I scared a little child...

[Ree]

I wasn't sure where exactly to put this, but it's a bit of a rant about members of the public who were attending a special event sponsored by the charitable organization we belong to.

Every year, our group sponsors a free Halloween Party. There is an area for small children with games and prizes, and not so scary scenery.

There's another section that is a Haunted Maze. It is really scary. and is meant for older children, or those who can handle the scary stuff.

I have never actually participated before, although I've helped set it up.
This year, I ended up participating.

I was given a mask and prop and told to hide and jump out at the right moment.
It was awesome.

The only problem is, people kept bringing their little children through.
They were screaming and crying, and totally freaked out.

If I knew they were small kids, I didn't do my thing.
Unfortunately, though, I accidentally freaked out a little kid who should never have been in that section of the maze. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl, because my mask made it hard to see, and the child was in costume.
I guessed s/he was around 12 years old, though, but now, I think the child was mentally challenged, because s/he just started to wail and freak out.

Some parents need a good swift kick. They deserved to be up all night with screaming kids having nightmares, really, if they would bring a small child through there. The only thing is, I feel really bad for the little child having the nightmares.

Really, Mommy and Daddy, if you have to hang on to a little child who is clinging for dear life, and constantly reassure them that you've got them and they're safe, maybe it's time to rethink taking them into the older children's area.

Th event ran from 6 -8 pm, and had been fairly well advertised, not to mention, it's been an annual event for many years.

It was about 8:20, and I had finally been able to take off my mask and get into the open air. There were so many people just milling about, and standing around.

My daughter said to me, "They know we're closed, right?"
I said, "I don't know. Are they lined up waiting?"

She turned to one man and said, "You do know this is closed, right?"

The guy got ticked off, then.

Ummm...it's a free event. We don't even charge for it, and every child leaves with a bag of candy.
We had 900 bags ready, and we ran out.

Anyway, despite a little sucky behaviour, I had fun, and I will probably do it again next year.
The only problem is, I already had a sore throat and a cough, but I did so much shrieking and screaming that I now have no voice today.

[Boozy]

Nitwits. Nothing makes me angrier than parents who ignore warnings about inappropriate entertainment for their kids.

Sounds like a fun night, though.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I agree with you, Ree, you should never take a child who is not mature enough and ready for a good scare to a haunted house, or to a horror movie. I think part of the problem is that children get into those things at wildly different ages, and personality plays a big part, but many parents don't pay attention. If one kid loves that kind of thing at six years, then all of them should, right?

My cousin Sonny loved scary movies by the time he was 6. He loved haunted houses and all that stuff, every year he dressed up as something ghoulish. His favorite movie growing up was Jaws.

My sister was totally different, one time she freaked out when my Mother was flipping through channels with her on her lap, and she flipped on to the Incredible Hulk (The 70's TV show. Now I've dated myself ). Sis started screaming and carrying on and Mom had to turn off the TV and calm her down. Scary stuff gave her nightmares all the way through her teens, so we kept it away from her.

[magiccat26]

As a parent to a small child I see this stupidity in other parents all.the.time.

I feel so sorry for the little ones. Kitten (my DD) is a daredevil when it comes to rollercoasters and those types of rides, but anything with ghosts or scary stuff is just too much for her...At our recent Disney trip, we payed close attention to which rides they did not recommend for children who scare easily and we steered clear. I personally LOVE the haunted mansion, however Kitten took one look and said, "No way!" So, we didn't ride it.



Come on people! Get a clue and pay attention to what your child can and cannot handle. Trust me, they will let you know and all YOU have to do to be a good parent is pay attention to the clues. You are NOT going to "toughen little Timmy up" by scaring him to death at the age of 3. What you will do is ruin his faith in you protecting him from stuff that scares him.

[XCashier]

Nitwits. Nothing makes me angrier than parents who ignore warnings about inappropriate entertainment for their kids.

Which is precisely why I don't let my son watch some of my movies, or even the most recent seasons of Doctor Who (he can watch the older ones, the ones where the monsters are obviously people in rubber costumes rather than very realistic-looking CGI creatures). I don't wish to give him nightmares or have to explain a million times that these are stories, they are not real, there are no Daleks or ghosts or monsters.

And I'm going to wait a while to take him to a Haunted House. I want to wait until he's able to distinguish real life from fantasy. I wish more parents did that.

[CaroPhoenix]

You know, I hate haunted houses and horror flicks (though I did watch The Wraith with Charlie Sheen and it was more cheese than horror).

So if I don't like haunted houses, how can I make my child go into one? Now, my husband loves them! One year we went to Busch Gardens in Virginia and he talked me into one haunted house - I stuck to him like glue and didn't look left or right - just straight ahead fighting off a panic attack. And he didn't understand it at all.


ETA: Yes, I know I'm a 35-year-old chicken, but I don't care.

[ArenaBoy]

On topic: Many years ago when I was an Arena child (5 or 6 years old) my parents took me to Disney World. Some friends of theirs suggested taking me into the Haunted Mansion (They had kids who were 8-10 years old). Big mistake for my parents, I was scared to pieces and for that alone I don't like going into haunted houses.

Recently I went on a date that involved a haunted house, date was asking me why I looked paranoid and stern through the whole thing.

[Crazeyal]

I got to scare Mic Foley when I played an undead miner in a haunted house.

[XCashier]

We went to the Enchanted Forest in Salem, OR last month. Nice place to visit, great for the kids. One of the attractions is a haunted house. I went in there...or tried to.

I did not realize how badly night-blind I am until I stepped inside and it was totally pitch-black. There were lights, but to me, it looked like a tiny little Christmas bulb here and there. I couldn't tell which way to go, and was afraid I'd walk into a wall or step wrongly and twist my ankle. I managed to find the entrance and walk back out, explained my problem and got a refund with no hassle.

Honestly, I think that revelation scared me more than any monster would have.

[Bloodsoul]

My sister was totally different, one time she freaked out when my Mother was flipping through channels with her on her lap, and she flipped on to the Incredible Hulk.

Bill Bixby? Scary? Never! Now, his Uncle Martin, on the other hand... >.>

Been awhile since I've been to a hau.. wait, I don't think I've been to a haunted house. Probably would scare me since I startle fairly easily... which only makes playing classic DOOM that much more fun. ^_^

[myswtghst]

I agree with a lot of what people have said here. I, for instance, was in love with anything scary from a very young age, due, in part, to my high reading level and love of Stephen King/RL Stine, etc. My cousin, however, almost broke my hand and almost peed herself, simultaneously, on the King Kong ride at Universal at a similar age. It's all about knowing your kid!

And by the by, I don't do well in haunted houses now, primarily because, if I'm jump-scared, thanks to my brother, my first response is to take as swing, and I don't want to harm a (mostly) innocent haunted house worker!

[Sonoma]

We went to the Enchanted Forest in Salem, OR last month. Nice place to visit, great for the kids. One of the attractions is a haunted house. I went in there...or tried to.

That's the one haunted house I refused to go to. I was just little, but I remember being on the verge of tears when our group was going to go. I wound up waiting outside with either Mom or Dad, while everyone else went through. The ironic thing is, I was always the daredevil, who would drag Mom on the 'wild' rides at any amusement park we went to.

I grew out of my fear of haunted houses though. The Active 20/30 club in town put on an annual Haunted Cave at the fairgrounds, and we would go 3-4 nights a year. Heck, the dorm I lived at in college was really haunted (trust me, I saw him), and I lived there 4 years. I did avoid the very scary sub-basement though. That place just gave me the willies.

I agree that the parents have to be responsible for determining what their kids are able to take. My folks knew the haunted house freaked me out, so I didn't have to go. When I was ready for them, it became 'go on ahead and scare yourself.'

[counterjockey]

I can definitely relate to your concern about traumatizing a kid. This isn't necessarily a new thing. Forty years ago "The Night of the Living Dead" came out, and Roger Ebert was scared not so much by the movie but by the theater full of little kids who'd gone to a Saturday Matinee showing...

"The Night of the Living Dead" by Roger Ebert.

Some kids handle being freaked out like that fairly well on their own, but kids whose families let them waltz right into it tend to need a little help sometimes. I could tell you about three quarters of a novel about the time that my uncles decided I should learn how to swim, but I'll save that for a therapist if I can ever afford one. (Twenty years later, I can't, I won't, and I'll never swim.)

Oh, and I'll have to let my sister know she wasn't the only one who was terrified of "The Incredible Hulk." All these years later you can still watch the color drain out of her at the mere sound of "Lou Ferrigno."

[scruff]

I did not realize how badly night-blind I am until I stepped inside and it was totally pitch-black.

As we get older, our eyes take in less light, something about the muscles getting less flexible. So you probably didn't use to be so night blind.
(My old boss, who works in the lighting industry, says that at 60 years old we take in about 20% of the light we take in at 20 years.)

[Fawn]

Its obvious to tell if a little kid doesn't like scary stuff. I don't understand why parents think that scaring the crap out of their kids is a good thing?

I used to watch horror films all the time when I was a kid. Apparently I loved them SO much. I don't remember anymore, but I've come to dislike most horror films as I got older. I never liked the haunted house thing. In Niagara falls theres a building dedicated to being a haunted house with scary wax figures and the whole deal. I was in my teens at the time, but I was scared as hell. I didn't want to go in, but my parents managed to get me to go in. I only made it half way through and then I took the exit out. I don't like wax museums either. Oddly enough I can go into the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. Go figure.