Trick or Treaters - Falling to the wayside?

[Mr Nightmarez]

Prior to 1999 I actually was a Home Haunter and Actor. I have heard that Trick or Treators have slowly decreased in our area since then...
Is that true everywhere>? :evil: We have chruches now doing TRUNK or TREATS and parties to combat the EVILNESS of Halloween... :roll:

So what's it like in your area?

[mindtumor]

I don't know because it has been slow in my area for the last 20 years. Plus where I am there is only like a 1 hour period where people can go trick or treating.

[SpFXChic]

Alas, I do not know...I'm always working at the haunt.

My mother said that they don't get as many as when I was younger, though...well, of course, that was 20+ years ago, but still.

[jason-x]

:twisted: hey trick or treating in my area is going strong.when I first started doing my home haunt we did about 100 people,now Iam in my 8th year and going strong.Last year we did about 300.The mix was about 50/50 for adults to kidsneedless to say I spend alot of money in candy.keep the home haunt alive

[Incognito F/X]

For the first few years I was in my home Halloween was a bit slow, from what I was used to. I've been here since "94" and the neighborhood was pretty new then.. That being said, things have increased considerably in the last , Oh I don't know....6 or 8 years. Lately we're getting a lot of people from other contries in the mix.

[Adam]

Hi im new, my friend from rotting flesh radio reccommended that I come on over because this community of haunters was really active. So I took his advice and here I am!

It's strange this topic is here, recently was talking to my friend about the same thing. The last couple of years the trick or treating has been really small. As the kids have gotten older it seems less and less of them trick or treat, last year I got alot of kids...prob a combined toal of 4 or 5 years together. It was alot of kids, some teenagers, and alot of parents and their friends. I was quite surprised, its nice to hear comments about your decorations and what not. This year I was actually thinking for those of you that really go all out with a home haunt and what not, you should think about making up some flyers. This year I plan to actually take a couple weekends, maybe a few friends and just put some flyers in mail boxes on Oct 1st, or at door steps to let people know to come to my house. The town doesn't have alot of people that decorate for Halloween these days...a few here and there as far as more than two pumpkins and actual props. It's actually kind of sad, I am 21 years old now and I remember when Halloween had so many kids when I was younger. I think my area just stinks for Halloween, christmas though ...everyone and their mom decorates like no other. It's quite strange, even neighbors that don't do Halloween or even turn on their porch light on for Halloween decorate for xmas, what is that about?! I also noted at the bottom of my flyer that I encourage everyone to decorate this year just because it's so dead (literally heh heh) in this area for it. There are about 3 to 5 houses in a three block radius that decorate. I remember it used to be every other house had some decorations, it fascinates me as to why people stopped. I often wonder what Salem is like during Halloween, I bet alot of people decorate their houses there.

[SomeThingInTheIce]

Hi Adam nice to have you on board. I need to tell you something you may not know. Do not put flyers in mail boxes, I had a freind put flyers in mail boxes to get people to his yard sale. Well, the cops showed up and told him it was against federal law to put anything in a mail box that is not post marked and put there by a mailman. They were cool about it and he did not get into any trouble, someone must have called them after getting the flyer in their mail box. I hope you don't think I'm getting preachie on you I just don't want to see you get in any trouble.

[Adam]

ah def a good thing to know!!

[Xeverity]

Trick or treating was dead until I moved in. Now I do about 100 genuine the rest are coming for the attraction. Depends on your community and how well known and trusted you are the rest of the year ;-)

[gadget-evilusions]

toters

I get more and more every year since I moved into my house, maybe they just like looking at my corpses.

Hi adam, GO WORK ON MY WEBSITE!! just kidding. ttyl

[undertaker]

Every year tricker treating around here has been decreasing. My Grandma keeps track of how many kids come each year.

[Jim Warfield]

Handing out treats can really get expensive these days. Has anyone checked the price of apples and razor blades!
I know, most everyone else has gone to hypodermic needles but they are just way over-priced for my pocketbook!
I read that there was only one incidence of such treat-tampering on record and it was a family member doing it to someone within their own family!?
Many years ago the local Chief of Police tried to bribe kids off the October 31st streets by randomly phoning them and if they were home they would win a $3.00 watch, the choice was made, a $3.00 watch, or 50 pounds of chocolate candy?(From one's door-to door efforts?
"Chocolate" always won my vote, no contest!
It seems that for the last number of years it isn't reguarded as "Cool" to dress up in costumes anymore, but then some kids wear the darndest "costumes" on a regular basis, add tatoos , real and washable and wacky hair dos, so maybe it is a little "Halloween" almost everyday for them?
What should you give a Goth? A shriveled , dried up apple with a rusty razor blade? One apple like this with 50 rusty razors stuck into it?
I know, all that yellow-orange plastic from the disposable Bic razors will break up the color scheme!
Everything changes.

[haunter112]

I've noticed that the amount of trick or treaters is directly related to the number of houses in the neighborhood that decorate for halloween.

My neighborhood (where I'm the only one who decorates) sees an average of 25-50 TOTS each year.

My sister-in-law's neighborhood (where there are dozens of houses LAVISHLY decorated) gets thousands of TOTS each halloween.

Other factors do come into play, of course, but this is definitely part of the equation.

[deathtrail91]

Re: Trick or Treaters - Falling to the wayside?

Prior to 1999 I actually was a Home Haunter and Actor. I have heard that Trick or Treators have slowly decreased in our area since then...
Is that true everywhere>? :evil: We have chruches now doing TRUNK or TREATS and parties to combat the EVILNESS of Halloween... :roll:

So what's it like in your area?

Same thing here in my area. A couple of years ago we actually had a church group come down our street and hand brochures out about how evil trick or treating is!

[ALittleFreaky]

My dad told me when he was a kid back in the 50's that in our town, they could trick or treat on Oct. 31st all day long. When I was growing up in the same town in the 80's we had a 3 hour time span to do it. Now same town in 2007, they have only 2 hours. So it keeps getting shorter and shorter. We do get well over 100 kids now. I loved going trick or treating, getting to dress up like someone else! It's great! I still do it everyday, getting dressed and going to work. Thats my costume I wear! When really all I wanna do is put on my black lipstick and stay home and play with my Props and plan for my haunted house! But my day job makes it so I can at least play for 1 month a year!