[thenameisaimee]

I'd love to know everyones opinions on doing your haunt on more then just halloween night? I'm thinking about doing it the weekend before halloween (just saturday, or friday) AND halloween night but I'd like to know everyones personal experiences and opinions, or suggestions.

 

[trishaanne]

I do mine on the 30th and 31st. Since all of our actors are volunteers, I don't want to ask them to do give up more time than that.

 

[Spider Rider]

My daughter is going to have a "Mid-Summer Nights Halloween" party for her high school friends this summer in our back yard. I can't wait to break out the props and fire up the smoke machines again.

 

[halloweengoddessrn]

I haunt from Oct 1 thru Oct 31. If I only did it one or two nights- Id have to have morphine injections on a daily basis just waiting!

 

[Spartan005]

Last year we were supposed to have the haunt open for four days, but weather conditions only allowed us to do two. This year we're opening the haunt for 7 days... the two weekends before halloween (including Fridays) and halloween itself

 

[GOT]

I hate that I spend 2 months building the thing for about 3 hours of play time then another week to tear it down. However, unless it is one of those professional things, I think these should be saved for Halloween.

 

[Spartan005]

Yeah when I was in 7th grade (four years ago) I made my first haunt that was open to the public. We had it in a building next to our local park and it was open for 3 hours and torn down that night.

My haunt is not Professional... but its very, very good for a low budget.

 

[Frighteners Entertainment]

We've been open 2 weekends before Halloween (Fri, Sat & Sun) along with Halloween night since 2000. I try to get the most out of a 3 month build as I can :googly:

 

[Richie]

We always begin setting up on Oct 1st and celebrate to the 31st. So it's a month long fun time. It isn't until about a week or so before the 31st that we add the audio effects and run all the fog machines.

 

[Eric Striffler]

The Spooky Walk that I work at each October is open the second two Fridays and Saturdays before Halloween. They don't have it open ON Halloween because it's doubtful that many people would go. Most people prefer to go to a party or go trick-or-treating on Halloween itself. But the people who's haunts ARE at their house and they are walked through while trick-or-treating, those are fine on Halloween obviously.

 

[pyro]

last year i had everything out the week before-but like everyone else thats not long enough so i may start the 1st week of oct.

 

[Sickie Ickie]

Raise hands everyone who wants to start openning their haunt in January!

 

[Front Yard Fright]

-raises hand-
we are going to be open every weekend in october next year.
so it we will hopefully have a bigger turn out.
in some cases it just doesn't make sense to be open on some of the earlier weeks because people just aren't in the halloween spirit quite yet.
but i'm hoping to have a good turn out anyways!
.

 

[Liam]

Personally, I would like to do a pre-Halloween preview, as I expect this to be my best haunt ever by a longshot. We'll see how preparations go and if time allows such things. I suppose if I distribute flyers around the neighborhood and say that I'll be open before Halloween I won't have much of a choice...good motivation, eh?

On a non personal note, Rocky Point in Salt Lake City has been doing "Scream Break" for a few years now, and opening for a few weekends around Easter. They have been VERY successful with Scream Break, in fact this year they had 10,000 people come through in 4 weekends. Pretty impressive. But it also helps that they have had a permanent location for a few years too. Anyway, enough about that. RIP RPHH.

 

[Front Yard Fright]

yeah i knew about that scream break thing that rocky point did...
only thing is i found out about it too late.
i was hoping to go to this years but of course i wasn't able to.
it sucked!
they will be auctioning off all of their stuff this weekend.
rip rocky point!
.

 

[Frighteners Entertainment]

I forgot to mention that I do a walk thru, 2x4's and plywood approx. 1000 - 1200 sq ft.
And we hardly get ToTers anymore, well, they're not coming for the candy any longer.
Most are teens and adults but we do have a Kids Haunt for the little ones.
It's 17 x 20 maze.

 

[Richie]

Actually, this is the first year we've started building or modifying halloween props so early. These days, there is always something we are doing directly related to the haunt we put on in October. We're adding an extra one or two life size prop figures, and this is the first year we'll be adding thunder and lightning across the entire front of the house. It's shaping up to be the best year yet.

 

[Frighteners Entertainment]

Thunder and lighting is good. Adds to the curb appeal!

When I used that for a few years, it was activated by a button I had on the gates. So when I opened the gate to let in the Haunted Patrons, I would push the button when they got close enough to the mausoleum doors, they would open and the thunder and lighting would go off.

 

[Richie]

[QUOTE
When I used that for a few years, it was activated by a button I had on the gates. So when I opened the gate to let in the Haunted Patrons, I would push the button when they got close enough to the mausoleum doors, they would open and the thunder and lighting would go off.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure that was always good for a great scare. I will say this, I do miss some of the older effects we used to do being triggered by a wireless remote or an X-10 unit. They always worked and would give my wife and I a good laugh watching the kids get startled. The last few years we've been going with more automated effects and spend more time answering questions from the parents about our haunt.

 

[turtle2778]

Okay for those of you who really put the time and effort into these displays, arent you worried that things will get stolen. I dont have the biggest budget in the world and really can not afford to replace some of the things i have foolishly purchased instead of making. Before finding this forum i didnt really think i could make these things. So i know i have a good deal of money in some of my props, I would love to have this open the whole week before Halloween. The ladies at the Chamber of Commerce told my husband they are going to have the local paper do an article on it, since im evidently the ONLY person here in town to do one. But with that article also says...HEY FREAKS COME STEAL MY STUFF!!! I am hopign to get a 4 camera security system. A friend owns a bar and is looking at getting a new system for his place. If you dont get the TOT"S then who comes. Ive never done an outdoor display before only a party and decorated the inside. I do my haunted ceramic village, which takes a while, but i dotn worry things will walk off. Okay so what im asking after all that is...is it worth the risk keeping it open for more than one day???