# Ugh My Halloween Spirit Is Dying :(



## KingOfHalloween (Jun 12, 2012)

Havent posted on here in a while, but when I did in the past I certainly found this forum to be way more friendlier than other popular Halloween forums.

Does anyone else feel like their Halloween Heartbeat is slowly giving out? I never thought Id say it, or think it...but mine appears to be.

Im sluggish with building props and haven't finished ones Ive started. Although when Halloween hits the shelves, it gives me a short nostalgic feeling...but its doesn't keep my interest for long.

I think its stemming from a Halloween Party I host for Alzheimer's Research. I'm going on my 3rd year but last year it was a complete bust despite the hard work and investments. The first year it was a cute and humble beginning. 

I wanted to throw in the towel this year, but a small local radio station decided to back me in hosting it at a new location. Its going to be held on the day before Halloween ( a Thursday!) and I'm unsure of the turn out given it being a Thurs (only day I can book)

I have very little motivation....can anyone relate to having this kind of burnout?


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

I think we all go through that down/blues period. Especially when we have done a haunt for so many years. I imagine doing one for a charity (?) is even more taxing, since, technically you are not doing it for pleasure but for purpose. Makes it seem more like work. Even though my own "haunt" is just a front yard display, I can relate. It is tough to set aside the time to build the props.


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

Sorry to hear you've got the blues. Maybe gauge this year this year with the radio station's support. If you have a good outcome I'm sure that will be a boost to your spirit. If you don't have a good response, you may have to decide if you need to scale down or take a break. You should have some sort of enjoyment or satisfaction from your efforts. Self evaluate. Why do you do it? Is it more of a chore than being fun for you? Is the work load too much? Think about your time management or delegating some work on someone else who is involved with you, a family member or neighbor or friend. Myself? I do it for my own satisfaction. I love seeing how everything turns out, I get more pedestrians who stop to chat about my display. I don't get alot of ToT's and that's okay with me. I do it mostly for me.  

Do you think you might get a better response with your party being on a different day? Is it adults and kids or adults only? Kids want to go trick or treating, plus it's a school night. Adults will be getting home from work, getting the kids ready and themselves, attend your party and then have to get the kids home early enough for school the next day and for work for themselves. You may get a better response having it on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. At least you would have a couple more hours to make it worth your while. You can even start it earlier in the day if on a weekend. 

That's my two cents, for what it's worth. But those would be by considerations if I were in your shoes. Good luck! Hope you get your spirit back.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

_*You know...there comes a time when we all need to take a step back and regroup! We all do it, especially those of us who decorate for Halloween and Christmas time. Sometimes you have to say "I need a break" and just not do it for this year, or maybe next. If you do take a break, I would consider still handing out candy for the kids.

When I took my break a couple of years ago, I decided to not decorate my outside but still gave out the candy. It was really nice not to worry about making props, or repairing things that have worn out over the years. Yes you may disappoint some people but for the most part they understand.

As far as the fund raising party goes, maybe you need to take a break from that as well, or maybe pass the reins off to someone else and let them have the headaches for a while.

Another option is to maybe scale down some if you still want to decorate outside or whatever you do for the holiday. There's no shame in doing that, we do it all the time, and then in a year or two you want to go big again then go right ahead. There's a lot of things you can do to still enjoy the Halloween season and to share it with others.

You might try to get more support from the radio station for the party, and have them maybe do more of the planning this year. With the ads they will probably be playing on the air, you may end up getting more of a turnout, especially if the guest are allowed to dress up for the night as in Halloween costumes!

*_


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## KingOfHalloween (Jun 12, 2012)

Wow,
And you guys gave me a quick reminder why I Loveeeee this forum compared to any other Halloween forum. You all seem to genuinely care and are responsive!

Reading all of these responses has certainly made me feel better and less guilty about not going "all out." I think you all are right. I just need to regroup.

The charity part is something I decided to do for my mom while I was in college. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's while I was in highschool, so as I got older being her caregiver I thought hosting an event would be an awesome way to carry (and expand) our tradition of celebrating/decorating Halloween. 
Unfortunately I live in a crappy part of town where there are zero trick or treaters, and theft of Halloween décor is not uncommon. So this event was a great way to keep celebrating.

Bringing it back to you guys it just feels amazingly good to hear some feedback and know that it IS possible to temporarily get "the blues" from something you're passionate about, and it isn't just a sign of permanent disinterest.

Just yesterday I stopped by at Walgreens and saw their $20 medusa head and bought it. Not sure if I will do anything with it this year, but I'd like to use its parts and transform it into a lifesize 1982 Clash of the Titans medusa.


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

Glad the forum was able to help you. That's what we try to do for each other. As much as we love the holiday, it is a lot of work, and sometimes that wears us out. It's a good thing we each have different off years. Can you imagine if we all went through burn out in the same year. They always have movies, "The Year Without Christmas". For us it would be, "The Year Without Halloween". I can't add much that the others haven't already said, but I do have another line of thought for you. In the time when there isn't much of a turnout, and that would be disappointing after all your hard work, you still might have touched someone. There might have been someone that was so taken with your display that they went on to start decorating themselves. Almost everyone of us remembers a house or a party or someone who decorated and it made us want to do it too. Who knows, maybe you influenced some future haunter last year. Anyway, have fun. I can't wait to see what you do with Medusa.


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## PMTT (Sep 18, 2014)

Great to hear that you got some of it back after posting! Just remind yourself of the original reason why you do this party and that should get you through


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## Manon (Aug 2, 2011)

You are by no means the only one of us who gets burned out. Especially a charity event! Especially for Alzheimer's. My FIL has Alzheimer's and it's just exhausting on its own. 

I agree with everyone above. Finish this year, see how you feel and maybe take a break next year or tone it down so that you don't become so completely burned out that you never do it again.


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

Last year I had major surgery at the very beginning of Oct, I too had been feeling burned out and since I would be bed ridden and/or on crutches I knew I couldn't go all out as usual.

I did the basic stuff, things that required no maintenance.. basically everything except my pneumatic props and a couple other heavy and/or complicated things.

I had the best Halloween ever. I got to watch a ton of Horror movies, went out to dinner with my family, got to drive past all my friends houses that put on displays that I never get to see.. it was awesome!

All it took was that one year "off" with no major projects or dealing with the usual headaches associated with maintaining a haunt.

I feel like a million bucks this year, although I did take on one massive project that I hope will get done in time for the big day, its been nice.

My advice is to take some time off for yourself, if not this year, next year.. re group and just enjoy what makes Halloween awesome.


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## bert1913 (Oct 27, 2011)

What keeps me motivated are the kids that enjoy my haunt. We are creating life long memories that the kids will never forget for the rest of their lives. I'm sure everyone here has fond memories that still bring smiles to your faces.


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## Plastic Ninja (Sep 30, 2010)

Sometimes a break really can do you good. I'm more excited than ever to do stuff this year since I didn't last year. The charity thing makes it a bit more complicated, but I figure it's pretty hard to help others if you can't help yourself.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Not a lot to add to what has already been said, except to say that it can happen to all of us at one time or another. I've certainly gone through similar bouts of Halloween 'depression' - whether it has been the 'big party gone bust', props which refuse to work, weather which is just out of season and has my mind thinking 'still summer' or 'winter is already here', low ToT turnout, or just a few years ago, getting everything set up, then having an unexpected out-of-town trip come up...having to leave on the morning of Oct 31.

I guess the important thing is ...this is supposed to be fun. Not a lot of us are in this for money or glory, so many times fun / enjoyment are the main rewards. So if the 'fun' isn't happening, take some time to step back and see if there are other ways to approach things to put the spark back in ... or even take some time away, then come back refreshed.

Either way, good luck with the mojo!


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## KingOfHalloween (Jun 12, 2012)

Haha, wow I love you guys!
I never thought that I may truly inspire someone enough to do this thing next year. As you mentioned scareme, it's how I got started. The rest of you really have given me so much confidence.
This year I've decided to work with the same props I've had, aside from redesigning one or two full sized dummies. I think it's going to turn out perfect. My first e-firecracker just came in the mail yesterday. I'm going tocreate a scene where people must walk between vanhelsing holding his crossbow, and a group of monsters. As they pass through, the e-firecracker on the crossbow begins to go off. Should be a nice cheap scare with little effort.


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## Buzz (Aug 26, 2011)

I think I can relate King.
There were a couple of years that I did the haunt at the lighthouse to raise money for its restoration. But now I mostly just decorate my house inside and out... and when I say out, I mean ALL-OUT! I have twice as much props and decor out in the yard now compared to what I would setup at the lighthouse several years ago.

Now it seems, year after year, doing it all by myself, is wearing on me. I get encouragement from the family, but little to no help.

But we're the Halloween House.
And I got kids depending on me.
If it wasn't for the school children asking me when I would begin and then waving at me setting up the yard... I probably wouldn't have done it this year.


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