# Proposing A NEW Secondary Haunt Holiday



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Alrighty folks. Been toying with this notion since Old Man Winter stopped in early last week to beat down the Great Pumpkin like a cheap prostitute in the form of Winter Storm Alfred. Honestly, what does it take to create a holiday? Can't be much, Talk Like a Pirate Day managed to get recognized on a lot of calendars after all. So I hereby propose a new holiday in the spring that has traditions similar to Halloween (but definitely not replacing or moving Halloween).

Whereas Samhain/Halloween ushers in winter and the darker months. This new holiday would be the last hurrah of the darkness as the lighter months of summer arrive. Lets create some new traditions, etc. Personally leaning towards calling it Maytober Festivals but I'm open to suggestions. Instead of ToTing I'm thinking more like masquerades, grilling, marshmellow roasts, and block parties with spooky spring/summer themes.

Since Faegoria is rooted in legends of the Fae (hence the name) this would work out perfect for me. The winter courts of Faegoria would rule in Fall/Winter and the summer courts in Spring/Summer. With that in mind I'm gonna start leading the way in for 2012. I'm considering taking some inspiration from DevilsCharriot's Haunted Tiki Island and having a bit of a haunted tiki block party.

But I'd love to see some collaboration, thoughts, and feedback to this overall concept. Lets hear it haunters!

:googly: TM


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## tcass01 (Aug 20, 2010)

Interesting idea. What do you get in Spring...Easter "Wohoo big fun"...Now Tiki's, Rabid Zombie Bunnies, and the First Pirates of Spring...HHMmmm That I can sink my teeth into. And it needs to be on, say, the last Saturday night in the month. That way, no worries about getting ready for the big night with work in the way.

In the United States, holidays are declared by acts of the US Congress. Call your representative, or senator, and convince them to sponsor a bill in support of your holiday. It is also possible to do this at the State, County and City levels, by contacting your representative in these other levels of government. "Hallmark Co." is the King of creating Holidays.


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## kiki (Oct 6, 2011)

Where do I cast my vote...
I mean they have Christmas in july .. many campgrounds are into this..and go all out just like it was December...decorate their campsites and have a contest for best display and on this day whole campground has picnics and other activities..
So yes.. we too should have our day...


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## tcass01 (Aug 20, 2010)

If we each started a written campaign to our local "official" referencing each other's efforts, we could concievably create our own "day", not necessarily on a "national level , but on a local level, city to city, But you have to have a reason for it, that would be of a benefit to the community. heck, it can start right in your community with your community association. During the event invite you local representative to declare it a local or town or city holiday. Give a politician the chance to speak to the voters and get the good word in and they will do almost anything for you.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Excellent feedback. One thing I was thinking was instead of a DAY how about a month. Not saying do something EVERY day of the month. But more like pick and choose and hold your event any day you want. But then there could be the BIG day. And since we'd be creating it from scratch there would be no debate on moving it. It would DEFINITELY have to be Saturday driven.

One thing that Chad Savage of Sinister Visions pointed out over on Twitter... The only real complication in spring is that's typically when most haunt conventions are held. But not all of us can attend those.


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## kiki (Oct 6, 2011)

something would be great on any level.. in my community Halloween oddly ( especially since I live in an area known for haunting s and Voo Doo and death ) has become a sad and obsolete event..only two others on my street gave a shot at some form of decorating..and way less than half passed out treats.. Even with all notification and convos with my friends.. the day of my party only one kid dressed up..granted my party was Sunday before Halloween.. but since this is a every yr event.. I was sadly disappointed at lack of costumes on the kids.. so was the one child whom dressed up ( of course he was the star of the day..and my became the kids leader .) .I am thinking something like this may rejuvenate the interest and inspire more to participate when October does come..You have my mental gears churning hard ...


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Kiki, I think Katrina really put a hurtin on the city in many ways people haven't yet begun to notice. I grew up there but moved to CT about 10 years ago. But I know exactly what you're saying. For example, I've been to House of Shock both pre and post Katrina. The difference was phenomenal, they've really gone down hill! 

But I digress, I really think this would be an awesome idea if we can get more people on board. I'm hearing Chicago has events and happenings all year around with a lot of them in the spring. But we need to formalize and make it nationally celebrated. If we can at least name the event perhaps I can grab a domain and throw a quick website together to promote the notion.


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## IMU (Apr 8, 2009)

I was going to comment but decided to keep my mouth shut.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

LOL, IMU, it would be just one more holiday that your HOA could mess with

Personally, spring does not say "spooky" or "haunting" to me, and I'm sure much of that is due to the fact that I have such strong memories of those characteristics being associated with a fall holiday. Part of what makes any holiday special is its existence as a once a year event. Even here, where we speak of Halloween and work on props and decorations all year, it doesn't _feel_ like Halloween until October to me. Same way with Christmas - Christmas in July doesn't feel like Christmas. December feels like Christmas.

Having said that, the traditions you're thinking of starting are certainly appealing and, if you feel strongly about trying to make them part of a spring event, give it a shot. It would be interesting to see what type of support such a notion would get.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Our house always has some Halloweenish decor about year round, but I don't think I have the energy to do the yard setup twice a year.


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

We miss a built-in 3-day opportunity, most of us (halloween, all saints, and day of the dead). But if you want to shoot for the other end of the year then I think May Day is the natural choice (think Wicker Man). But my ultimate goal is an Easter haunt.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Does this mean I'd need more storage space??!!


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## kiki (Oct 6, 2011)

Terrormaster said:


> Kiki, I think Katrina really put a hurtin on the city in many ways people haven't yet begun to notice. I grew up there but moved to CT about 10 years ago. But I know exactly what you're saying. For example, I've been to House of Shock both pre and post Katrina. The difference was phenomenal, they've really gone down hill!
> 
> But I digress, I really think this would be an awesome idea if we can get more people on board. I'm hearing Chicago has events and happenings all year around with a lot of them in the spring. But we need to formalize and make it nationally celebrated. If we can at least name the event perhaps I can grab a domain and throw a quick website together to promote the notion.


I am originally from chicago.. I go home every oct. and still most yards are highly decorated. I went to a pretty good haunt in down town Aurora called the basement.. even waiting in line was creepy as their actors really did a great job.
yes the shock and mortuary to me.. a waste of money.. to much light, not near enough elements to scare and the basic fact i can see the 20 people in front and behind me.. aside from my far to large group they shove us in.. how can it possibly be scary or ones imagination run.. 
last Halloween down town was amazing.. this yr was pathetic. Me and my camera cried. Not to metion 8 people got shot around midnight which stopped street flow..Ah life in the big easy...


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

That's exactly what I'm talking about Rahnefan. A mix of May Day, Beltane, Walpurgis Night, and a touch of Halloween in early May. Themes could range from many variations on May Day, Pirates (which work pretty much any time of year), Voodoo, Island gods, etc. We can leave our graveyards for Halloween but there are many other dark and sinister concepts to build on that work great spring/summer.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

The colors in the Rot style zombie SCREAMS display me in the spring!


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

That is a gorgeous zombie and I agree.

Which other holiday is the most popular internationally? Walpurgis? That is precisely 6 months from Halloween.

Leadership and example might be all we need...10 or 12 haunters doing a display the first year...show us how it's done.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Well as far fetched as this may seem, a spring Halloween related holiday should have "reverse" trick or Treating. Come to the Haunt, Bring a Donation for a stated charity... and Yea we "might" have candy in return LOL. I kinda like this Idea as a way to involve everyone in a "Giving Back" Experiance.

I Do agree with Roxy that Halloween itself just has a "Feeling": to it because of the time of year. But some other kind of pseudo Halloween could be a cool thing.


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## gooffy87 (Oct 18, 2011)

i was totally just talking about adding another halloween holiday to the year! except my idea for the name was Halloween II. lol. i know not very creative lol!


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I'm getting a lot of ideas from some of the old May Day, Beltane, and Walpurgis Night traditions (namely Walpurgis Night - thanks Rahnefan for pointing me in the general direction). 

Samhaim and Beltane go hand in hand in MANY ways and a lot of the traditions are interlinked. It's really a shame only ONE of them is still widely celebrated. And it's amazing how much Walpurgis has in common with Halloween - harvest, witches, costumes, pranks, and things to keep evil at bay. Ironically it's also the source of horseshoes being hung over doorways and cows wearing bells.

Here's an interesting fact -- the end sequence of Disney's Fantasia (Night on Bald Mountain) depicts Walpurgis Night, NOT Halloween as some believe.


And since I got no real feedback on a name I'm going with Mayoween. I'm shooting for it to be the first Saturday of May (hence Mayoween).


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

To bad spring for me is mid-June. :angry:

Sounds like a neat idea though!


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Here's the Night on Bald Mountain Sequence... Demons, ghost, and goblins in the spring night.


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## CoolDJTV (Jun 28, 2011)

I think it would be cool to start something like this in Canada!


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I hereby decree Mayoween to fall yearly on the first Saturday of May.

@CoolDJTV - hey why not?! No reason to limit it to the states. Mayoween is for ANYONE!


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

Oh Gourd dude. I can't celebrate no Mayoween. Sounds like something in a jar that kids would make a sandwich out of.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

[email protected]! Yeah it DOES sound that way. But after bouncing it around in my head for a bit it seems to fit. Until someone comes up with something better that's what I'm going with. But hey, we can "spread" the Mayoween love around.


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

"Beltane" is already pretty saturated, isn't it?


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

We celebrate Mayoween by going to the National Haunters Convention!


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

What's a horse's favorite condiment?

Mayo-neighs.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

@Rahnefan: Saturated with what in this country? Conventions? Meh I haven't done ANY sort of convention (sci-fi and anime included) in well over 10 years. The point is to make it correlate to Halloween. Beltane goes with Samhain. Like peanut butter and jelly. They are precisely 6 months apart and the holidays are already historically related to each other in myths and folklore. Oh wait, are you suggesting using Beltane as a name? Nah, because the idea is to make our own new traditions based loosely on Beltane/Walpurgis much like our current Halloween traditions are loosely related to Samhain.

@Spooky1: That will always be a problem for some. But not everyone goes to the conventions. However Chad Savage did say on Twitter that doing ANYTHING like this in the spring will seriously conflict with the conventions. And that may very well be the case at first. But if it gains enough popularity perhaps it will all balance itself out. Personally I would rather a second chance at running a haunt or display than going to a convention, but that's me.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Ok if Mayoween sounds too mayonaisey then how about April 30th (classic Walpurgis Night) and call it Witch Night? The only problem I'm seeing is that the 30th falls on a Monday for 2012 (the official year of this new event). Was thinking of making weenie roasting part of the tradition. Getting family over on a school and work night for an entirely new unofficial holiday will be quite tricky indeed. Maybe last Saturday of April?


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