# Skipping This Year



## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

Skipping for the first time since I started. Haven't even looked in the barn. Hope it isn't a home to bats, but then again bats eat mosquitoes. Will resume when/if more kids are in the neighborhood I guess.

Haven't made a single prop and have hardly peeked at Hauntforum all year. Anybody else not haunting this Hallowe'en?


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

Sorry to hear that Rahnefan - your haunt always looks great


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

After the big turn-out of 5 last year, and Halloween on a Monday this year, it is awful tempting. 

I haven't really made anything new either, and several times throughout the year, I've thought "Oh! That would be cool!" ... but then I remember "5" ... and realize I don't really need/want to add much more. 

Ultimately, though I have some fun in it, too, so guess I will just do what I feel like and see how it goes! I think the big key for me is doing a bit at a time and if it becomes a hassle, last minute rush, or up hill battle, then it will go back on the shelf!


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## MikeR (Sep 24, 2016)

That really sucks. I can't imagine having zero to a few kids coming by, I think I'd have to move. Terribly disappointing. More than likely I'd still set up for my own amusement.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

Rahnefan said:


> Skipping for the first time since I started. Haven't even looked in the barn. Hope it isn't a home to bats, but then again bats eat mosquitoes. Will resume when/if more kids are in the neighborhood I guess.
> 
> Haven't made a single prop and have hardly peeked at Hauntforum all year. Anybody else not haunting this Hallowe'en?


:undecidekin: Maybe taking a year off will be good for you. I will say I'm disappointed though, I always enjoy seeing your haunt come together and all the inventive ways you come up with to create things. (I've borrowed from you over the years) It's a loss for the haunt community for sure, not having you this year.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Much as we often say we're doing this for ourselves, having visitors actually come by to see what we do does make a difference. A lot of work goes into every display and walkthrough haunters put together, and I completely understand why a low turnout can be discouraging.

I expect a lot of folks here occasionally think "wouldn't it be nice to just not do anything for a change?". Making props and setting up for the holiday takes time and effort, and it can definitely wear you out, especially as we get older:jol: Doing your own display also means you don't usually get to see what other haunters in your area have done, which would be fun to do now and then.

Rahn, you could always just light up a jack-o-lantern and sit outside with a glass of the alcoholic beverage of your choice (or a mug of hot cocoa) and a bowl of candy, and enjoy the night air. Play some mood-setting music and relax.

Side note on the Monday thing - in our area, we get about the same number of visitors no matter what night Halloween occurs.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

May the Spirit of Halloween be with you no matter what you do


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Right now I am leaning that way too. Last year I had a stroke, the year before I got rained and winded out. But this summer has been a killer for allergies and I dont think I have had two days back to back that I felt good enough to work on props. Props I got, plans I got, energy is just not there. I have bought a few items to add to the display, but I dont think it will happen. That said, I will set up a work table in the house and work on some parts and things I will need (hands, bats, ect ) and keep my hand in the game. It's like I have always said, "if it stops being fun and turns into a job, I'll stop" I enjoy Halloween to much to let that happen. So maybe just a couple of things, a pumpkin and a skelly or two, but not the whole show. You guys will have to take up the slack for me this time.


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

Thanks ya'all but my plan is just to carry the kids around ToTing in the good places! Before they vanish too.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Rahnefan said:


> Thanks ya'all but my plan is just to carry the kids around ToTing in the good places! Before they vanish too.


Nothing wrong with that! I too, am sad to hear you won't be doing anythig but I understand. I also agree that a year off might be a good thing. I've always admired folks who put on nice displays and say they just do it for themselves, with no regard for how many TOT's come by. In honesty, if we didn't get the crowds we do or only got a few kids, I'd do very little. I'll admit it! We love the admiration and compliments! We enjoy having people see and appreciate the work we put into our display and haunt. It's a ton of work and dammit, we want someone to see it. We see it as kind of an art form and you want people to share in it and tell you how much they enjoy it. We have no shortage of TOT's and while numbers ebb and flow each year we always have an appreciative crowd of kids and adults. Keep on haunting to some degree; simple, easy, enough to set a mood. At the end of the day (or night) its not about who had the biggst set-up or most TOT's. It's who enjoyed themselves and who allowed some little kid to enjoy Halloween just a little more than they would have had your porch light been off.:jol:


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

We don't get any TOT's for our home haunt - just the guests we invite to our party. Maybe that's another way of dealing with the lack of kids - just invite friends and work colleagues to see the talent you have outside of work commitments.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

I'm going to hang some simple stuff up in the trees and put the candy basket at the end of the drive then hide up in one of my trees. We had some high schoolers ransack the neighborhood last year. Trying to come up with a good concoction of something that will tag them - glow in the dark stuff mixed with hand soap and something else?


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## tjc67 (Jul 28, 2013)

Sorry to hear that but I guess one bright side is the chance to see what everyone else does for Halloween.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

It's fine to take a break, I know I have before. Twice I claimed I was finished and sold everything. One year I just let my kids make the decorating decisions. One year it was a few hours decorating on Halloween day after a Hurricane. Have fun and enjoy the day I say.


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## RWB (Oct 16, 2012)

Headless said:


> We don't get any TOT's for our home haunt - just the guests we invite to our party. Maybe that's another way of dealing with the lack of kids - just invite friends and work colleagues to see the talent you have outside of work commitments.


 Same here... we concentrate our display for our family party earlier in the month so it seems to be worth it when we don't get the kiddies on Weenie night.


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## Dave Leppo (May 16, 2012)

I'm bagging this year. I don't get TOT's, we have to have a party in order for anyone to see my stuff.

I will probably put out some stuff, since I've been getting it out anyway. My wife just revealed that she won't be available for the party due to a scheduling conflict, and there's lots of other stuff going on, so no party.

I'm actually kind of relieved.


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## The Halloween Lady (Aug 18, 2010)

I feel ya Rahnefan, I'm skipping this year too! I'll still do a small display for my TOTs but no big theme change & party. I have mixed feelings about it. Oh well… next year, right???


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

_*Yup, I'm hanging back as well this year. Have had too many "Honey-Do" projects to finish this year. I will be putting out just a small display something around the porch area maybe and that's about it for this year!

Hopefully I will be back into the full swing of Halloween next year and get some new stuff added to my display!
*_


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## RWB (Oct 16, 2012)

I think the political season also has everyone in a gloomy mood too.


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## hauntedeve (Aug 12, 2010)

I hear you on this. We've been doing a yard haunt since 1998 and there have been a few years when I thought about throwing in the towel. It's been the compliments from the trick-or-treaters, parents, and neighbors each Halloween night that keeps me going. We try to do a different haunt theme each year and I have to admit it's become daunting trying to keep it fresh.


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## Gruenenfelder (Sep 20, 2016)

I'm not a pro-haunter, but I won't give up on the season.

I get not wanting to do a full haunt, but make sure to appreciate the most wonderful time of the year!


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## Dr. Maniaco (Sep 7, 2012)

If I decide not to decorate next year (I said "if") it would be because I would like to go to Savannah or somewhere like that to take a Haunt Tour. I will always love Halloween, and do SOMETHING that celebrates the season.


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## DTRobers (Sep 2, 2016)

When it stops being fun, for whatever reason, it is definitely time for a break. We do not have to miss the season altogether but rather redirect. Recharge by watching some films ( new and old favorites), read some supernatural lit, and listen to some mood music. It is a beautiful season and we do not have to create the autumn aura all by ourselves!


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## fogkeebler (Oct 2, 2015)

There has only been 1 time we have not decorated. It will be 6 years ago this Halloween that me and the lady of the house got married. We got married in an old mine that was partially converted to a restaurant. Instead of having a money tree we had a custom built casket...


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

Dr. Maniaco said:


> If I decide not to decorate next year (I said "if") it would be because I would like to go to Savannah or somewhere like that to take a Haunt Tour. I will always love Halloween, and do SOMETHING that celebrates the season.


That's what is happening to me this year. Hubby has been begging for years for a break. Last year he said if we could skip Halloween, he'd take me where ever I want to go. So we are spending this Halloween in New Orleans. I think it will be a blast. We are staying in an Airbnb so we'll have a apartment just outside of the Garden District. I'm really excited, but I still have a cast on foot/leg so it might be a little harder getting around than we first planned. But I can hardly wait to give it a go.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Yay for you Laura, New Orleans will be so much fun! Do the VooDoo Cemetery tour...and don't forget to go to Three Sisters... Such a wonderful place to spend the October season. I totally get taking a year off, I did it a few years ago, and my husband took me to Halloween Horror nights with a group of friends, and I admit, we had a splendid time. Still, I admit...I was very sad, come Halloween night....


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

Someone put six large rocks through my windows, turns out. Don't know when. Spent Saturday covering the holes and looking for glass shards in my props. I hate glass. Clean all you like, you find shards years later anyway. My neighborhood does not deserve a good Halloween.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Damn, Rahn, that bites! So sorry you have to deal with destructive stupidity.


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