Frightened Children

Our house has become THE place to Trick-or-Treat at Halloween. This year - my husband and I built a wooden frame to run the length of our sidewalk leading up to our door for our "Tunnel of Doom". It is a frightening task for little ghosts and goblins to walk through the hidden entrance and into our patio filled with animatronics. Some can do it, some can't even make it up the driveway and their parents come in their stead.

Last year was our first time to add the live-action element to our scare-fest. My hubby, myself, and a good friend all got "zombified" (a fun little formula of corn starch, flour, food-coloring, and makeup) to answer the door. Our added scare was I would hand out the candy and the two guys would come stumbling up behind me from out of the darkness... one guy would grab me and drag me back into the house, while the other would either close the door or chase the kids out of the tunnel. We had fun with it - but each year the expectation grows from our neightbors and their kids.

This year was the best yet! We had a bunch of friends over and outfitted everyone with the full-head masks and heavy costume gloves (ghoulish faces and rotting-flesh hands). Everyone was positioned in various places on our front yard and they sat or stood in poses. Considering our whole front yard has been a graveyard since the beginning of October - it didn't seem unusual to anyone. I sat on the front porch and could hear parents commenting, "Oh cool - they put up some stuffed dummies today. That's so neat!"

The kids would come up to me (I was dresses as a crazy patient), get their candy, then go trapsing down the driveway. They would stop to look at the scary dummies, some would even poke them to prove to their friends that they weren't real.

Then one would move a little... a turn of the head, or a shift of an arm.

The kids jumped back.

A crowd would start to gather - with new trick-or-treaters and kids who had already gotten their candy. One would say, "They're motion-activated. Throw some candy to turn one on." Another kid would toss a piece of chocolate from their bag and hit one of the figures.

More movement.

So the kids approached to figure out exactly what made them work.

Then the fun began... all of the figures on the lawn would come to life! Standing up - stumbling toward the crowd - making NOISES. Children and parents screamed - everyone would scatter in different directions. Oh it was so fun!

Not sure how we'll top it next year - but I'm already thinking.