# Anyone ever have this happen?



## goneferal (Sep 8, 2010)

My haunt was twice the size this year than last's and was in the same place. Last year I had a bunch of TOTs get right in with the props and really get into the haunt. This year I put up a cemetery fence due to the new 600 feet of wiring that would have spelled disaster to have TOTs trampling through.

We this year, most of the TOTs just went up to the porch (the haunt is in the yard next to it) and TOT for candy then run back down the walk. It was like they didn't even see it. 

I had a lot of folks come by and they were amazed with the display and show, so I know something wasn't lost in translation. I simply never saw so many people almost ignore a haunt. It was a bit of a mini Vegas light show at times with really decent sound. Has TV and Pixar made kids that desensitized? 

Anyway, I found it quite odd.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Hi GF, Well there are a ton of factors going on here.

First and foremost is that we are SOOO Intimately familiar with our own haunts. We'll see someone get distracted by something completely different than what we planned (or expected). For many years I was like" HOW could you Just pass by THAT prop???". Then I just realized that we're all triggered by differernt things and different environments. I don't care WHAT scares or attracts my kids (or adults), as long as everyone finds at leat 1 0r 2 strong memories to take with them 
TO me that's the Key.
Second, we're all conditioned to the fact that a Fence means "Stay Away" which isn't quite as inviting as an open area available for exploration. My first years I had people just walk right up and touch everything in my cemetary. As my haunt got more complex with theater(ish) lighting, I had to pen it all in... Now I find that the Kids Race through, and the adults stop and just stare and stare...

Kids LOVE open interactive. My Interactive section is a little to small and needs more emphasis in my haunt.


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## goneferal (Sep 8, 2010)

I didn't think the fence seemed that imposing, Kyle's nieces tried to pull it down to get at the props, but some kids are different than others. It was the strange almost as if they didn't see anything other than a normal yard. 

You were right about the parents though! They really gave me a kick with the oohs and ahhs


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

Hey Goneferal, It's a shame that the kids didn't stop to smell the roses, but it's just a lesson learned for next year. Don't think of the TOTers as being desensitized, they're not. It's Halloween and they're on a mission, lol. The kids won't slow down to look unless you make them.IMO it sounds more like you just need a layout rethink. 
First in my mind is the distinction between a haunt and a display. You're running a display. In a haunt the people go through it and it forces them to become more involved with it.Maybe even more fencing is called for and having a double sided fenced path through the display to your door. When they're surrounded by it all, they have to see it.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Every year I kinda gripe about how fast the kids just whizz on by. I think it's just the nature of the Candy Procurement Ritual. "Go fast so you get as much candy as possible".
My mantra: If I make Halloween awesome for only ONE KID each year, I have succeeded.
Some people & kids take the time to look. 

We have no way of knowing about the inner "conversation " they have with themselves..if we really are scaring the kids, or causing at least a bit of hesitation about coming up the walk. And who knows how many people driving by saw our stuff & smiled? Or how many conversations with others it sparked, or reminiscing about old Halloween memories? it's all good.

I do try to have interaction & some patter with them once they are on the porch with me. So at least it's more memorable.


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## Brad Green (Jul 29, 2004)

Have to agree, very young children stop and stare a bit, seemingly overwhelmed by it all. Teens and pre-teens simply treat everything around them with total disdain (attention span of a gnat), I could just set out a bowl of candy and be done with the whole affair. Adults tend to really try and take it in, I've even gotten a number of 'Thank you's' for my efforts. I at least make a few of them scream, so it's all good!


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## stoic_clown (Nov 11, 2011)

I almost have the opposite problem. The kids in my neighborhood don't make the quick candy grab and run away; they come and they won't freakin' leave.  My yard is more of a display and not a "haunt" (like Vlad described). It's a backdrop to help provide atmosphere. I don't necessarily trust the little tykes enough to let them wander willy nilly amongst the corpses and tombstones. For the scares and frights, I rely on myself (and lately some family and friends), costumed and in character. The kids love it. Problem is... I have a very Halloween-Scrooged neighborhood. I'm about the only house that does anything. So I become the sole source of fun and entertainment for the local kiddies. They come in packs and don't want to leave. The parents just stand back and laugh while we harrass their children and their children harrass us back. Usually it's good fun, but occasionally some of them will start to wear out their welcome (usually the older ones), if you know what I mean.

This year, my mother, my fiance, and my soon-to-be inlaws dressed up a bit and joined in the fun, while my father stood back and video taped the shenannigans. He said he got to talk with some of the parents while their kids were running around, and some of them expressed how grateful they were that somebody would go through all that trouble to show the children a good time on Halloween. That just warmed the cockles of my heart when he told me that.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

I think I have a haunted display?


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## RandalB (Jun 8, 2009)

Two words: AIR CANNON

Ask the little buggers what they are supposed to say: "Trick or treat?"
Ask the little buggers what that first word was again: "Trick?"
Don't mind if I do! and Let 'em have it. 

They'll watch every square inch of your yard next year, on the way up and down to the sidewalk. A good pop up like a trashcan or fence pillar on remote will also increase their attentiveness. 

I do have mercy on the little ones and bring the candy to them, but everyone else gets it. Especially the way too cool teens, makes my Halloween to make 'em shreik...

HTH,
RandalB


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

I think it was the reason why I spent so much time actually in the haunt this year instead of spending time with the rest of the guests at the party. Hearing the reactions to the scares and talking to the people as they left was just awesome and knowing how much they enjoyed it made all the hard work worthwhile.


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## Dead Things (Apr 4, 2009)

I put up a fence a couple of years ago after a toddler ran into the yard and almost got clobbered by one of my anamatronics. Funny thing is, the parents just stood on the sidewalk smiling. I have found it is the adults who stand there doing most of the ooh-ing and aah-ing, the kids just want the candy (or are happy to have survived, heh heh). One or two scare props does get the kids attention and they tend to be more hesitant and more attentive to the display. What were your numbers like compared to your friends/ neighbours?


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## Osenator (Nov 11, 2011)

This year, we did a walk around the house haunt, and included part of the front cemetary and everyone loved it. most kids walked in front the cemetary, not even paying attention to it, but I forced everyone, who wanted some candy, had to go around the house first. A few kids ran in and out, past the garage, where I was with candy, I yelled at them the candy was here, some yelled out "TOO SCARY!!!", running out screaming (L). It was hilarious! Just a very few were "not impress" (sad kids, we call them), most were amazed as kids, parents or even just adults came), many even asked to do the haunt a 2nd time. Our number were down from other years (around 200 kids, so, around 300 people in total) came. I am hoping next year to have more, like we are used too.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Some interesting perspectives.

I would wonder if it's not so much being desensitized by modern media, but if I were a kid, I can watch a scary movie on TV, I can watch things on my computer, I can watch things on my iphone, or I can stand at the fence and watch a grave yard. How does that compare to getting free candy? Guess I'd take the free candy over watching any of it.

Now if it's something different...somewhere I can go into and explore, then that might be worth a few more minutes of it.

Also, I'm pretty sure kids don't appreciate the technical aspect of things...wires, relays, the guts that make things work. Perhaps they're used to a full computer generated monster in the movies...something that moves, crawls and looks essentially real. Nothing a home haunter, or the vast majority of model makers could do would come close to a modern CGI monster.


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Seems to me the small kids are attracted to the smaller props in the yard because they are kind of eye-level. If there is a lot going on and the props are large, they might not get the attention.

I have a Jason prop that got a lot of attention until he was remade a lot taller. He is way above eye level so people tend to walk past him now unless he is where people can see him from a distance.


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