Question for all you owners?

[graystone]

I have seen several haunt owners posting here and on facebook about building this or that and redoing or buying or whatever so my question is........ Am I the only one that gets burned out and need a few months to get away. I mean I love it and it's fun but I can't take it 24/7. Along with my coach company I do still have a Christmas division that I enjoy that makes things a little different. But I just can't deal with Halloween and then jump right back into it. Come on I want some feed back on this! Shane and it's pull up a chair and tell me!

[Allen H]

Haunted houses are all I do. Mask making, costumes, writing classes, making props, practicing make up I don't really do anything that is not haunt related. No other job, no other real interests. I am in a different situation than most, but being able to bounce between things like costuming, make up, mask making, set work, and even writing classes and filming videos keep any one facet of the business from getting stale for me.
Allen H

[Wolfman13]

Hi,
I live for this stuff! My first experience in haunted houses was in 1977 as an actor, and I've been doing it ever since. I work on my current haunted house literally 12 months a year. If I'm not building props or something like that, I'm doing conceptual sketches, buying antiques, always looking out for music / sound effects, working on the floor plan, taking reference photos of different architectural textures / features, and if nothing else, thinking about it. I've loved classic monster movies since I was very little. To this day I continually watch old B&W monster movies! For me, the haunted house is like creating a living, breathing, three-dimensional, interactive horror movie; and I want to do it 365 days a year. I'm counting the days until TransWorld, as well. Can't wait!

I formerly worked in film, TV and theatre, but don't do it much any more unless a play or other project comes along that I really feel like working on. I'm a returning adult college student, working toward a Master's Degree in Theatre Arts, so I do have course work and so on, but I try not to let that get in the way!

Mark...

[screamforadream]

Yes!!! But not Halloween burnt, but haunt burnt lol. I ALWAYS love seeing haunt stuff others are doing any day of the year but come the last weekend I am DEAD! Haha. So I invested a haunt company, something new! I love seeing my artists work and see new things come to life! I would love to do this for a living eventually but we'll see how it all goes! I'm just looking forward to Transworld! Lol

[nightmareproductionz]

Yeah, I pretty much NEED it all year round. The only "break" I take is the week after we tear down, and the space from Thanksgiving til New Years. But even then I'm jotting down ideas all the time. Like scream said, I can't wait for TW (so mad I missed IAAPA this year...)

[drfrightner]

Shane,

I'll be honest with ya... this is the ONLY THING I"M EXCITED ABOUT! Creating new stuff is the magic for me! I'm not so much a fan anymore of running the haunted houses, I like creating new and fun things. So for me this is the most exciting part of everything. I love creating!

Larry

[mindtumor]

We do it out of necessity, it just takes us this long to get ready. I quit having fun 5 years ago and wanted to quit doing it all 3 years ago to concentrate on other interests. But I am having fun with it again so I'll keep plugging along for awhile.

[graystone]

Shane,

I'll be honest with ya... this is the ONLY THING I"M EXCITED ABOUT! Creating new stuff is the magic for me! I'm not so much a fan anymore of running the haunted houses, I like creating new and fun things. So for me this is the most exciting part of everything. I love creating!

Larry

I see the creative side and feel you there. But I think and maybe it's just me I am just burned out I hate the haunt being open and dealing with all the complaints about the waits or this or that I just want to say get the hell out...... Wait I have did that!!!!!!!!! If I did it 24/7 I would just be sick. I like dealing with the coaches and customizing them and then the Christmas Decor gives me something new to do for a while. I think with me is I just can't do the same thing all the time! Shane and it's looks like it's just me LOL!

[freak 'n' stein]

Haunted houses are all I do. Mask making, costumes, writing classes, making props, practicing make up I don't really do anything that is not haunt related. No other job, no other real interests. I am in a different situation than most, but being able to bounce between things like costuming, make up, mask making, set work, and even writing classes and filming videos keep any one facet of the business from getting stale for me.
Allen H

I AGREE!! Don't keep doing the same thing but keep the "theme" the same...HALLOWEEN!! hahaha

In addition to Allen's list I also like watching the Halloween TV specials time and time again. Never gets old to me. That and surfing YouTube/Forums for other inspiration...Horror movies and their special features...Halloween is the ultimate theater geek gone rogue's guilty pleasure!!!

[Moxley Manor]

The first 2 years were non-stop for us and to be completely honest this past March I was just burnt out when it came to building the haunt. Keep in mind that we were opening for Christmas, Valentine's Day and every Friday the 13th. I was just done with it and needed a few months away. Each event I had changed up several rooms and in most cases much of the layout. This year I have taken a different approach by not putting as much on my plate. We will do 2 nights for our Christmas event, instead of the four that we have done in previous years. I didn't do any significant changes other than Christmas decorating. We will still do a night or two for Valentines Day but other than that I am keeping the doors closed until September. I debated not opening at all for Christmas this year but my crew was a bit disappointed when I threw that idea out.