# New to the forum



## thegiltreys (Jan 5, 2017)

Hi everyone. I'm currently a stay-at-home dad with a two-year-old, but I was an elementary school teacher before that. I mostly taught 2nd and 3rd grade. I'll probably go back to teaching when my son starts school in a few years. Right now I spend my days with my son and two Pomeranians. 

Being home allowed me to live out a dream I'd had since childhood, to make a Halloween haunt of my own. Last year I made scare zones in my backyard and a cemetery in the front yard. The year before I'd done a small display in the backyard, but 2016 was really my first big haunt. Next year I want to bring back some of my favorite scenes and create a couple of new ones. 

I don't use a ton of gore in my haunt. I tend to prefer classic monsters in my display. I like creating several little scary moments for my visitors to experience as they walk around my haunt. We didn't use scare actors this year, but I haven't ruled it out in the future. I would say my haunt is kind of PG-13. We give out candy in the front yard to smaller kids and tell their parents that the backyard also has a slightly scarier haunt if they want to see it. Most people see both. 

I'm inspired by the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World and Universal Studios' HHN. My dream job would be to help design a professional haunt, but I'm realistic enough to know my work isn't THAT good. 

I love horror movies. My favorites are Trick 'r Treat, Halloween, Night of the Demons, Return of the Living Dead, and Interview With the Vampire. I also enjoy collecting Halloween and Christmas decorations, Archie comics, and scary kids' toys. I used to do some quilting too, but my son makes that hard to do now.

I almost forgot to mention that Halloween is my wedding anniversary and that my son was born just a couple of days before Halloween. We have a lot of reasons to celebrate in my house.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)




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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, gil


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Welcome to the forum!


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## stick (Jan 21, 2009)

Hello and Welcome. I see you are in Virginia you may also want to look into Virginia Haunt Fest. (kid friendly) http://vahauntfest.com/index.htm (does not have this year location or dates yet but moves around the state) Facebook site http://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Virginia-Haunters/309356655753056 there is also a site fore the Central Virginia Make-N-Take on facebook but I do not have that. That also goes around the state also.


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## Evil Queen (Mar 8, 2008)




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## spinwitch (Jun 14, 2009)

Welcome! At lot of us avoid the gore in favor of creepy/scary. It takes more thought and skill but it's definitely worth it.


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## SPOOKY J (Nov 20, 2009)

Hello and Welcome!


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## thegiltreys (Jan 5, 2017)

stick said:


> Hello and Welcome. I see you are in Virginia you may also want to look into Virginia Haunt Fest. (kid friendly) http://vahauntfest.com/index.htm (does not have this year location or dates yet but moves around the state) Facebook site http://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Virginia-Haunters/309356655753056 there is also a site fore the Central Virginia Make-N-Take on facebook but I do not have that. That also goes around the state also.


Thanks, everyone. I'll definitely look into the sites you suggested, Stick.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

I'm with ya on the gore aspect. It's cheap and tacky if done wrong. Best to stick with the "what's gonna get me" creep suspense


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Welcome to the forum!


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