# Any 2018 Meetup groups in Orlando for Haunted Mansion enthusiasts



## Bobbiejo (Aug 9, 2017)

As a Raleigh newbie, I’d be interested in hearing what you think are must see Halloween attractions in the Triangle area.


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## mikeerdas (Jan 30, 2010)

Bobbiejo said:


> As a Raleigh newbie, I’d be interested in hearing what you think are must see Halloween attractions in the Triangle area.


Raleigh is in the buckle of the the bible belt am I'm so glad to finally be gone. Got seduced by low home prices, superficially friendly people, and better weather than New England. I never found any haunted attractions worth going to. Half my neighborhood shut down on Halloween night due to evangelical Christians believing Halloween to be satanic. However, the Raleigh area does have variation. It's better in RTP / Morrisville--lots more diversity of faiths and opinion. I lived in a town called Clayton on the outskirts of Raleigh and it was populated largely by evangelicals with a beef against Halloween. Churches on every corner. I'm done with that.


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## pumpkinking30 (Aug 27, 2012)

There are several groups on Facebook for Haunted Mansion enthusiasts. I'm in a few of them. You could look for Mansion Makers (Project Group), Regions Beyond (General Group), Haunted Mansion Tiki (Fun crossover group), and a few others. Be sure to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, they do some cool things with the Mansion and the Hitchhiking Ghosts are in the parade. Welcome to Florida, I'm sure you'll have a blast.


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## Bobbiejo (Aug 9, 2017)

Bummer! I know exactly where Clayton is. I’m not too far from there. I guess that explains why I had a grand total of two kids stop by on Halloween night last year. I’ve already decided not to go all out with outdoor decorations this year. Instead I’ll continue to focus on interior items that make me happy. How disappointing in general! Raleigh is such a smorgasbord of people from all over. I was hoping for more participation in Halloween ?.


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## mikeerdas (Jan 30, 2010)

pumpkinking30 said:


> There are several groups on Facebook for Haunted Mansion enthusiasts. I'm in a few of them. You could look for Mansion Makers (Project Group), Regions Beyond (General Group), Haunted Mansion Tiki (Fun crossover group), and a few others. Be sure to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, they do some cool things with the Mansion and the Hitchhiking Ghosts are in the parade. Welcome to Florida, I'm sure you'll have a blast.


Thanks! I'm grateful to be here. Don't do Facebook but my wife does. Maybe I could get her to sign-up.


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## mikeerdas (Jan 30, 2010)

Bobbiejo said:


> Bummer! I know exactly where Clayton is. I’m not too far from there. I guess that explains why I had a grand total of two kids stop by on Halloween night last year. I’ve already decided not to go all out with outdoor decorations this year. Instead I’ll continue to focus on interior items that make me happy. How disappointing in general! Raleigh is such a smorgasbord of people from all over. I was hoping for more participation in Halloween &#55356;&#57219;.


We actually had around 80 trick or treaters each year; not bad considering half the community had its lights off. Sorry your numbers are lower. I think your idea of focusing on interior is a good one. I'll have to do the same. Living in an apt complex, I have no more yard to haunt! The upside is being close to my favorite attraction of all time--the Haunted Mansion; and other haunted attractions in the area. Might also be fun to seek out good home haunts (like following insanely great christmas displays).

Yeah, it's weird. I lived in the Raleigh area for 11 years and I too saw the number of relocators rise over time; but it never seemed enough to keep the evangelicals out of peoples' faces; from employers saying Christian prayers at company parties, etc. What I say is that, in Boston / New England where I'm originally from, anyone being overtly religious was considered a lone crank--like someone wearing a sandwich board declaring The End is Near. Whereas around Raleigh, overt religiosity is the norm.

A few years ago, a new neighbor moved in from Brooklyn. I thought great, a neighbor I can relate to and have a beer with. Turns out he was a biblical literalist evangelical. That turned out to be the case a lot--evangelicals from New England who probably felt like oddballs there, moving to where they were more of a majority.

If I had to stay in Raleigh, I'd move to Morrisville. Much more diversity. Or move to downtown Raleigh (if I could afford it). The good news for you is that downtown Raleigh has developed so much in the last decade; especially in the last few years, there are so many more restaurants and fun things to do. Walking around some streets, you feel like you're in a real city--while a decade ago, Raleigh just felt like any other town vs. a State Capital / City. Where did you move from?


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## Jack Mac (Aug 12, 2014)

Bobbiejo said:


> Bummer! I know exactly where Clayton is. I’m not too far from there. I guess that explains why I had a grand total of two kids stop by on Halloween night last year. I’ve already decided not to go all out with outdoor decorations this year. Instead I’ll continue to focus on interior items that make me happy. How disappointing in general! Raleigh is such a smorgasbord of people from all over. I was hoping for more participation in Halloween &#55356;&#57219;.


Hi, I'm also in the Triangle area and just wanted to let you know that there is a Facebook page called North Scareolina Haunters where you can connect with a good group of local haunters. I'm in Cary, which the locals say stands for 'Containment Area for Relocated Yankees'  , and I get around 200-300 kids each year so just know that Halloween is not dead in NC.


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## seawitch67 (Jun 29, 2016)

I am about an hour and a half from the Magic Kingdom. Don't know about Meetup groups...but I do know there is a fantastic gift shop right outside the Haunted Mansion attraction called Memento Mori. The only bad thing about it is trying to narrow down your buying choices! Welcome, and have fun!


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