Thread: Who do you do all this for?

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I know there is alot of thread that focus on why we do this. But I want to speak honestly.... I personally do this for ME! Yeah I am selfish but I admit it. It is awesome that people are able to appreciate the effort and encourage me to continue my work. But essentially, I do it because it makes ME happy.
I love also the fact that the children are able to have an experience that hopefully has a lasting effect like it did on me, but they are just part of the magic.
My question is aside from all the encouragement, laughter, scares, creative outlet, and sometime therapeutic hobby. What is your TRUE motivation? What has changed throughout the years? Have you become allot more hard core gore or are you now more kid friendly? Has the spirit grown or diminish? Are you doing this for the kid in you or just taking to opportunity to entertain the adult you are? Is this an escape, an excuse to create your own world? Or just to enhance it?
I was just curious. My questions tend not to be so popular...maybe it's because I think too hard.

I think you hit the nail on the head for me as well....I do it for me and the enjoyment I get from building my props and the compliments from the kids and parents that visit.

I have my haunt up for the entire month of October and I get a kick out of all the people that walk/drive by and stop to look at everything and even take pictures.

I have to admit that in my earlier years, I was usually too busy with my own kids to do much decorating at our old house. The kids have since grown and we moved to a house that lends itself more to decorating like a Pirate ship and I have really gotten into it....

It is also way cool to be known throughout town as the "Pirate Ship House"...!!!

I actually do it because I remember fondly how fabulous it was when I was little (eons ago) and my sisters and I got to go as long and as far was we wanted - UNCHAPERONED!!! We would come home with pillow cases full of candy, and every other house had either a haunted house set up in their garage or some sort of game like bobbing for apples on their porch. Believe it or not, people used to give out money, too! Nickels, dimes, and a few times quarters. And some of the best places to TOT were the apartment complexes! No one refused to answer their door or told us to get lost. It was GREAT!

We had so much fun and there just wasn't any dangers out there. All the parents sort of looked out for all of the kids, and we kids looked out for each other, too. We'd tell each group we passed who had the coolest haunted house, or where if they should watch out for Mr. Anderson in a werewolf costume behind the hedge.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we had halloween carnivals, too, but they usually took place at the schools immediately after the bell rang.

Anyway, I do it to try to share that great experience with younger generations, and without fail we always get a comment from at least one parent on how our yard haunt makes them remember how much fun they had as kids. They get very nostalgic and tell us all about what they used to do. We continue to hope that our haunt will encourage them to follow suit. Maybe this year????

my husband and i love it but we do it to hopefully inspire our neighborhood and keep the spirit of halloween alive.

around our neighborhood no one decorates, dresses up, or gives out candy. our neighborhood is so bad that for a couple of years we threw a joint halloween party with our friends and we decorated their house.

but last year my husband said he was tired of decorating for someone elses neighborhood. he argued it just takes one neighbor to get the ball rolling.

and after we decorated we actually saw some of our neighbors go buy candy and small decoratins . and we got more than 100 more tots than the year before.

That's a very good question. I've always said that I do it because I enjoy it. Today, however, has not been one of the days when I am finding joy in my creativity! This year in general, I find I'm more easily frustrated with myself and less excited about the process. It may be about time to step back and re-evaluate why I do this!

Originally Posted by HallowYves

I personally do this for ME! I do it because it makes ME happy.
I love also the fact that the children are able to have an experience that hopefully has a lasting effect like it did on me, but they are just part of the magic.
.

Exactly the same! The magic started for me as a child whose parents threw a yearly Halloween party. I will never forget those early primitive homemade decorations and all the fun we had decorating the house. Some cherished memories there
Then I grew up and I enjoyed getting the same buzz from making my own stuff & decorating my own home. If others got pleasure out of it Great! But it all came dwn to doing it for me
Then 2 yrs ago I became a Daddy for the first time & now its all about trying to have fun whilst keeping my daughter out of therapy Its all good fun though!

Technically I do it for me too. I mean, I love the fact that kids will remember my house, but if it wasn't fun for me, I wouldn't bother. When I buy or build things, I think more about what I would like, than what anyone else will like.

Mine has stayed in the same theme that I always enjoyed: eerie.

I still don't like to see people cut up, I was shaking my head at the Knotts Scary Farm photos of the hanging bloodied, cut torso over a barrel. I guess I figured they would go for traditional scares, instead of things like that. I won't be bothering to go there, it would be a waste of my money.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I agree with so many of the comments here. I do it for myself as well, I enjoy the creativity.

As a kid, it was always exciting to go the the 'scary' halloween house in the neighbourhood, or even those folks who did a little extra (sitting on the porch dressed as a witch or scarecrow). The folks who kept their lights off where considered boring old farts. I never did see egging or TP homes in the neighbourhood.

I get a kick out the kids who are out to get lots of loot and actually spend some time looking around my home and getting a laugh or scare! The parents are even funnier, they make a point to come up to the door with their TOTers to see what's up on the verandah. I really just want everyone to have fun!

In my profession, I have had pressure from some peers to push my home as a marketing tool (I am a realtor), but that just makes me uncomfortable. The closest thing I came to that was a for sale sign my sign guy made for me, a "Haunted House for Sale" by "Homes to die for realty". I gave me a huge laugh when neighbours thought I had listed my home, til they read the sign.

It is all about fun and creativity!

I do it for the chicks


I do it for the kids and me and of course bragging rights!