# how to scare while passing out candy



## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

One thing I discovered quite a while ago, it REALLY makes folks nervous when there is no one at the door....


Be OUT there. Remove the whole door element. 

Enter the "take one" candy bowl. But MONITOR it. 

That was the first thing I did. Just me, and a candy bowl, and it was surprising how many kids would NOT want to get anywhere near it, and would stand scared at the door.

(yes, hard to believe this is how it started)









While they've caught on to where the candy is, Kyle still gets plenty of scares at the bowl.


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## madaxeman (Jul 23, 2012)

very cool...


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## pumpkinheadedskeleton (Apr 26, 2010)

i have scary figure props all around the yard. next to the "take 2" candy bowl there is .....me. Dressed up in something scary. i can see down the driveway and can see the ages of the kids coming. If they are too young I stay perfectly still and don't move. If they are old enough I give them the classic "BOO!!!"
That's usually enough to get even the adults.
A few kids know what I do now so I'm going to vary it this year. Give them a few figures around the bowl so they don't know which one is going to get them.


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## Sleepersatty99 (Aug 16, 2010)

My wife hands out the candy while I creep around the lawn scaring tot's and the parents as well sometimes 
I just sit in a chair a few feet away from her and sit very very still and people walk by and I can hear them ask 
"is he real?" you would be surprised at all the tot's and even the adults say " nah its fake"
Then BAM i jump up and they hit the ground and leave there bag of candy behind 
And dont come back for it. Lol it's so much fun.


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## Jackielantern (Oct 31, 2005)

One of our first years we simply had a pumpkin out on the porch. We tied fishing line to the metal mailbox and my husband, dressed up in costume hid behind a bush. When the kids started walking up he pulled the string making the mailbox clank which made the pumpkin say "Happy Halloween" - Scare 1. I was hiding behind the door (inside) when they rang the doorbell I opened it slowly. They saw the candy bowl on the floor with a sign that said take one. When they finally reached in (which took awhile) I would reach out and grab their arm. - Scare 2. I was dressed as a witch, but didn't paint my face so I wouldn't be too scary. I would then come from behind the door and wish them a fun evening. They would be laughing and walking away and my husband would jump out from behind the bush. Scare 3.

The best was when one little guy thought he would scare me. I closed the door and rather than walking away he waited awhile before ringing the doorbell. My husband waited awhile to see what he was up too. After ringing the bell a second time he jumped around the corner right where my husband was hiding. Just before I came out to see where my ToT went John reached out and tapped his shoulder. The kid jumped and screamed so loud. It was fantastic! We all had a really good laugh, the boy included.

I always dress in costume to hand out candy, most often a witch. I place a rocking chair inside the front door and act like I'm reading my book of spells. Alot of the kids won't even reach their arm inside the door. I have to get up and put the candy in their bags for them.

Happy haunting!


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## Jackielantern (Oct 31, 2005)

Unorthodox I love the huge "candybowl" very cool. Wish our fire pit was shaped like that! Hmmmm, the neighbor's is...might have to borrow that.


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## krnlmustrd (Oct 14, 2010)

Growing up, I was always terrified of the house where the owner dressed up and acted the part when opening the door and giving out the candy. Now, I do the same. Simple, but very effective. Mwahahaha


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## c910andace (Aug 17, 2010)

I grew up in a Halloween family. We would make our own tombstones with funny epitaphs. We changed the props year to year always pulling some out of storage after a few years. Built coffins, stocks, guillotines and scaffold for a noose. I'd be the witch handing out candy or popping up from the coffin. My sister would be in coveralls and scary mask and hands with oversized hiking boots so she looked fake. My parents would be operating ghosts on pulleys and greet people at the end of the driveway. My brothers would pop out of the bushes or from behind cars on the street. My husband has joined in and is now excited for Halloween but he definitely married into it.


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## c910andace (Aug 17, 2010)

Oops, forgot to tell my how to scare part. We love dressing as draculas or zombies and following people eerily to and from our house. The Moms are the best because they are never paying attention to you, just their kids, until they have that feeling they are being watched.


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## E.F. Benson (Aug 29, 2002)

This reminds me of years ago, we used to go to a friends house on Halloweem night dressed up, and pass out candy to the kids. Later on we would all go inside to eat dinner, but we were still dressed up, and would still answer the door, and pass out candy to the kids. One time when we were inside, someone else answered the door, and my friend, who was dressed up as a witch, and myself who was dressed up as a reaper, came running to the door to give the kids candy. When the kids saw us running towards them, they just ran away. It was even more funny because we never intended on scaring them.


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## Pumpkinhead625 (Oct 12, 2009)

This looks like it's easy to make, and would probably be an excellent unexpected scare:

http://www.creepcrafters.com/CandyCauldron/candy.htm

You could grab the older kids for a scare, but if you get tiny ToTs, you could just keep your arm still while they get their candy.


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## Atomic Mystery Monster (Jul 29, 2003)

Simply answering the door in costume usually works when I'm dealing with younger trick or treaters (especially if I play a spooky sound effect right before opening the door). The results are even better if I wear a mask they can't find at any of the local stores. I used to put up a sign saying "Danger: Man-Eating Plants" in front of the bushes at my old house and stuck some fake bones in it. Although I didn't have any electronics hidden in it, people always got nervous when they got close to the bushes, as they were expecting something to lunge out at them.


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## JNLannualhauntedhouse (Jul 26, 2012)

Okay this was something we had issues with our first couple of years....here is an easy fix that worked with us:

If you're handing out candy on the porch, swap out the lightbulb for a flickering one or a backlight or even a red or orange light....strobes are amazing too (my favorite because they confuse the senses thus inducing fear). Then have the person handing out candy be in a super creepy costume or a super bloody one (ours was gored out and ha a fake axe that she pounded the table with). Finally we had a "cannibal" in a mask thrashing around on the ground by the candy table.....people did NOT want to get anywhere close to these creepy people and it freaked them out


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## 89Lt1 (Oct 17, 2011)

Last year i put a light black plastic table cloth under the table, and then rigged my air compressor nozzle under it with a solenoid. When the kids came up to the table with candy (i was sitting behind it) i hit the button and the compressed air shot the table cloth up in the air and make the "SSSSHHHH" sound. it was entertaining as hell. 

This year i was thinking of using the air to shoot a foam something. My plan is to use a foam water noodle over a pvc pipe connected to the air compressor. when the air kicks on the foam noodle should shoot off the pvc pipe. I just have to figure out how i am going to incorporate what ever the foam is into the scene.

I always love to have a little something up my sleeve, but be able to use my own discretion when and who to use it on. dont want to terrify a 3 year old. But your 12 year old that comes to my house should scream!


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## JNLannualhauntedhouse (Jul 26, 2012)

89Lt1 said:


> Last year i put a light black plastic table cloth under the table, and then rigged my air compressor nozzle under it with a solenoid. When the kids came up to the table with candy (i was sitting behind it) i hit the button and the compressed air shot the table cloth up in the air and make the "SSSSHHHH" sound. it was entertaining as hell.
> 
> This year i was thinking of using the air to shoot a foam something. My plan is to use a foam water noodle over a pvc pipe connected to the air compressor. when the air kicks on the foam noodle should shoot off the pvc pipe. I just have to figure out how i am going to incorporate what ever the foam is into the scene.
> 
> I always love to have a little something up my sleeve, but be able to use my own discretion when and who to use it on. dont want to terrify a 3 year old. But your 12 year old that comes to my house should scream!



I love the air compressor idea! That would freak the crap out of me ! XD


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## 89Lt1 (Oct 17, 2011)

ya it took some tweaking to get right, but it was pretty surprising, At the same time i didnt have to worry about someone getting hit by a moving prop.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

I was told about 2 brothers who lived in an 1880 house with a big porch, they would wait until the treaters were on the porch, then come out walking stomping on the roof above them wearing work boots! Removing any one of the senses does turn up the fear . "What is making that noise?"


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

When I was a little kid, my favorite house of all time was a lady who would sit out on her porch dressed as a witch. Her costume wasn't that scary, it was more the fact that she would never say anything! She'd just hand your your candy then slowly wave as you walked away. I couldn't wait to visit her house every year and prove to myself that I wasn't scared! I knew I'd never be one of those "oh what cute costumes, here's candy for a princess, and a pirate..." women, so I decided to go with the silent witch persona. We have a front courtyard with a gate, which most of the kids run through until they see me pacing back in forth of the door surrounded by ground fog. So funny to watch them hit the brakes and then apprehensively walk up! The porch is full of black lights which light up the white UV contact lenses that I wear. I put the candy (which I carry in a small cauldron) in each trick-or-treater's bag, then retreat back in to the fog never saying a word. It's such a different experience than all of the other houses, and I really think the kids get a kick out of it.


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## TheMayor (Sep 3, 2011)

My house is completely done and there is a lot of things going on and so much to see ..I don't scare anybody at the door they are usually amazed being in the scene.


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## Matt1 (Aug 20, 2009)

UnOrthodOx said:


> One thing I discovered quite a while ago, it REALLY makes folks nervous when there is no one at the door....
> 
> 
> Be OUT there. Remove the whole door element.
> ...


I've got to ask, is that flourescent orange paint outlined on the grass, or something else?


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## halloweenisfun (Aug 17, 2012)

We put haunted shaking eyes into a giant plastic container ( I used the prezel bucket from Costco ) and fill with candy. Have the kids (older kids- so we don't scare the little ones too much) help themselves. When they reach in the eyes will light up and shake the bucket. Scared the heck out of them. 

Last year we set my daughters head on a platter and had her hand coming up thru the bowl of candy next to her head (yes,maybe overused, but still fun). The kids were so occupied trying to figure out if the head was a real person that they didn't stop to think that maybe the hand was going to grab them. Got a lot of adults too.

Happy Halloween


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