[wilbret]

Involuntary landlords...

We also became involuntary landlords. We are (were) losing around $700 per month by renting it out, but that's better than losing it all. Too boot, our tenants moved out 6 months into the lease without notice. They have paid rent until now, we are hoping they fulfill their commitment...but it is always late and always dicey. They were good tenants while they were there. Found OUR house listed for rent on Craigslist by them! I replied to the ad asking them to remove and sent several notices to CL and they never replied or took it down.

Can you imagine? Someone listing YOUR property for sale or rent?

I can definitly relate, same deal for me, home equity line falling value. Tried to sell for a long time but got to a point where I either had to rent it or let the bank have it. So as much as I did not want to I became a landlord. Plus I was so excited this year that I was getting lined up to have my first pro haunt but between the charity dropping the ball and the fire inspector making things impossible thats not happening either. I moved from a large house and yard to a small trailer park just before halloween last year so cant do anything here.
And work has sucked this year as well. But I still have my spirit, and big dreams and ideas for the future. Keep your head up there are many of us in the same boat but there will be many great halloweens to come.

 

[Haunty]

Last year I was laid off from a job that I did for 6 1/2 yrs on 7/28/08.
Got the double whammy of it also being our wedding anniversary. For two months I worked temp while looking for a full-time job. I was so depressed & it sucked all the creativity out of me. Hadn't even entertained the thought of doing our annual Halloween party & Haunted maze. My main haunt builder relocated from MN to Oregon also. It wasn't without much encouragement, that I did start planning out the Halloween party & maze. It was really a different experience trying to put the maze together without my main helper. Normally I would have all sorts of prop & scene concepts for it. But, I was a blank page for creativity. Ended up buying more props vs making them. Did make it all work but, it wasn't the same as previous years. When the party was over, I was so glad that I forced myself to do it. With this new job I'm making $3 less an hour, which really hurts. So far this year I've only worked on a couple of haunt projects. With money being tighter it's harder to justify the spending on something I wouldn't give a thought of before.

My suggestion to you is.....
still have a Halloween party but, to scale it down. That way you can still enjoy things but, it won't break the bank.

How about hosting a classic monster movie screening?
Anyone could do this & maybe take turns doing it at other people's houses. If you have a digital projector, dvd player, & sound system, could stage it outside in the back yard. Have everyone bring a lawn chair & their favorite consessions to share.

 

[creepyhomemaker]

I think the Halloween spirit wanes in all of us from time to time. And it upsets us because the spirit is what we are really addicted to in the first place. The feeling we get from some particular sight/sound/smell that reminds us of Halloween and of happy memories. But life isn't always happy and sometimes the harder you try to get in the Halloween spirit the farther away it feels. Maybe August is not the right month for you to get started on something. Maybe you need the first crisp evening of fall to really get you in the mood. Or some really awesome prop to get your haunting juices flowing. Whatever it is I believe it will work better if you relax and don't put so much pressure on yourself to get everything just right.

I have been there before too. One year I was having so much trouble with getting in the mood it was depressing. I wanted to be enjoying this Halloween thing that I love but I just couldn't. Then one day I was going to walk to the mailbox and when I went outside it hit me. It was unseasonably cool and the air just smelled like Halloween. About that time, a crow started calling from a tree nearby. That was it. I was good again because it gave me that feeling, the Halloween spirit.

As far as your party I have a trick I use to help me get through mine. Which has been great at times and disappointing at other times. I always have my party on the Sat. before Halloween. And I promise myself that if I don't have a good time or if for any reason it does not go the way I want it to, then I will get my family and we will spend the days before Halloween haunted house hopping. I seem to enjoy my own party and haunt more because I know that whatever bad thing that might happen will be trumped by something guaranteed to invoke the Halloween spirit. And I won't have to do anything but show up.

But anyway it is still summer. Give yourself a little time. The Halloween spirit WILL come back. It ALWAYS comes back.

 

[uncletor]

three things never fail...
dig out a fave movie you play that night or the night before..
find some photos from previous years
start to dig out the stuff now...just to see if it is 'alright' or 'needs some work'...that should do it...

 

[ghostsandcostumes]

I understand your situation, been there. Just keeping pushing forward, the house will sell eventually, and everything will be grand. Don't let the small things in life get ya down, hold your head up eye and enjoy the family, they are what life is about, AND THEN THERE IS HALLOWEEN

 

[GhostMagnet]

Sorry you're feeling that way Wilbret. I know this will be a hard year for many. But maybe a shift in your plans will end up giving you a new perspective. I'm not sure about the status of our party this year. I think we are going to take it a bit easy this Halloween. Spending less and not doing the party really means we'll have more time to focus on just enjoying the season, watching more movies, finding Halloween activities in the community and concentrating more on the TOTs.

I think I'm going to print out what creepyhomemaker wrote. Comforting and inspiring words.

 

[Elza]

I lost my gusto this year too! I was all fired up until my daughter told me she was going to throw me a birthday party. Same weekend of the planned Halloween party. She and my grandson are living with me through the end of this year. She doesn't really like Halloween as much as I do, so she has a hard time with my deco's to boot! Sigh! The birthday party was going to be a surprise until she realized I had started planning a Halloween party.

I'm in a new neighborhood and haven't seen many kids. I'll just do something for the ToT'ers, but I don't expect many, if any will show. This city just isn't much into Halloween.

I like what was said in an earlier thread though...Don't let a Saturday Halloween slip by, much less any Halloween. I hope my gusto comes back when I start decorating the yard. Good luck on your house and keep the chin up...Happy Haunting!

 

[ElGuapoGuano]

I've still got the spirit and the drive to try something new, but I don't know where I'm going to be able to do it this year. I currently have my house up for sale and god knows how long it will be "available" I'm pretty sure by October 1st (when I usually start putting things out) I will still be there. I know we all would jump to buy the "Halloween house" but I'm not so sure about prospective buyers. I have already had to move all my props and gear out to my parents house (the life size coffin in the garage might have turned some people off ;>) I would like to attempt to pull off the seance scene with the Big Scream TV projected crystal ball, but I'm not sure how I'm gonna pull it off...