# annoying people



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

People can be so annoying. I know this know it all, She was telling me today how my haunt was too scary for small children. I don't think it is and in all the years i've put up a display i've gotten only one complaint (about the scary sound effects, not any of the props) Ive had complements from people of all ages. Parents have even told me they knew how much their child liked the haunt even though their child could not talk for themselves. This know it all seems to have a thing agenst halloween, sad. I mean none of my props are too scary. I want to put people on edge, not give them nightmares. The lighting and the props work hand in hand to create a display that is creepy. I put up a picture of a witch and vampire i made yeasterday on this site(in the props section) and when she saw them today she said they would scare a kid to death. I don't see how. Sigh, silly people.


----------



## Ghoul Friday (Oct 6, 2007)

Hey Gothic Candle  

Don't let her get you down. She's someone with too much time on her hands and not enough things of importance to worry about. 

I'll counterbalance your story with a positive one. I just came back from the party store with some last minute purchases. The woman behind the counter and the lady behind me started chatting with me about my items. When I told them I create themed rooms, the cashier (a woman in her 50s) said "It's so nice to hear stories like that. I think it's wonderful". I replied "More people should do it. It's like we've forgotten as adults to have fun". And the conversation went on, discussing how we tend to get caught up in work and bills and it's things like decorating for/celebrating Halloween that makes us more human and happier. 

I wished the two ladies a lovely day, and left the store feeling very happy. Hopefully my story has made you feel a bit better too! 

And if the woman comes back to complain, threaten to sick Fran and Georgette on her.


----------



## wandererrob (Aug 8, 2007)

We're actually setting up "not so scary land" in the garage for this very reason. At least this year until I can better guage the reaction of our neighbors to our haunt.


----------



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Ghoul Friday said:


> And if the woman comes back to complain, threaten to sick Fran and Georgette on her.


That made me laugh so much! lol. thanks for the story too.


----------



## Beth (Sep 27, 2005)

They could also just choose to not stop by your house on Halloween!!! It's not a freaking REQUIREMENT for young children to go there!!! (But I bet that they will WANT to go!!) That old bitty needs to mind her own business!!! Tell her tight ass to take a hike!!!!

(I'm in a foul mood today can you tell????) Feeling the pressure of last minute things to do!!


----------



## DarkShadows (Feb 6, 2006)

Take it as a compliment!


----------



## Liam (Mar 23, 2007)

Oh man, I hear all of you on all points! The lady ("lady" my ass) next door is just an unhappy B and makes it readily known. She stopped by to tell me that I was "living in a fire trap" and that I should be "very careful with any electrical stuff I'm putting up because the roof could light up at any time." She also suggested that maybe she should talk to my landlady about getting the roof redone for that reason. 

After that, she called my display "cute" (which I truly hope it's not). Oh, and she's also the one who will be breaking up my Halloween party on Friday. Biotch.

It's just another reminder of who we really do this for: OURSELVES.


----------



## Liam (Mar 23, 2007)

Speaking of that... HOLY CRAP, MY PARTY IS ON FRIDAY!! I'm so behind!


----------



## ScareShack (May 26, 2006)

DarkShadows said:


> Take it as a compliment!


I agree, job well done.


----------



## edwood saucer (Aug 21, 2006)

I agree with Beth and Liam. She doesn't HAVE to come visit your haunt.


----------



## YardHaunt ATOM (Oct 13, 2007)

I'll try and one up you to show how weird people can be..... 
I own my own Pest Control Company & of course my vehicle is labeled in the drive. On Monday morning I have a voice mail telling me that my spider web (which I made about 4yrs. ago) hanging in my palm trees is very raciest and asks if I have one tattooed on my elbow. I didn't know what that meant so I looked it up and it is a sign of the Arian Nation. I don't want to be thought of as a raciest nor offend anyone. I thought most of the day of taking it down then decided that most of my neighbors know that's a sign that I'm decorating for Halloween and they all love it&#8230;&#8230;.. Not to mention that of all things, IM JEWISH!!! LOL If she only knew!
So don't let it get you down & keep doing what you do!!! 
HAVE A WONDERFUL HALLOWEEN & look at all the smiles you get and that will tell you its all worth it!


----------



## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

ATOM, that is the funniest story I've heard so far. A spider web in two palm trees is racist. 

People really need hobbies.........


----------



## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

If you don't like your kid to see what's on TV, you turn it off. If you don't want your kid to see what's at a haunt, YOU DON'T LET YOUR KID GO THERE!
Enjoy your Halloween and don't give pinheads like this woman a second thought.


----------



## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

The more traffic you get the more complaints you may get along with more compliments. 
Halloween is different for everyone, the flavor of life! lol


----------



## skeletonowl (Aug 8, 2006)

don't sweat the small stuff. I'm learning that as a teen.


----------



## kevin242 (Sep 30, 2005)

I get these "helpful" kooks all the time, they don't have anything better to do then to show up in you yard and start flapping their gums. I had this woman telling me the other day about how Halloween is for "The Predators", I feigned ignorance and told her how cool I thought that movie was, "You know the part where Arnold is all like "Kill me, I'm here!"" (She just figured me for an idiot and went away.)
Seriously, tell these people to go home and double their dosage.


----------



## higginsr (Oct 4, 2007)

Don't sweat the petty stuff!
(but it _is_ OK to pet the sweaty stuff)


----------



## Brad Green (Jul 29, 2004)

I'm sorry, but isn't being scary the whole point of Halloween? If they want "cute", schedule a trip to Disney World, me, I measure success in the number of children (and adults!) that leave screaming.


----------



## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

I'm with you BG. During the initial setup kids would come by (during the daylight hours) and tell me how scary stuff looked. I just break out into that devilish smile and invite them over Halloween night. They have no idea what's in store for them.


----------



## VisualFXGuy (Sep 20, 2007)

I've had issues like that too. One year, we had someone dress up as death and step out of a dark recessed corner towards people. One kid started freaking out and ran out of the haunt (Death was near the end of the haunt). The parent made him take his mask off to prove that he wasn't a "scary monster". He took it off, and I found out about the incident when I saw him with his mask off. I freaked out.

IMO, all haunters should be in character. It's all about atoms_fear_. If the haunt is too scary then don't go to it. It's not like my haunt harmed anyone.. well.. one child caught on fire one year, but that was his fault.. 

If a a movie is too frightening for a child, then they don't watch it. The response certainly isn't to stop any more of that genre from being made. That's just idiocy. Same thing goes for haunts. You don't like it, don't visit it.

I get so annoyed when one person tries to ruin everyones fun.


----------



## pyro (Oct 7, 2006)

Brad Green said:


> I'm sorry, but isn't being scary the whole point of Halloween? If they want "cute", schedule a trip to Disney World, me, I measure success in the number of children (and adults!) that leave screaming.


or crying ,which happen last year and the parent started yellin at me---?????? WTF ITS HALLOWEEN-and the funny thing is the longer the kid was looking ( while mommy rip my head off) the louder the cry. and when it was time to leave the kid started crying more cause he didnt want to leave :googly:


----------



## Ms. Wicked (Nov 14, 2006)

Sadly we live in a blame culture.

As a parent, it is YOUR choice as to what you think is or isn't appropriate for your child. If you don't like it, don't bring your child.

Stoopid people.


----------



## arcuhtek (Oct 5, 2007)

THis reminds me of a funny/annoying/stupid story.

I started turning my interest of a haunt display into a more serious thing about 9 years ago. That year I bought the worlds cheapest fog machine at Spencers Gifts, a black light, and made a few tombstones in about 20 mins using old sheetrock/drywall board. I placed a strobe light and one black light inside my very small 1,000 sf house. The black light lit up the white louvered blinds at each of my windows like something wonderful ( a trick I still use to this day). I put on some spooky music, turned the fog machine on, and then sat inside the front door with my costume on (black cloak and rubber pull over mask).

My sister in law brought my 6 year old niece by for ToT and called me from her cell phone inside her car sitting in the front driveway and told me she would not let her daughter out of the car unless I turn the music off, fog machine off, and took off my costume....because it was too scary for a child.

baaahahahahahahahahah

Umm why not just take your children trick or treating on ...umm..say.....August 3rd or April 5th? I mean isn't this the POINT of Halloween or am I missing it?

I did take off my mask and lower the music volume....but even then..after they were gone I was ANNOYED!! I mean come on. That haunt in 1999, was NOTHING compared to what I do now (by the way my brother and sister in law have NEVER been back for Halloween) and most of the kids LOVE it....LOOOOOVEEE it. Actually the kids are not as afraid of the ghosts, spooks as one might think....last year I had little ones chasing (my friend, who was posing as Jason with a real chainsaw, no blade)....Jason down the street. It was hilarious. And I tell you...Jason with a real chainsaw is SCARY!

Over all I see our society as being overly protective of our kids. We spoil them. We shelter them. We entitle them by giving them everything they need and everything they don't need. We make them unable to separate reality from fantasy or entertainment. We do everything we can to allow them to float through life without ever having to make a single decision for themselves. In fact, we are already degrading our educational system in almost every way imaginable.

Eventually we will be producing zombie for children. Oh wait...that might HELP Halloween! baahahaha

If my neighbor stopped by and commented on a fire hazard.....I would first say " how do you know?" Do you know the rating of my electrical panel? Do you know how many amps that circuit is rated for? Do you know the difference between watts and amps? Do you know what circuit breakers are? No? No? No? THEN GO THE F*** HOME! The fact that you know the answers to NONE of these questions means YOU are more of a danger to start an electrical fire than I am....and thats the TRUTH.

If my neighbor stopped to say it was too scary I would just say...."then maybe you should not stop by."


----------



## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Ms. Wicked said:


> Sadly we live in a blame culture.


This, unfortunately, is the nexus of 90% of the problems the world is facing, in my opinion. No one wants to take responsibility for their actions, attributing their behavior -- from the most benign to the most heinous -- as an unavoidable, justifiable reaction to something someone else did. And, of course (and this is the important part), what _he_ did was _not_ a justifiable reaction to anything, but an act of pure malice. Anyone who has kids has seen, countless times, the origin of this mindset... "(tearfully)..._HE_ started it!!!" Our own political system is based on it.

It's Oprahfication. Everyone goes on and tells their sad tale of woe, their tragic childhood, their abusive relationship, yadda yadda... Their torment at the hands of the evil THEM. Because there's always somebody you can point at. Justification is the ultimate form of rationalization, and rationalization is better and more fulfilling than sex.

Don't believe me? When was the last time you could go 3 days without rationalizing?


----------



## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

All of our neighbors know that we run a hard core haunt, yet many of them literally drag their young children kicking and screaming through our yard and up onto our porch.

All our Scare Actors are given rules before the big night and they will be taken off the job if caught breaking any of them.

1) NO TOUCHING ANYONE
2) No haunting little ones (like preschoolers), the atmosphere is enough to spook them.
3) Warn fellow Scare Actors of approaching little ones.
4) Warn fellow Scare Actors of approaching adults that appear drunk.
5) No chasing anyone that isn't laughing while running.
6) (and we stress this a lot) Haunting is meant to be fun for both the haunters and the haunted. If you see anyone upset or crying, lay low and leave them alone.

So far, we haven't had any complaints. In fact, I think we're more strict with ourselves than the parents are regarding what we do to their kids.


----------



## wormyt (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi Cassie7,
I just want to say that i really do like your rules. I do not do a scary yard at all because of the little ones and I work at an elementary school where alot of the kids know me. So for those of you who do a scary haunt its cool you have these rules. Wormyt


----------



## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Oh, I forgot #7...

7) When frightened, some people lash out (punch and/or kick). Please understand that this is a fear induced reflex. DO NOT retaliate.


----------



## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Good rules, Cassie. 2, 5, and 6 are ones that a lot of haunters (mostly teens) don't understand.

A pro haunter on another board tells his actors... *"Terrify, don't terrorize." * If someone is already scared and screaming or crying, a lot of actors will home in on them because they know they'll get a return. And it's a cheap shot. You usually see this from male teenage actors.

You can tell the different between Having Fun Screaming (these are the thrill junkies that like being chased by the chainsaw guy) and Over My Limit Screaming. When someone is already in that state, terrorizing them further is ensuring that they are NOT having fun anymore, and shows that you're just a punk and a bully. When the teenybopper is crying, ignore her, your work is completed with that one -- time to scare the crap out of her boyfriend and friends that are laughing at her. There's plenty of fear to go around, spread it among the crowd and don't let anyone feel left out.


----------



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

yeah, see I don't think my haunt is too scary. I try to be scary, but not wet your pants, cry for an hour, nightmares for a week type of thing. My haunt is all about "Oh that is so cool" or "oh thats clever" or "Is that real?" 

Thanks for the replys and the storys. People can be so dumb sometimes and people think WE'RE the weirdos????


----------



## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

Revenant said:


> Good rules, Cassie. 2, 5, and 6 are ones that a lot of haunters (mostly teens) don't understand.
> 
> A pro haunter on another board tells his actors... *"Terrify, don't terrorize." * If someone is already scared and screaming or crying, a lot of actors will home in on them because they know they'll get a return. And it's a cheap shot. You usually see this from male teenage actors.
> 
> You can tell the different between Having Fun Screaming (these are the thrill junkies that like being chased by the chainsaw guy) and Over My Limit Screaming. When someone is already in that state, terrorizing them further is ensuring that they are NOT having fun anymore, and shows that you're just a punk and a bully. When the teenybopper is crying, ignore her, your work is completed with that one -- time to scare the crap out of her boyfriend and friends that are laughing at her. There's plenty of fear to go around, spread it among the crowd and don't let anyone feel left out.


Well put, Revenant.


----------



## Evil Eyes (Aug 23, 2007)

Amen Arcuhtek and Revenant!!! You hit the nail on the head about our society and turning children into zombies. It's Halloween one night a year. There will be cute yards, scary yards and many homes where no one will even answer the door. That's life - deal with it! If you see a scary home and you don't like scary, don't go. We all put in so much effort just so that kids can have one fun night a year, it's not that anyone is evil or trying to harm anyone. 

Unfortunately, in this day and age, there are many fanaticals out there that think everyone should be just like them or they're wrong. What a boring world it would be if we were all the same. People, teach tolerance to your children, that you can accept people that aren't exactly like them and maybe they can learn something. They will be much better adults when they grow up. Bigotry and discrimination doesn't just relate to color of skin or religion, it can relate to any aspect of someone's life, even the "evil" people that would celebrate Halloween. How dare they!!!


----------



## Brad Green (Jul 29, 2004)

It has always been problems like those described here that have prevented me from having any desire to set up anything more than a haunt display. No walk-thru's, no scare-actors. I really don't want some lunatic going off in my home, or the confines of my back yard. Up the driveway, look around, collect your treat and off you go! Flatly stated, NEVER forget that for this one night (and one night only!), you are an openly invited guest on private property, an invitation that I most assuredly have the right to revoke at a moments notice. Don't like what you see, GO HOME, I didn't drag you kicking and screaming from the public street to subject you to my personal viewpoint, so don't even try to force feed me yours while I am relaxing on my own front yard. I have yet to have an incident, and most folks even thank me for the trouble I go too so that thier children can have a good Halloween. I don't go door-to-door preaching the gospel of Halloween, so don't come to mine with jaded, under-informed, narrow-minded crap either, and if your kid can't handle spooky images (I don't do 'gore'), then take them to the next house, I don't have the time or inclination to give little Johnny life lessons about what's fake vs. what's real. Hell, I'm apt to scare him worse for my own entertainment!!


----------

