# Time change after Halloween



## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

LONG POST WARNING

It was just called to my attention that the time change for fall won't take effect until November. (so I live under a rock )

This means, for me anyway, that twilight starts at 7:05. Astronomical twilight (no sunlight left in the sky) won't occur until 8:03 pm. Generally, the TOTs started showing up around 6:00 or so, which is when twilight occured before this year. Some cities set a guideline of 6 pm to 8 pm or something like that. In my neighborhood, the TOTs started showing up at 6:00 and kept coming until around 8:30 but I don't think our town really set any guidelines.
If they start at sunset then they will be knocking on the door at 6:39.

So now what do I do about lighting? Nothing? Tarp off everything? ARGH!
I only set up for the night for TOT, and I may get an half hour or so of dark if I am lucky. This changes everything I was working on (or does it?).

What do y'all plan on doing if anything?

Here is the link I used.
http://www.sunrisesunset.com/custom_srss_calendar.asp

I don't want a rant here. I just was curious if anybody is making any changes in their haunt to accomodate the time change? That way I can decide on what I want to do.

I am going to check how dark it is at twilight today so I can get an idea of what I am dealing with.

I apologize if this has been discussed before but I haven't seen anything on it recently.


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## thenameisaimee (Sep 24, 2006)

We really arent changing anything due to use doing this method in '06. However, we are using black tarp matriel (black painting tarp) for everything inside the haunt (walls and roof). This makes it completely dark and doesn't mess with the mood within the haunt, only outside. :-( Which, still sucks, but better then starting our haunt at 8:30. haha. We still plan on starting at 6pm like always, but we'll see who shows up, we also plan on letting our early visitors know to come after dark for the real effects.


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## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

I have started to work on the township and getting them to extend trick or treat time by and hour. Even though they dont make the final decision on date and time untill the last minute I want them to be quite sick of seeing/ hearing me by them.


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## Bauton (Apr 5, 2007)

Mine is all out doors, with no cover. I'm starting to move away from lighting techniques to more detail in my set-up. Good lighting would cover up lack of detail in my case, but not this year.

More detail meaning, more props, going away from the fake looking props to more realistic looking (for a pirate scene any way ) props, etc...


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## TwistedDementia (May 2, 2007)

Our haunt is mostly covered with a few open area's and there pretty big so those area's will suffer because the neighbors are so close and they don't 'do' halloween so it will kill some of the flavor of the haunt, but what can you do but keep on spookin'.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Well, we'll be dark here- so no worries on my end.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

On a related subject, I read a newspaper editorial yesterday in which a person was upset about the daylight savings time change. This person was convinced that since DS time "adds" an hour of daylight in the evenings, it must be a contributor to global warming, and was mad at Congress for not having the foresight to see this.


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

We're not going to change anything for this year. We have no "official" times imposed on us, so we see quite a lot of traffic well after the new dark will set in. On a more sour note, covering your haunt can make it subject to building regulations, as it is now an enclosed structure.


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Thanks for y'all's (interesting contraction, huh?) input.

Otaku, that is hilarious. I didn't know the government could make the Earth's rotation slow down. Learn something new everyday. LOL!


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## IshWitch (May 31, 2006)

Here's mine,

Twi A: 6:20am
Sunrise: 7:40am
Sunset: 6:47pm
Twi A: 8:06pm
Moonrise: none
Moonset: 1:32pm

Kinda blows, but since the moon won't be out, that will help a bit. At least my graveyard is in a rather dark corner of the yard (hence no grass, really shady) it should still have a decent ambience. 

But this whole daylights savings time grinds my cookies! We aren't all farmers anymore for one thing, and for those of us who are, our outbuildings have lights and so do our vehicles!


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## DisneyDellsDude (Jun 23, 2008)

*Anyone else upset by time issues?*

I know this already happened last year, but has anyone's ToT haunt been thrown off because it no longer gets dark an hour earlier because they changed daylight savings time?

In my area, we do ToT from 4 to 7. Before the time switch, it used to get dark by 5:30. That was good since then it would be light for the little kids, and dark for the older ones.

Well, now the time change, and we still have 4 to 7. Now it gets dark at 6:30, but the problem is that bairly anyone comes around in the last half hour of ToT!!! They never have, and now it's never dark out!

I know it kind of depends upon where you are in the time zone, but anyone else hurting from this?


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## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

Not sure if it hurt us or not. 

Last year was our first year, and I think falling on a Wednesday hurt us more than the time, but we are a walk through and didn't start till 7 and had visitors up till about 9:00/9:30. Approximately 150 people.


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had a few ToTs show up kind of early but the majority of the kids showed up after dark. 

I enclosed my garage with plastic so that my inside decorations would look good. It lasted until the end of ToT when a huge wind blew the entire tarp off. I have to fight wind gusts every year.


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

my yard haunt stays open till 9 pm or so. the kids start coming a little before 5, so for my area, it works out.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

We had our best year ever last year with nearly 300 ToTs.

I stuck to a strict 6pm start time - had a few early passer bys but told them to come back at 6pm. I saw some ToT's out as early as 5:15ish. But they kept coming till about 9:15p... I'd say between 9:30-10 we got mostly teens looking for handouts and not even wearing costumes... This year we're shutting down at 9 sharp.

-TM


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

IshWitch said:


> But this whole daylights savings time grinds my cookies! We aren't all farmers anymore for one thing, and for those of us who are, our outbuildings have lights and so do our vehicles!


The change has nothing to do with helping farmers, reducing energy usage etc. If I turn the lights on later at night, it just means that I turn them on earlier in the morning; there's only a certain number of daylight hours and changing the clock won't alter that. It's been found that people will spend more time shopping (spending money) if they can do it while there is daylight after work. Once again it's all about the money. Funny thing is how the politicians tout it as an energy saver; it isn't. I don't know which is more disturbing: that they are ignorant of this fact, or that they think we're ignorant enough to believe them.

Side note - last year I watched a TV interview in which a person was upset with the clock change because she thought that the "longer" day would contribute to global warming.

As regards the TOTs, we had a few show up before sunset but the majority came well after dark, between 8:00 and 9:30. Probably had ~150 kids during that period.


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## pyro (Oct 7, 2006)

the tot around here start @ 5-6pm and last till 10pm thats what happen last year and the most traffic was around 830-930


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Last year was my first year, and I don't have a walk through. I don't think it really hurt us. I'm on a highway, so the cars see the decorations in the light as they drive by. I think on my side, most of the appreciaters are from drive-bys. heh


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## IshWitch (May 31, 2006)

Otaku said:


> The change has nothing to do with helping farmers, reducing energy usage etc. If I turn the lights on later at night, it just means that I turn them on earlier in the morning; there's only a certain number of daylight hours and changing the clock won't alter that. It's been found that people will spend more time shopping (spending money) if they can do it while there is daylight after work. Once again it's all about the money. Funny thing is how the politicians tout it as an energy saver; it isn't. I don't know which is more disturbing: that they are ignorant of this fact, or that they think we're ignorant enough to believe them.
> 
> Side note - last year I watched a TV interview in which a person was upset with the clock change because she thought that the "longer" day would contribute to global warming.
> 
> As regards the TOTs, we had a few show up before sunset but the majority came well after dark, between 8:00 and 9:30. Probably had ~150 kids during that period.


Exactly what I'm talking about! In Michigan, when I was a kid it was all about the farmers, then it was about the kids having to get on the bus in the dark, now it is to save energy.
Always some stupid @$$ excuse that people fall for. It is incredible how many stupid people there are out there.

As for the ToTs, we sort of have a ToTing time, but the kids come from the time they can throw on their costumes after school until they stop. With it being on Friday, I will see kids until close to 11 probably.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Kids getting on the bus in the dark? When they moved the DS schedule, my kids were definitely going to school in the dark in the morning; this was not the case before the change. Even without the change, it's never dark at the end of the school day (3:00PM) so that argument doesn't hold up, either. If it's a child safety issue, why are they making kids walk to school in the dark? I hear ya, Valerie. Idiots...


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