Halloween 2017

Well Halloween has come and gone and now I'm trying to recall some of the more fun moments.  Let's see.  First off, my actors.  Oh my gosh.  So Hannah had several bits/sketches that she adapted for different age groups.  She warned them of the snakes on the ground as they approached, sometimes holding her 'torch' up to the snakes to ward them off.  Her main bit was to warn them of booby traps on the porch, but that she would lead them through the grid system safely.  She managed to get small kids and teenagers alike to follow her on one of the funniest looking (from my perspective waiting at the end) games of follow the leader.  I took over at that point by telling them they had to choose, but to choose wisely.  Choosing once also got added as it turned out that most kids didn't quite understand the concept of 'choosing' and instead shoved their hand in all three holes before picking a prize.  Once I figured out the choose once phrase to use, a lot of them were a lot more nervous about picking anything.

Once they had finished with the porch (picking a treat, checking out the decor and pumpkins), Hannah either led them back out or was waiting at the entrance to urge them to go safely on their journey, but warning them of dangerous snakes and boulders.  And here's where some of the best reactions came.  Peter (who took over for Natalie earlier in the evening) had figured out the perfect formula.  The entire time they would come up to the house and get a treat, he didn't move, giving most of them the illusion that the boulder costume was in fact a non moving prop for Indiana Jones Hannah.  But as they were leaving, Peter/boulder would dart forward, moving forwards a few feet, making quite a few of them startle and run.  And then some of them didn't notice the snakes on the way in, but definitely caught them on the way out.

Favorite moments:

• Teenage girl who lost it trying to choose.  She was too scared to put her hand in, so ran off screaming without a treat.  
• Several adults who were dressed up but who absolutely knew Indiana Jones.  I got to use my "you are strangely dressed for a knight" line which they loved.  
• All of the kids who followed like ducklings behind Hannah in an effort not to die from boobytraps. 
• The few kids who stepped out of line from Hannah and proclaimed "wait a minute, IT'S NOT BOOBYTRAPPED!"
• Most of the kids were nervous about picking something, but there were quite a few who got that nervous excitement.  
• Several people exclaimed that it was more like a haunted house this year.  

We wrapped up around 9 when the porch lights of other neighbors started going off and we hadn't seen anyone for awhile.  I had been keeping track of numbers of groups on my phone and added them up later--our final number was 164.  We also only had three snakes left in the bowl, so we came very close to not being able to offer a real choice.  Lots of spiders left though.  

Everything came down the next day; the front lawn was down completely before noon, the porch following after within a few hours.  I was good to future Jess and packed away all the lights and sockets in one box; next year will be a nice surprise.  (You're welcome future Jess!)