[Myra Mains]

I have to ask this question because it is always playing on my mind. What do you do if it rains on halloween, during the witching hour. I have been home haunting for the past 3 years and thus far it has never rained on halloween, but it is inevitably going to happen. I have many props , home made and store bought. many of the store bought props are not made to get wet and my homemade props are my pride and joy and I really don't want them getting wet. I have always set up my haunt the day of Halloween so it has always been a one shot deal. Above all else will the kids still come out in the rain.

 

[Pumpkin Torture Guy]

"It was a dark and stormy night". Of course they will come. Not sure what to tell you about the props getting wet. Might try water proofing them or don't put out the ones that you don't want to get wet if you know it's going to rain. It's just a haunters nightmare.

 

[Bubbels]

In Minnesota we dont generally have problem with rain in october. I guess we are lucky on that note. But the cold is always a concern. Last year I think it dropped to 40 before the night was over. Had a descent turn out. But I have seen ones that are below freezing. The last halloween blizzard was probably 20 years ago.

So I guess on that note we just cross our fingers that one of those odd heat waves comes through before we are full on winter. Since we dont have alot of rain I guess I find myself putting props out earlier. So one could say that half of what I do is to allow the neighbors to admire and gossip.

 

[jdubbya]

Personally, I'd rather have rain than wind any year. Wind can wreak havoc with a display, and I've had more stuff suffer wind damage than from getting wet. That said, most anything will dry out if it gets wet. Sensitive animatronics and electric stuff might need to be scrapped or the power sources covered. Lighting should be okay for the most part. We've had one rainy night in the past 7 or 8 years, and things went fairly smooth. You'll still get TOT's but numbers might be down depending on the severity of the rain. A light drizzle isn't anything to worry about. A lot of props are foam, latex and fabric, all of which can tolerate dampness. We set up with a back up plan for a scaled back version if the weather gets ugly, but we've been fortunate for a long time.

 

[Myra Mains]

Thanks for the replies. I need personal experiances where haunters have endured rain on halloween.

 

[Moonie]

4years ago it rained here and was COLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD and i had more trick or treaters then i had last year and last year it was on a friday....

I have moved to a diffrent house this year. with a double size yard then i used to have and im VERY close to town.. i hope it doesnt rain cuz that one year i was out side every 10 sec tryin to relite candles and stuff i was so busy i didnt have much time to enjoy it

 

[maximpakt]

Well I learned a few years back that wall and roof sections made from cardboard carpet tubes and black visquene suck in a bad storm. Man we had a nasty mess.

 

[Dragonomine]

We're weird here in PA. Our Trick or Treat always falls on the last Thursday of the month regardless of the actual date. And if it wains it just gets postponed.

 

[psox16]

kids will still come out. i remember the halloween blizzard in minnesota. I was very youngr but my dad pulled my sister and me around in a sled. my two favorite holidays, xmas and halloween combined.

 

[Pumpkin King]

I don't like the rain.

 

[KATZILLA]

Wow, I'm 45 & I don't think I have EVER seen it rain on Halloween ! LOL

 

[TK421]

We get rain about half the time on Halloween, so we're pretty used to it. I've taken great steps to waterproof my props as much as possible. Thompsons Water Seal, shelack, etc. Building stuff out of styrofoam helps, and I use Titebond II all weather glue for most of my builds.

The rain was also part of the motivation behind the Cider Shack. I thought I would get more foot traffic (or at least make people a littler happier) if I gave out Hot Apple Cider for free to ToTs and parents.

This year, I have built an all new "Cider Hut" that will go out at the end of the driveway. The new hut is 11 feet tall. I hope to build a lightning flash effect in the top that will flash out the dormer windows and attract attention from up the street.

 

[cinders]

We get rain and nasty weather sometimes. Couple years ago it rained the whole night. TOTs still came, but fewer. I try to make my set-up weatherproof, and stay away from paper mache as much as I can. Last year I did make some paper mache props that were rather large. One was under protection of my covered front porch, but the other I tried to waterproof as much as possible. Worked out O.K. This year I made a couple props out of foam coolers but parts of them are covered in paperclay. I used Dry-Lok on them but I think I will have to pay attention to the weather while they're set up and remove them during rain.

 

[mr_synical]

Its noted that October is the month that has the least rainfall in the year. I found this out when planning my wedding.

 

[dippedstix]

Its noted that October is the month that has the least rainfall in the year. I found this out when planning my wedding.

Really? We always get rain in Oct. I always put my funkins outside and sure enough I have to go out and dump rain water out of them every yr. However, I don't ever recall rain on halloween night. My son's birthday is the 24th and we're planning a party. I really hope it doesn't rain. I've hired a DJ- the whole 9 yards. I really hope it doesn't rain!!!

 

[scarychery]

It is very rare that we don't have rain or snow on Halloween. Thankfully we have a small garage that my husband allows me to use for a few nights (for prep work) and lots of windows that face the street. (For indoor decorations) The only things that go outside are our tombstones, outdoor lights and plastic items - skulls, blow molds etc.

Last year we did a hillbilly theme and put out a bunch of green 2l pop bottles on stakes (with slits in the bottles to make noise when the winds blew). They were pretty effective and weather proof!

 

[Shockwave199]

We get rain about half the time on Halloween, so we're pretty used to it. I've taken great steps to waterproof my props as much as possible. Thompsons Water Seal, shelack, etc. Building stuff out of styrofoam helps, and I use Titebond II all weather glue for most of my builds.

The rain was also part of the motivation behind the Cider Shack. I thought I would get more foot traffic (or at least make people a littler happier) if I gave out Hot Apple Cider for free to ToTs and parents.

This year, I have built an all new "Cider Hut" that will go out at the end of the driveway. The new hut is 11 feet tall. I hope to build a lightning flash effect in the top that will flash out the dormer windows and attract attention from up the street.

That is sweet. Did you paint the roof shingles, or was that a scene setter? I'm guessing paint because I have yet to see a scene setter like that- and I can't figure out why. I would LOVE haunted house facade scene setters, such as roof shingles, front of house with windows/door, weathered wood siding- stuff like that. Why it hasn't been done yet is a mystery to me. I think it would be very popular.

As for rain and attendance, common sense dictates that it depends how bad the rain is. Light rain is ok. After all, the kids have been waiting all year so if it's at all possible, they're gonna pop up an umbrella and go. But moderate to heavy rain is a killer. Complete washouts like that can't really be overcome. Here in NY, only a couple of times has that happened through the years and everyone seemed to instictively observe TOT the next day. Amazing, but true. As for props, it's very tough. With rain usually comes wind. Not much you can do except maybe to incorporate a roof over their heads in the scene. Like you, I purposely wait as long as I can to setup outside. Three days prior, the weather forecast is usually pretty accurate if it's going to be a total washout. And winds seem to be very accurate to forecast. Whenever it's calling for a windy day, even three days out, they're usually right on- and I watch wind forecasts even more closely than rain. The weather is the number one factor holding me back from doing a full haunt walk through in my PERFECT backyard for such a thing. Grand displays and haunts require weeks to setup and it's a lot trickier to prepare for and deal with the weather- especially wind. Wind is the big enemy here in Long Island NY in late October. If you don't plan ahead to protect and stablize props from wind and rain, your only hope is....hope!

Dan

 

[halloweenbarb]

snow last year

I don t mind the misty rain or cold, but when you have a walk thru, your yard turns to mud! Last year we had it all including wet heavy snow! I hope we have a nice halloween season this year. check out my photo album for some snow shots of 08 halloween.

 

[Hallowzeve]

I usually don't put up my outdoor stuff until the last week. Most of it is plastic or wood; tombstones mostly. If the weather looks to be good, then I'll put out the electric props as well. If it looks like rain I move all of the stones to the walkway/ entrance area and find uses or places for the other stuff. When I plan for Halloween I make sure I allow enough time the day of the party to alternate my decorations if necessary. Also, what I am doing, is having a Plan A and B list of activities. A is if it will be good weather and B for bad. I want to have a variety of party activities, but some would have to be done outside. If it is going to rain, then I will have other arrangements to adjust with ahead of time. Wisconisn's weather can be hit or miss that time of year as far as temperatures go, but I have only seen it rain once while I was throwing a party. Good luck to us all this year.

 

[haverghast asylum]

It sprinkled on us last year during tot time. It was no big deal since most of our stuff is inside our haunted house structure. The real trouble was to happen later. night, late
Halloween night, or early nov 1st the rain picked up. Must of had 30 gallons ( no joke) of rain build up on the haunt roof. AT some point during the storm a corner of the roof gave out and the haunt was flooded. The play wood floor was soaked. the walls were soaked,
props were soaked ect. iT was a mad dash to deconstruct the haunt before the rest of the roof gave out. Got a couple pictures of the water build up. Look at the roof in the pics Halloween Forum - haverghast asylum's Album: Weather damage . Never again will I build a flat roofed haunt. from now on the roof is to be pitched.