# How young are your Haunters?



## Gallows (Aug 16, 2013)

I'm wondering at what age have you seen kids getting into haunting? I work with a few other families at a local Haunted House, and several of them have kids ranging from 11 up that work some nights. My kids are only 6 and 3, but I'm wondering when they will go from being scared of Daddy in costume to wanting to scare alongside me. I'm sure every kid is different, just wanted to hear other parent's experiences!

Both kids already love the idea of scaring other people, if they can only get over their own fears!


----------



## N. Fantom (Sep 8, 2011)

I started in pro haunts when i was 6 at my schools fundraiser haunt


----------



## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Let your kids see you getting into costume and makeup. Make sure that they know it is a lot of fun. My son has been coming to my house for Halloween since he was 6 or 7 (He's 13 now), and always wants to get here early enough to get into costume so that he can greet the kids that are trick or treating before dark while we are finishing up my makeup. Up until this year, we have taken him trick or treating through the neighborhood we were living in. Now he wants to stay home and scare instead of going out after the elusive full sized candy bar.


----------



## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

My youngest wanted to skip tot when he was in 5th grade to stay home and help me. I encouraged him to tot as long as he could..don't stop being a kid. He went through 6th grade then started helping me out. I have a bunch of kids ,mostly from our Boy Scout Troop, who help me every year. Most are in the 8th grade on up.


----------



## gruesome (Dec 6, 2009)

When i first started haunting i bought some of those zombie babies and my daughter was 4 at the time. She set 3 of them up at the end of the driveway and had a tea party. You should have seen the look on my neighbors face. She is about to be 9 now and likes helping setup and make props. I have to turn off my perfectionism when she helps and remember the special bond we are having. Even if it means i go back later and fix some things =)


----------



## strynite (Jul 28, 2013)

Both my kids started helping out when they were very little. My 16 year old son had a blast laying on the roof and scaring kids last year and this year my 6 year old daughter wants to hide in the coffin and scare kids instead of passing out candy.


----------



## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Gosh...I don't know if there was a time that my kids didn't know about Halloween. I think it's in there blood. Can't tell you their ages when they first started TOT'ing, but I can tell you that they have been involved in everything that we do here for Halloween from a very early age. Now that they are older, my son still comes over and helps me set up out display and my daughter helps in buying candy. They both attend the usual parties they get invited to. 

And dad.....well I as always get to stay at home and scare that pants off of everyone that goes by. :jol:


----------



## CrazedHaunter (Nov 18, 2012)

My youngest grandson just turned 3 and already is Halloween obsessed. For his 3rd birthday he wanted a halloween party, his favorite toy is a 3ft blucky which he takes to bed with him. I can't wait till he is old enough to start helping me build props and setting up our yard.


----------



## ZombieMa (Jul 16, 2013)

My kids love anything creepy. My 8 year old has a miniature graveyard set up in her bedroom for her dolls. They've always been really into Halloween, but we didn't do any decorating when we lived in an apartment, because anything nice would get stolen. So now we have a yard to decorate, and space to make and store things, so we're getting more into decorating the yard.


----------



## DreadKnightswife (Oct 16, 2011)

We statred out small when the kids were little just a few tombstones, a giant spider, and somewhere for the hubby to hide and scare Tots, as they grew so did out haunt, My 11 yr old son really isn't into scaring or building, but my 10 and 16 yr old daughters LOVE it! At first my oldest struggled with how to be scary but last year she made someone faint and that's all she talks about! My youngest is really into it but she prefers being the cute distraction, and then trying not to laugh when someone gets scared by what she was distracting them from.


----------



## WickedOne1414 (Aug 9, 2013)

From birth my son's been living with moms creepville. Eating cereal watching cartoons with a 6'3" Michael Myers standing next to him was normal.


----------



## Gallows (Aug 16, 2013)

It's funny, because my kids will play with props to scare each other, but become terrified of the same prop when someone else holds it. Last year when my son was 2 he was walking around the house chewing on a severed leg, coolest teething picture ever! It's probably only a matter of time until the thrill of the scare catches on.


----------



## kakugori (Aug 26, 2013)

People bring their babies, in carriers and (gahhhhhhh! no! nonono!) strollers sometimes, through our yard haunt.

We've been doing our thing for over 10 years now, and last year a guy came through who had come as a teenager (I guess) and was now bringing his own kid. They'd driven from wherever over in the next state to come visit the ol' hometown and come to our haunt.

I've always loved Halloween, and all things weird and creepy, since I was quite young. 100% my parents' fault - they love this stuff too, and were never scared to let me in on the fun.


----------



## Nrthrnstr (Jul 23, 2013)

My kids have been helping me since they were very young 5 and 6 years old. I find the more they get to see and touch the scary props the less afraid they become of them. If they know the prop isnt real and it can't harm them or anyone else the fear kind of disappears. Over the years our haunt has gotten progressively scarier. The older kids like to watch horror films alot so they are creating new things to add. With 5 kids in the house... Halloween seems to be the favourite 'holiday'.


----------



## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

Well, they are haunters yet, they still like to go ToTing, but my little 5 1/2 yr old loves to help set up. She loves to have lunch on the front lawn and I'm fussing with and adjusting the display. We had to put red "Little Mermaid" hair on one of our Costco skeletons because of her.

On the other hand, our 3 1/2 yr old got spooked last year and isn't very keen on it. Last year she refused to even step on the grass once she got spooked. I'm hoping she does better this year, but we shall see.

But they both love to help Daddy create new creatures and so on, not to mention our big XMas display.

It'll be interesting to see how *my* haunt display changes when it eventually becomes *our* display...


----------

