Dilemma

[lewlew]

So it's really the same old question of timing for the haunt. Trick or Treat hours are from 6pm 'til 8pm. It won't really get dark here until 7:00-7:15pm.

The question is do I let people go through the haunt while it's still light out or make them wait? Portions of the haunt are enclosed and therefore dark, and I'm sure we'll get some scares, but nothing compared to when the whole corn maze and everything is dark.

I'd love to open things up at 7 (it still won't be dark but at least it'll be close)but I know that people that get there fron 6-7 probably won't be back. Last year it just wasn't the same letting people go through in the daylight but I hate to turn people away.

How do you all handle it?

[jdubbya]

Mark,
I feel your pain. It's just not the same having people walk through a scary place when it's still light. The plus side to having it light when tot starts is that people with very young children seem to enjoy it more and the little ones aren't terrified. I gone so far as to tell people to come back after dark to get the full effect. Some will actually go on to other houses and return to ours after the sun sets. Being a Saturday this year, there won't be as much of a time crunch so patrons may actually come back later to get the full effect. Most of our haunt relies on darkness to get the scares in so if folks want to go through while it's still light in a sense they cheat themselves out of a good time and some good scares. You could easily erect a sign that the haunt is open from 7 p.m. People will likely return and just go to other houses first, saving the best for last. Our biggest crowds come between 7 and 8.

[Spooky1]

Sunset for Halloween (in Pittsburgh) is 6:18 pm, so you may be dark enough by 6:30 depending on cloud cover.

[jdubbya]

I';ve noticed that for the past couple of years it's pretty much dark by 6:45. I really likes the old DST when it made Halloween dark at 5 p.m. (sigh)

[lewlew]

Yeah. The end of civil twilight (every haunter knows what that is, right?) is 6:45 this year so it'll be getting well on towards dark.

There are not many ToT houses in our area despite being in a sub-division and I kind of have the idea that even though we have a good attraction (I hope) people that visit early won't return. I may go for more of the older college crowd since we're in a college town.

I guess it's just a case of build it and hope for the best.