Ours is a very established, almost deadeningly so, community, and neighborhood life tends toward being routine and dull. The one thing guaranteed to bring everyone out of their house to share a communal celebration is Halloween. People actively seek out ways to help and participate. Everyone is welcome, from the unemployed contractor to the Down's syndrome man-boy, and for a few hours each year, we enjoy each other's company and shed all the petty frustrations of having known each other a little too long. When we're partying with the dead men, no one's thinking about parking disputes or barking dogs or unruly children.

Besides, I get to scare little children and people thank me for it!