Thread: switching from decorator to home haunter, how did you make the change?

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I was just curious how some people decided to turn their homes into haunts?

What made you take the leap?
What was the first step in the transition?
Did you go in blind or do years or research?
Will you ever consider turning pro?

If this has been asked before just direct me to the thread. LOL I'm not the greatest with the search bar.

Thanks

I evolved graciously! lol!

I was inspired once I went to my first knotts scary farm here in Socal. I was completely hooked after that day!

I evolved gradually from decorating to haunting after joining this forum.
Seems like a natural evolution. Instead of pumpkins that just sit there, you have pumpkins that light up and sing.
Instead of a skeleton sitting on a lawn chair, you have a skeleton with a 3 axis skull.
The next logical step for me would be pro. But no space

For us, it was a fairly quick transition. We had simply decorated after first being married and having our first apt. When we moved into our home two years later and our first child was born, we still just had a small collection of decorations and some door hangings. Our first Halloween in our new house was fun and we had a decent amount of TOT's. The following few years we added some plywood tombstones and a stuffed werewolf dummy on our foyer roof. This was a real jump for our street as no one else really decorated their yard. We got so many comments that it just stepped up from there every year. One of us would stay home each year while the other took the kids out for TOT. Eventually, we developed a theme for the front yard which to this day remains a cemetery.





As our numbers grew each year, we wanted to take it up a notch so one year we made a mad scientisits lab on our back patio, having folks walk down our drive way to get their candy. The response was great, even though the lab scene was pretty mediocre. We kept with the patio thing for a couple years, making it different each time, and then opted to set up the garage too for a third scene. I built a castle facade to go across the driveway and create an entrance door to the walk through haunt, and from there it has just gotten more elaboarte and detailed each year.








We have a crew of 7-8 high school kids that love to come and help each year. We get news crews to come and we average 5-600 TOTs a year. The issue I'm having now is simply the time and effort involved to set it all up and then break it down and store it. This may be the last year for the whole walk through and I will likely forego the garage portion next year and focus on the front yard and patio. It will be hard to scale back but overall it will enhance my enjoyment of the holiday by simplifying.
Idon't ever plan to go pro but could see myself working at a pro haunt at some point.

Nice pics jdubbya. For me I always decorated and dressed up. When the kids got a little older I just expanded what I did and it grew each year. So I never transformed it was always in my blood lol! Thanks ot this forum and everyone sharing their ideas I am making some changes to the ideas I already had and making some new ones.

I'm struggling to remember which came first... the desire to go from a few decorations to official home haunt, or visiting this board for the first time for some other reason and that flipping the switch.

Regardless, once i starting seeing all the amazing work being done here, my creative side went into a frenzy and it's never been the same. When I took the leap and started creating my own props, instead of buying them from the store, and seeing the reaction from the ToTs I was hooked.

Now I just have to resist the urge to go overboard, keep a long-term plan and do a little bit each year. That, and keep the display "age appropriate" so as not to scar my own children for life. After all, I want them to enjoy the season as much as I do. heh.

I doubt I'll ever go pro, but might assist at some pro haunts now and again.

Do you feel any pressure to do bigger and better things?

Is there a difference between home and pro besides the budget?

Originally Posted by clowns_eat_people

Do you feel any pressure to do bigger and better things?

Is there a difference between home and pro besides the budget?

That, and like jdubbya said, time to set it all up and a place to store it all afterwards.

(BTW, jdubbya, if you ever 'scale back' or 'cash it all in', I call 'dibs' on whatever you decide to discard, okay? ...LOL)

i PRETTY MUCH GREW UP IN A HOUSE HOLD THAT DECORATED FOR HALLOWEEN OUTSIDE, i DONT REMEMBER DOING THAT MUCH IN THE INSIDE UNTIL I WAS MUCH MUCH OLDER. mY MOM ALWAYS HAD OUTFIT TO RENT OUT FOR SOMEONE IN HURRY TO HAVE HALLOWEEN PARTY TO GO TO. sO CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN THE FAMILY TO CELEBRATE ABOUT.

Well being in Australia, I've never actually been to a "Haunt"
Our kids went Trick or Treating, and we'd hand out treats (lollies) and maybe have a pumpkin. Our neighbour dresses as a witch, has a few decorations and makes her own treat bags, but that was about it.

Last year my Daughter (12) was having chemo, and wasn't strong enough to go ToT'ing, so we decided to stay at home and put up decorations. we also made a few scarecrows and had one "real? one (my Son) to scare people. My Daughter was also a "head on a platter" under a table, which scared people as well.
Later in the night when kids were coming up asking "Is this the scary place?" we knew then, next year was going to be big.

So this year will be our first real haunt. A garage maze, with drop panel, spiders lair, witches kitchen, dot room and a clown hall, plus others.

so our first year was definitely going in blind, but this year, after reading this forum, feels like years of research

thank you all,
Rick.