# Next years theme…cute!



## Eyes_in_the_dark (Jun 15, 2006)

Had a nice Halloween this year (75-100 TOT’s) and my first real haunt went over very well with most people, mostly the older ones. The only thing with my haunt was is scared my 7 year old daughter so bad she had trouble sleeping by her self while the haunt was up. I tried everything from letting her help with the props to letting her control the fog machine on Halloween night but, she is only now getting back to sleeping by her self after I‘ve taken everything down. Also during Halloween night a lot of the young TOT’s were scared to come-up to the house. This is the opposed of what I want my Halloween display to be so, next year my daughter will be in charge of what our display will contain. 

After thinking about it I realized there are very few “nice” Halloween displays without any blood or gore what-so-ever so, I’ve decided I want mine next year it to be a Halloween wonderland for the young TOT’s with a flying Casper the friendly ghost, Windy the nice witch cooking in a smoking caldron, and all the other not scary creatures from my Halloween past. I’m sure I will be able to use a lot of the “tricks of the trade” to do my display next year and your knowledge of prop building will come in handy I‘m sure.

Well thanks to everyone on this forum for your help this year and I look forward to working with ya on next years display.


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## KryptKittie69 (Sep 27, 2006)

BLASPHEMY!

Taking the scare out of Halloween?
That's what Christmas is for. Casper?!!! yuck.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Life's no fun without a good scare! I use no blood, gore, body parts (except skellys and bones) in my graveyard display at all. I have a number of mache groundbreakers, but the overall theme is the creepiness of a graveyard on a dark foggy Halloween night. Cute can be fun, too, but Halloween does have it's dark side.


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

Heheh, understandable. I think there's plenty of room for cute and non-scary stuff. You just won't see me doing it... well, not much anyway. I do cute at my office. Spooky at home.

I too don't use blood or gore. Just bones and skeletons, and hopefully soon a ghost. Graves, JOLs, that sort of thing. I go for "spooky" rather than "scary" if you know what I mean.

If you do go all cute on us, be sure to post lots of pictures! I'd love to see what you come up with.


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## TearyThunder (Jul 1, 2006)

I can totally relate Eyes. I have wee little ones too that come up and I don't want to terrorize them to where they are afraid of Halloween and I ruin it for them. I usually go with funny, cutesy, and quirky. I nutty anyways so I can certainly come up with some crazy ideas. I am slowly adding mare spooky and scary in as the years go on. So far all has been going well.


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## Koumajutsu (Aug 9, 2006)

TearyThunder said:


> I can totally relate Eyes. I have wee little ones too that come up and I don't want to terrorize them to where they are afraid of Halloween and I ruin it for them. I usually go with funny, cutesy, and quirky. I nutty anyways so I can certainly come up with some crazy ideas. I am slowly adding mare spooky and scary in as the years go on. So far all has been going well.


It's true, she just recently aquired somethgin -really- scary, but she's still waitign on it to get delivered from CA


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## trishaanne (Aug 20, 2005)

We do one side of the yard as the cemetary and the other side is child friendly, where nothing will move, scare them or jump out. Last year I had bluckies doing yard work and a little zombie playground set up complete with a quick-sand box and a krpyt kiddie on a swing, but nothing moved so the kids weren't scared. This year we made the band for the kids and the little ones had a great time dancing to the band while their older brothers or sisters or parents went through the maze in the back yard. Just a suggestion to combine both, although I know you weren't really asking for suggestions or ideas. Please post pics of whatever it is you decide to do.


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## TearyThunder (Jul 1, 2006)

Koumajutsu said:


> It's true, she just recently aquired somethgin -really- scary, but she's still waitign on it to get delivered from CA


Do you really think I'm going to use you for a prop? You are even too cutesy for my display.


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## pyro (Oct 7, 2006)

cute-mmmmmm maybe not as scary i know next year im splitting it up , but im not going cute


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

"cute" is fine especially if the scarey is upsetting her. maybe she will grow into it. thats a good idea to let her do it.


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## wormyt (Aug 29, 2005)

Well I can relate to this thread LOL. Mine is all about cute and fun. We had just about 400 folks this year. Oh yeah its me again ...WORMYT!!! I work at the Elementary school where alot of kids know me, so they all come to my Halloween home. We serve Hot cider, Hot chocolate and apple juice to the folks so I CANT scare anyone and make um spill hot drink on them. So mine is all about come and visit. Its like my one big party for the year. I want them to come and walk around, take pics and just enjoy each other. Its like a huge party, even though alot of them dont even know who I am as its my volunteers who serve the drinks and hand out the candy. Im always just walking around taking pics here and there, while my volunteers do the work. Its sooooooooooo much fun though. I can be standing out front and listening to folks talk about my Halloween display and them not even knowing its my house. Then i had three survalience cameras going also that i record all night. So now its fun to sit back and watch Halloween night all over again and listen to the comments folks make. So trust me here if its Cute you want...I can help ya out lol. Parents with small kids love it, and the parents love walking around without having a screaming kid in tow.


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## Uruk-Hai (Nov 4, 2006)

Normally my mother-in-law greets the TOTs and hands out the candy. She likes to decorate the front foyer with all sorts of cute scarecrows and Happy Halloween stuff. I figure if they are brave enough to make it past all the outdoor displays and up to the front door they can have the cute Halloween stuff with their candy as a reward. LOL!


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## Eyes_in_the_dark (Jun 15, 2006)

Thanks wormyt I will be looking for help around spring time. I personally love the scary and macabre but, I want to pass my love of Halloween along to my daughter and if that means one year of cute…so be it, I also think it will be a fun and unique display to try.


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## ghostie (May 15, 2006)

Eyes_in_the_dark said:


> ...I also think it will be a fun and unique display to try.


I think so too. I can't wait to see what you end up with. I think a cute haunt would be a neat change...(by the way, Casper rocks!) It will be fun to see the looks on the kids faces when they realize they're not going to be scared and miserable...smiles and laughter are way better than tears...IMHO.


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## bozz (Sep 27, 2006)

*My family friendly maze pics.....*

We kept our maze family friendly....no bones,blood,gore,monsters.....more of a fun house with a little spooky and creepy in places......we have way too many little kids here....now our actors were a little creepy.....but we would take off the mask and not jump out when the little tots came through......we still had to beg a few to come in and they were teens....we use blow dryers and sound box for cheap scares....still had screamers in the thick fog.....see pics here.http://community.webtv.net/boswell7/doc0


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## SkullAndBone (Sep 21, 2005)

Check out RickPolizzi's haunt http://www.boneyisland.com/

I think it's a very cool kid friendly haunt.


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

Very cool indeed. Love the video.


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## Eyes_in_the_dark (Jun 15, 2006)

Thanks for the supportive comments, the more I think about it the more I’m convinced this will be a fun project. One thing I know I want to do is Linus in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin and life-size models of all the Peanuts in their Halloween costumes, maybe even a sound track for Charlie Brown saying “I got a rock”. 

I will look at all the links and pictures you’ve provided first chance I get to maybe get some ideas.


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## edwood saucer (Aug 21, 2006)

Yeah - totally agree - have fun. It doesn't have to be particularly scary or gorey to say holloween. I really can't wait to see your progress.


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## stretchnuts (Oct 17, 2006)

cute has been the decline of halloween everywhere!! every year halloween decorating has seem to slowly diminish and all that remains are inflatable props. scarecrows, ghosts and skeletons with rosy cheeks and happy smiles. ( yuck!!) people like ourselves are the last hope for halloween. by using our imagination and crafting skills we can only hope to spark the flame we call home haunting for future generations. i beg of you dont go cute.


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

Hi Eyes. It sounds like a plan to me. The important thing is that you decorate. The way you choose to is up to you, and if you're up to experimenting on it, why not. Be creative, and everyone will love it, creepy or not.


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## Spider Rider (Nov 8, 2006)

I struggle with this dilemma when planning for the haunted house I have done for the last 2 years. My wife teaches at a K-8 school so the fall festival has tots to teens going through the haunt (a converted classroom). I try to make it a visual feast with no blood or gore but there are some creepy scenes to be sure. The scare factor is done with 7th graders who jump out in costume. They toned it down for the smaller ones after a few kids u-turned it outa there. 

At home, my daughters have been my "creepy" barometer. I take it one past their comfort zone. One year I had a sword wielding pirate holding up the ubiquitous scarecrow that all my neighbors had, in protest of being too cute. I have toyed with the idea of a "Happy Lane" that bypasses some of the creatures for the tiny tots but haven't had time to try that out. 

I saw an interesting T.V. show talking about how death is perceived in the United States, in particular Halloween, how we have sterilized it compared to other cultures and with it thought and discussion about death. I guess the little ones are too full of life for that discussion yet so your idea of a cute Halloween sounds good to me.


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## Eyes_in_the_dark (Jun 15, 2006)

Vlad said:


> Hi Eyes. It sounds like a plan to me. The important thing is that you decorate. The way you choose to is up to you, and if you're up to experimenting on it, why not. Be creative, and everyone will love it, creepy or not.


That's what I believe also Vald. To me candy corn, candy apples, falling leaves, Casper the freindly ghost, and the great pumpkin have a place at Halloween just as much as blood, gore, and all the Saw movies put together.

Hey, now I'm thinking giant glowing candy apples in the yard!


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## wormyt (Aug 29, 2005)

Ok a story is due LOL. Yeah its like 4:00am and Ive probably already had to much coffee. Now about this cute stuff LOL. Well yall know about my yard /garage display. Well this sorta stems from a not so good marriage. Married for 25 years...oh wait my divorce isnt final yet so still married but hes outta here. Ok for all them years we never really had company over. My hubby was never into sports, nor had a pal around, nor ever had friends over. It got lonely after years. So when i finally was able to break away when the kids went to school i started some jobs. Landed one with the elementary school after several different jobs. Love working at the school. Probably because my kids are 15,16 and 21 now so working with the little kids melts my heart. Now when i discovered the Halloween folks, and different list, and learned how to make props and such. Well I began my first yard /garage haunt. Lots of kids. Came by to say trick or treat...get there candy and on there way. Well to me that was still lonely. My kids would be out trick or treating with there friends and usually hubby in the house watching tv. Well I craved for more. So after a few years I got a few of my friends i work with to come help me as I wanted to serve cider. I wanted these folks to stay longer. Again we never or hardly ever had company over. Hubby drank and just didnt want anyone to know. Soooooooooo I decided Halloween would be MY PARTY. I would somehow get folks and kids to come to my display and stay a while. I wanted this so bad, wanted folks to come to my Halloween night and hang around a while as if its my gathering, my party. It worked as years past and I made more props. I began serving hot cider, and hot chocolate knowing i couldnt scare them away as they would spill the hot drink. So my display grew and grew. Now I have about 400 folks who come here and yeah they hang out for hours just walking around looking and enjoying what Ive put my heart and soul into. For scares they know they can go to the next house as the guy there would hide and jump out at them. Well funny thing is that died down and now this neighbor comes here also and hangs out LOL. Yeah my display is cute, but its what I found works for me. Its MY one big PARTY for the community to come out and enjoy and stay awhile. NOT grab the candy and go to the next house. There are houses elsewhere with blood and gore and cool scares and that works for them. But this is something I craved through the years, and finally made it work for me. All this hard work has paid off, and I have folks coming from far, different towns to come see my simple yard/garage display. I have small kids who wanna stay here, not screaming to leave. They are tugging on mom/dads arm to stay and go look at something else in my yard. I eat this up. I could simply climb up on my roof top and sit all night and watch as folks come enjoy what Ive done. So yeah CUTE works in my favor. ITS MY PARTY!!!!! OK more coffee. LOL


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

> .......have a place at Halloween just as much as blood, gore, and all the Saw movies put together.


As a matter of fact, the blood gore and Saw movies really never were part of the concept of Halloween. Those things didn't come along until the hack 'em ups movies of the 60s and 70s. The people who go for that style really never had a place to express it, and it got lumped onto Halloween for some reason. I find in peoples comments throughout the web, that there is a majority who don't do gore in any shape or form. It really is just a cheap scare. The best and only true terror only comes from within, and that's created by atmosphere more than anything. Go with a happier display Eyes, your daughter will appreciate it as much as the public will.

ps Don't hold back Wormy, tell us how you really feel, heehee.


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## Michigal (Jan 3, 2006)

Vlad said:


> As a matter of fact, the blood gore and Saw movies really never were part of the concept of Halloween. Those things didn't come along until the hack 'em ups movies of the 60s and 70s. The people who go for that style really never had a place to express it, and it got lumped onto Halloween for some reason. I find in peoples comments throughout the web, that there is a majority who don't do gore in any shape or form. It really is just a cheap scare. The best and only true terror only comes from within, and that's created by atmosphere more than anything. Go with a happier display Eyes, your daughter will appreciate it as much as the public will.


Vlad, you've expressed my feelings best. I also don't have anything gory or bloody out. Never have, never will. Halloween is about ghosts, skeletons, zombies, a graveyard, etc. In that way, my stuff is cute also. 
EITD, go for it. Hack 'em and slash 'em has no place in Halloween. Have your Bluckies being cute. WormyT did a nice set up with hers in a wheelbarrow with pumpkins. I loved that. And it's not scary. Or even put them away for a year, and go with Fall Harvest decorations. *Your child is more important than anything*, and so let her dictate the decorations for next year. You actually may be surprised how well it turns out.


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## DeadSpider (Feb 3, 2006)

I have a young one and I had to 'break him in' as he was terrified if he even saw a mask on someones face. I did up a cutesy theme, ghosts an spiders mainly (although I was gritting my teeth the whole way) here's an example









Now he is 5, and a little Halloween freak! He can't wait to start setting up stuff and is constantly looking for things mom might be able to use to make something with. He always tries to convince the doctor to give up his skelly in the office because it would look good in our yard at Halloween.

He helps me make mache creatures, and helps paint them too









He loves to see other peoples displays and then tells me what we need for 'next year'.... the cutesy stuff paid off.... whew...


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## DeadSpider (Feb 3, 2006)

I should also say, yeah, we don't do any gore in our displays either, as I don't think its necessary. - And there are a few props, such as my small monster mud guy, Morris, who my son LOVES - that still have him a bit nervous. They are stored in the basement and he likes to go see them from time to time, as long as someone comes with him.


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## Long_Tom (Oct 7, 2006)

stretchnuts said:


> cute has been the decline of halloween everywhere!! every year halloween decorating has seem to slowly diminish and all that remains are inflatable props. scarecrows, ghosts and skeletons with rosy cheeks and happy smiles. ( yuck!!) people like ourselves are the last hope for halloween. by using our imagination and crafting skills we can only hope to spark the flame we call home haunting for future generations. i beg of you dont go cute.


Forgive me for repeating myself, but there just isn't a lot of sport in reducing a child to tears.

Your point is well-taken about Halloween slowly becoming just another excuse for a light show -- and a commercially manufactured one at that, meaning pretty soon every yard will have the identical, interchangeable collection of dreary store-bought tripe.

However, I don't see that as being the same as an indictment of "cutesy." There is a place for cute, just as there is a place for terrifying. I feel like a heel every time some four-year-old takes one look at my house and crumples into a wailing, sodden, ball of tears. Congratulations to me, I've just spoiled somebody's good mood for the night. (Well, maybe not the whole night; maybe only fifteen minutes or so, but that's not the point.)

2006 is the first year I've split my display into two halves: cute stuff in the front yard, scary stuff in the back. (Admittedly, my "scary stuff" is pretty darn tame, but the principle holds.) I think it was remarkably successful -- not only because the younger set were not exposed to anything traumatic, but also the overall result was a bigger display. I had to stretch a little to fill both display spaces, and that ended up with a bigger "wow" factor for the neighbors. Having them wander through the graveyard, instead of merely strolling past it on the sidewalk turns it into more of an event. I had kids volunteering to come help with the scares next year, something that never would have happened with my previous, static, front-of-the-house display. But I did also have parents come back and thank me this year, because their little one was one of those who seriously freaked last year.

If you don't have room (or time or budget or inclination) to do both cute and scary, by all means choose the one that works best for you. Either way, there will be an audience that appreciates your choice.


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## Long_Tom (Oct 7, 2006)

Vlad said:


> As a matter of fact, the blood gore and Saw movies really never were part of the concept of Halloween. Those things didn't come along until the hack 'em ups movies of the 60s and 70s. The people who go for that style really never had a place to express it, and it got lumped onto Halloween for some reason.


Simple, really. Halloween = Scary. Gore = Scary. QED, Gore = Halloween.

There are a lot of things that have accreted onto Halloween over the years. If you stop and think about it, Frankenstein's monster has very little to do with the traditional concept of Halloween. He got added as part of the marketing efforts of Hollywood studios, and it stuck. Mummies? Egypt? Okay, there is an underlying theme of death in all of them.

I don't do gore for two reasons. One: it turns my stomach. It turns the stomachs of the rest of my family, too. I don't want to spend the entire month of October looking at something that makes me and my family want to throw up. And I certainly am not interested in becoming desensitized to that sort of thing. Two: I don't celebrate anything that smacks of plain old human atrocity. Jeffrey Dahmer is no hero of mine, ergo, no severed limbs on the barbecue for me, thank you very much. That may be scary, but it's mostly just sordid. I also prefer not to insinuate into impressionable minds thoughts of horrific things that could actually happen to them in the real world. They will have plenty of time to worry about stuff like that when they are grown up.


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## trishaanne (Aug 20, 2005)

As I've mentioned before, I do the scarey stuff in the backyard and keep the non-scarey stuff in the front yard for the little kids. Even with that, I've had a few of the neighborhood kids who have been scared to come into the yard. Well, last year the one little girl wanted to come over and check things out so she came over and went through the maze in the daytime, while there were no actors back there and the shadows weren't looking scarey. She still didn't come into the back yard at night but she did tell her mom and dad that she wanted a spooky house like mine and they went out and bought a few tombstones. At least it was a start for her. This year, she came by a few times to check on the progress and finally asked if she could help. Well, there really wasn't much she could do, but I gave her a bag of spider webs and let her go to town out front. Was it exactly like I would have done it? No..but it made her feel special to be able to help. Later in the month, she and her mom and a few friends came by, after I was already done working outside for the day, asking if they could help. Well, I had a few tombstones cut that I hadn't done anything with yet so I quick set up a table outside, cut 2 more stones for the rest of the kids, fired up the wood burner and let them tell me what they wanted on their stones (NOT what I would have chosen, but they weren't for me) and they then painted them. Since it was getting dark and late, we brought out the blow dryer, hit the paint to make it dry a little faster and then painted the top coat. Some of the painted smeared but it just made them look old and weathered. Now, one little girl wanted an orange stone and one wanted a red stone. Who was I to tell them that this isn't the way a stone is supposed to look. After they left I brought everything in to dry and the next day I painted the sides and the back for them. I was going to touch up the letters for them but then it wouldn't have been theirs...it would have been something they started but that I made look better by adding my own work to it. I opted to leave it exactly the way they painted it. The day of Halloween, I went up to their houses and stuck the tombstones in their yards so that they would be there when the kids got home from school. They were so happy when they got to my house that they thanked me about 100 times, as did the parents for letting them help. If it helps them get over their fear, then I'm all for it. Maybe next year they will come back and want to do more. Maybe when they get older they will come volunteer as actors in the yard for me. Either way, they enjoyed themselves, which is what it's all about anyway. Let your daughter help make decorations, stuff dummies, paint pumpkins, etc. Encourage her love of the holiday by letting her do what she's comfortable with for now. As she gets older her tastes will change and she may become "one of us" . Sorry to ramble.


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## Sinister (Apr 18, 2004)

Disney more or less ruined the original themes of the stories they adapted to films. For every moon calf scarecrow I see, or a pumpkin I see with a sunny disposition like they're out for a day at the beach with the family, I feel my stomach sink for the eventual fate of Halloween. The origins of the holiday were scary and people were very much afraid of recieving visits from their dead loved ones or some other type of evil that pierced the veil. I doubt they were thinking of Scooby Doo or Casper when this season came along. In the HMDM forum I mod and threads like this, I wonder if some of you even watch Horror films and why you even bother with Halloween at all if you're not going to celebrate the holiday properly. Am I saying jump into it and splash the claret generously? No. You can leave the gore out as it is not everyone's cup of tea. What I am trying to say is make your best effort to to make your haunt as scary as it can be. THAT is Halloween. Leave the cutesy stuff for Pixar when they hire that idiot Larry the Cable Guy for their next CGI Love Fest.


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## Death's Door (Mar 22, 2006)

What I have discovered with my yardhaunt is this - some of the kids that might be scared one year are not scared the next. For instance, my nephew, Isaac, age 3, was scared of my haunt last year. I mean, he would go passed it and try to ignore it because he was scared and he sat on the couch waiting to go home - he didn't move from that spot. He wouldn't even come near me and hubby (I was dressed as the Ghostly Gal and hubby the Ghostly Gentlemen). This year, age 4, he comes to my house and he is checking everything out and saying how "cool" and "wow! this is neat!" I have seen the same response from the TOTs when they come to my house. What a difference a year could make for children to actually not be afraid of the things you display. 

Also, I think it's up to the individual on how you want to celebrate/decorate Halloween as long as you celebrate it to the max!


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

> why you even bother with Halloween at all if you're not going to celebrate the holiday properly.


If I'm following the logic of that trend of thought, that "Disney" and American culture have, or are ruining traditional Halloween celebration, then as "purists" we'd still be celebrating it in Celtic fashion with bone fires (bonfires) in the square, wearing animal skins, leaving gifts of milk and bread on the doorsteps, and relighting the pilot lights to our hot water heaters and furnaces from that same bonfire.
If the answer to that is, "that isn't what I meant", then there has to be some exceptance of Halloween celebration as an evolving entity. It's not the same as it originally was celebrated, and it's presumptuous to tell people how they can and can't celebrate a holiday.
I'd rather see a house drowning in a yardfull of Winnie the Pooh Draculas, Snoopy flying on pumpkins, and Garfield witches, then to see the same house undecorated at all. After all, it's all about instilling in the next generation the "magic" that is Halloween. And to the very young, those things are very magical. 
The talk of Halloween fading out as a holiday, or being overly corrupted (by either the too good, or too bad type displays) is just so much nonsense. It gets brought up every year on every forum. The fact is that Halloween spending is second only to Christmas, and may even eclipse that within a five year time span. As far as it being corrupted to the point where it's lost it's "scare" factor, I only need point to the proliferation of forums such as this one, and large gatherings of haunters springing up around the country to see that it's alive and well, and in no danger.
Don't listen to myself or anyone else EyesITD. Celebrate the day as you see fit and enjoy.


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## Long_Tom (Oct 7, 2006)

Vlad said:


> I'd rather see a house drowning in a yardfull of Winnie the Pooh Draculas, Snoopy flying on pumpkins, and Garfield witches, then to see the same house undecorated at all. After all, it's all about instilling in the next generation the "magic" that is Halloween. And to the very young, those things are very magical.


Also, let's not forget that our neighbors often draw inspiration from our haunts. Sometimes people might start out with the store-bought stuff because it is easy, and work their way into a display that is more personalized and challenging over time. Even when it is as small as the difference between no pumpkin and one pumpkin, that's a step in the right direction.


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## Eyes_in_the_dark (Jun 15, 2006)

Nice discussion on how people feel about Halloween in general and decorating in particular. I didn’t start this thread to ask for opinions on my decision to go “cute” next year just letting everyone know what I had decided so they would not be surprised when I start asking for help with my display. 

I’m like more here, I feel how I decorate is totally up to me and as long as I keep the “spirit” of Halloween alive and try to pass along that love to others I’m keeping with the spirit of the season. I’m looking forward to having my daughter help with the display next year and seeing the faces of the “little ones” when they see what I built for them. 

BTW I loved the stories and info on Halloween posted in this thread!


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## edwood saucer (Aug 21, 2006)

Rock on Vlad - I totally agree.

You ask anybody here what there favorite ride at Dis is - and the majority will tell you the Haunted Mansion.

It's fun - it's not gore. Who gives a flip what enybody else does on Halloween. Sin can do the most awsome gory thing, Eye's- the cutest, me - who the heck knows and Krough, the most artful. Bottom line is that it just does not matter. The same way it doesn't matter whether you buy or you make your props.

The family down the street had the haunted garage and the 10 year old crowd thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I had the funny tombstones and beer. The adults and wee sprouts loved my yard, posed for pictures, read all the tombstones, and really enjoyed themselves - the adults found a little bit of their inner kid that had been packed away and forgotten. Which some of their reactions were really pretty neat.

So really it's not about being right or wrong - nobody cares - it's about having fun.


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## stretchnuts (Oct 17, 2006)

i didn't mean to be misrepresented in my original post. i don't agree with gore or excessively violent props in a neighborhood where tot's are i'm talkin more what zombie-f displays and even wormyt has a well mixed display that gives you the willies but captures the escence of halloween cheer, those displays are perfect examples of a fine halloween spirited home haunt but now i'm talking about the the pooh inflatables, ghosts with cherub cheeks and smiling happy plastic skeletons that jingle and wiggle. i am happy to see all those people who decorated and it makes me happy to see decorations but its these items are what make halloween more comercialized just like christmas. as a child my anticipation for christmas' arrival would keep me awake at night. now a days more and more children seem desensitized by the magic of christmas due to it's overcommercialism i just dont want halloween to fall into this.


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