Scary or Fun?

[TK421]

With young kids in the house, I have always gone towards a "fun" yard haunt. We have witches and skeletons and tombstones with fun epitaphs, but I don't do anything bloody.

I was wondering what most people on this forum do? Are you in it for the gore and scare, or for the fun and silliness?

No judgements, just curious.

[Pumpkin_Man]

That's probably a good idea, because you want the little ones to have fun, not be traumatised by the whole thing. The scarier things are for the older kids.

Mike

[jadewik]

I shoot for scary... but with little kids, you don't have to go very far to achieve that. I loathe gore or startle tactics. If you cannot accomplish a scare without those, it's my opinion you're not very good at scaring. Gore and startling are just icing on the cake.... but... that's my opinion.

Aside from "scary", I do try to have fun. Most of the time, I downplay the "scary" to emphasize the fun.

[Rising Dead Man]

This is the only gory thing I did. I had this and blood dripping in the window that formed the words STAY OUT!



I try to be scary. But if I had more money I could do more. And I would have more gore.

[Andybev01]

I prefer the psychology of fright. I don't need to be 'hit over the head' with graphic displays but I can stomach them, so to speak

Night of the living dead (the original) is far more frightening to me than say, 28 days later. But I do appreciate each for what they are.

Most of my display items are folksy, ghostly. I do have a severed hand prop that I'm quite attached to. It usually finds it's way in the freezer or fridge disguised as left-overs and, believe it or not, at least one person falls for it every year

Nice avater, by the way. I have dozens of JOL decorations and they are my favorites.

[freakurfreak]

Well first of all I have to say it is awesome to find out that there are people who love Halloween as much as I do. I am obsessed with it I plan my whole year around it. I have it all over my PC, cell phone and stuff. now for your question, I say go with what you have been doing but when Halloween things start to come out in late September start buying scarier things. And just start with the scary slowly. I hope this helps.

[witchy]

I love both, Scary stuff for the older kids & milder for the younger ones. I have aparty every other year & the upstairs is for the Scarier stuff & The Basement is for the younger kids, everyone seems to approve when I do it this way. Happy Halloween VERY early!! Witchy

[TK421]

That's a great idea. I know my oldest is reaching that age where gross is cool. She's not watching horror movies yet, but the Halloween gore is entertaining.

I think as my kids grow older, the "scare-factor" of my haunt will also increase.

But for now, I have to keep it creepy, but fun for all.



Can you blame me!? They just make everything so darn fun and cute!

[witchy]

She is too cute!!! Kids are always fun to have around. I have two girls 13 & 19 & they are totaly into Halloween just like thier mom. Witchy

[TheGreatPumpkin]

I go for the fun because my kids are younger and scare easily. Actually, my oldest is 12 and is more frightened than the other 2. I like taking them to fall carnivals and only trick or treating those homes that I know people and I can trust they will not jump out and scare them. Once we went somewhere and a guy jumped out with a chainsaw. My kids were in my bed until Thanksgiving.

[TK421]

Yikes! Well, that does sound a bit too scary. If you're going to scare people, you should still use some good judgement. Some people like it, other's don't.

For our yard haunt, my wife sometimes dresses up as a witch. Depending on the kids coming down the street, she can be a silly witch or a scary witch.

Here's a pic of my wife from Last Halloween.

[litemareb4xmas]

I found my display, tame as it is, I had many kids afraid to come get candy, maybe it was my costume?
For the older kids, when no little kids were near, had a friend jump out with a chainsaw, love to watch the big tough boys freak out!

[adrian]

I believe that it's just so amazing that you're getting your kids involved!! Down here in West Point GA, the parents have forgotten the spirit of Halloween and are slowly getting away from it. Over the past couple of years my displays have become more interactive and community envolving in my attempts to re vamp the holliday spirit. So whether it's a severed head or a singing ghost or jack o lantern, as long as your involved with the holiday (especialy w/ your children) then you're a hit in my book. LOL

[DemonSlayerMau]

How about Scary AND Fun?

[Nostalgiascape]

I think keeping the yard haunts age apropriate is key. The fun thing is when they reach 13 or so, you can amp it up a bit.