"What was the worst experience you've had during Halloween?"
Pilfering others' treats was the meanest trick of them all.
Candy Thievery
"I was walking home with my friend when I was like 9 and a car of high school kids or around that age stole all our candy. Three hours of work, gone."
– Purple_Dorito
A Scary Confrontation
"Had a similar thing happen as a kid. I was probably about 5 or 6. Some older kids, one with a bat, approached me and my two older brothers while we were trick or treating. They threatened and then stole my two brothers bags. They let me keep mine. I shared my candy with them both when we got home. Very vivid memory."
– monola19
Sad Angel
"I was like 7 or 8 and dressed like an angel. parents took me to the science museum where they set up little houses for the kids to trick or treat in. I got soo much candy and was so proud of myself. But when we left, all my candy was gone. The little boy behind me had been taking scoops of my candy and putting it in his basket. I cried."
Justice Is Served
"Was trick-or-treating with 3 buddies freshman year of high school. We were joking about being a little old to do it but it was all in good fun."
"Some kids two years older were running around in skull masks doing rowdy teenager stuff and decided it would be a good idea to take my candy. They were much larger than us and had no trouble. One grabbed my bag and another one grabbed me and threw me down in the street. No serious injuries but I had skinned knees and palms."
"I was pissed. Filed a police report and the officers took it seriously. We got out the yearbook and identified three of them and they were picked up that night."
"They were charged with strong arms robbery (as juveniles) and got a ton of community service and had to pay for my mom's lost pillow case + candy + damaged clothing. I caught some flack for it at school from their girlfriends (they were ordered not to talk to me) but didn't really care because I felt like justice was served."
– CNC_Optics
The teen years can be brutal around Halloween.
The Friends' Lie
"My 'friends' telling me they weren't doing anything only to all hang out all evening while I stayed home alone. Teen years can suck."
"Edit: I must clarify this was like 15 years ago, thankfully I have some great friends now."
– Browntown_07
Being Ditched
"Lol my friends in 7th or 8th grade told me they were going trick-or-treating across town and the host parents' car didn't have room for me. And then they instead went to a party at my next-door neighbor's house. Like dude I can see you all arriving, what made you think your lie wasn't going to fall apart?"
"I just remembered that it happened again in college ahahaha a couple girls in my dorm wanted to go to a Halloween party that I was actually invited to and they weren't, but didn't want me to go with them. I didn't have a car and they didn't know where the party was, so they 'went to the grocery store first' and promised to come back to pick me up. What they actually did was go pick up someone who lived off-campus and knew where the party was and then went without me. I ended up just walking there and calling them out in front of everyone it was great."
– amyberr
These Gestures Are Offensive In Other Countries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
People explain the friendly gestures in one country that are offensive in another. It's imperative to do a little research about the destinations and culture...Cheers
"Teen years can absolutely suck."
"When we graduated highschool all my buds went to one guys house where his mom had bought them customized beer steins with their last names and sh*t."
"I came over later but it was still awkward lol."
Unexpectedly Solo
"I got ditched by people who I thought were my friends in high school while we were trick or treating/ being teenagers. I had to walk a mile and a half home by myself. Sucks man."
– added_chaos
At Least There's A Twist
"I was 14 and I went out with my group of friends and I was always the one left out. They dressed in girly costumes and I was a full on clown with big shoes. I walked with of of the girls moms the entire time because they were ahead and the big shoes slowed me down. They went into a haunted house and I was too scared so I waited outside and then I couldn't sleepover because I was really allergic to my friends cat."
"I did find a 20 dollar bull on the floor though."
– nikkiradtoo5
Getting Scolded
"I was 12 and a man yelled at me and told me I was too old to be out trick-or-treating. I felt so bad I gave all my candy to my little brother and just walked with him for next hour or so. When I got home my mom asked me why I didn't have any candy so I told her what happened."
"She asked me who said that to me and I told her which house. I don't know if she ever did anything about it. But since I've become an adult and bought my own home, I don't care if your 90 years old. You're getting candy. Halloween is for everyone."
– AcadianADV
These former trick or treaters weren't possessed by demons, but they expelled a heck of lotta yuck from their mouths on Halloween.
Gremlins In The Body
"Had the stomach flu one year on Halloween. I was a month shy of turning 11. My parents took my younger siblings out trick or treating and I was stuck alone in the house blowing chunks out of both ends."
– Safraninflare
A Bite From A Poison Apple?
"Yeah, I had a really bad stomach bug/food poisoning at Halloween when I was 18ish, when my friends were going to an awesome party at an empty mansion. Was so bummed."
– Yerwun
Filling Up The Bucket
"Getting so excited with all the candy I had and puking into the bucket of candy."
Too Much Of A Good Thing
"My mom was pretty strict with how much candy I was allowed to eat on Halloween. One year, after some annoying begging, I finally got my mom to say 'eat as much as you want.'"
"Heh, spent about an hour barfing up peanut butter cups and warheads."
– bathofknives
I didn't have the worst Halloween experience, per se but I remember as a ten-year-old I gave my mom the fright of her life.
Instead of a treat, I was given a trick from one of the houses in the neighborhood. And what a great trick it was.
The lady down the street gave me a plastic nail that had a curved indentation to allow for the illusion the nail was piercing through a finger.
The tip was painted the fakest tint of red for blood.
​When I got home, my mom wanted me to sort through all the candy to allocate some for later so I didn't gorge on them all at once.
In the process, I found the joke toy and faked it like I was in pain. When I showed her the nail, appearing to have gone through my index finger from her perspective, she freaked out.
That was until I started laughing, which immediately stopped when my face met the back of my mom's hand.
As far as who had the worst Halloween experience that night between me and my mother, it's a toss-up, because, ouch!
I'm not even sure I'm gonna go out this year. I have plans, I always have plans but my execution is a mess. When I do the costumes though, it's all out.
Yum
Hungry Music Video GIF by WeezerGiphy"Eating candy in the dark with the lights off, watching scary movies. - best costume."
THIS IS THE YEAR!!
"La Llorona. Finally! THIS IS THE YEAR. I've been wanting to do this costume for a number of years, and I finally have the time and means to put the costume I've always wanted together. Just for the record, this is not themed after the Llorona movie that came out a couple years ago. Rather, I'm putting my own spin on it and so far have the main components of the costume, just need to do some alterations, plan out the make up, and work on my ghostly wailing."
Pablo
"Last halloween i didn't dress up and i got stopped 3 times for people to compliment my Pablo Escobar costume. So I guess Pablo Escobar."
"My friend was so grotesque one year that multiple people stopped and complimented on how scary and unsettling his costume was. He wasn't wearing a costume though."
Hey June
"Handmade (started this b**ch in June!) 1883 Victorian dress in pale blue. I'll wear white-out contacts and powdered white make-up. Going for a ghostly look."
"Like those creepy Victorian photographs of people with their dead family members - think they were actually called 'death photographs' or something like that."
Yo Scoobs!!
Scooby Doo GIF by MOODMANGiphy"My kids have been adamant that we're going as Scooby Doo characters this year. They have yet to assign me a role."
- romafa
Well y'all seem ready to go. Sounds like Halloween is gonna be a bit LIT this year. I love Scooby-Doo. In my book that's the win so far.
Everybody was...
Martial Arts Ninja GIF by SZAGiphy"My son wants to be a ninja. my daughter wants to be a ninja. So we are going to be a ninja family!"
I LIVE for Willow!
"Vampire Willow. I'm trying to convince my twin to be Willow, but I don't think it's working."
"Omg, that is amazing! I'd love to do a Buffy themed Halloween but most of my friends haven't seen it. The younger crew haven't (although one is watching and loving it!) and my age are way past it. I still love it though! I don't think my close friends know how much I love it. I might not have the crazy knowledge base I have for the power rangers but its up there!"
- Zanki
Be Green
"I will be dressing as Jim Henson and Kermit, and I will be performing karaoke as drunk-and-entitled-TV-star-Kermit all night. I was thinking of doing Institutionalized, Walk on the Wild Side (with Muppet names instead of Candy, Holly etc) and then maybe an ending with particularly drunk and belligerent version of Bein' Green. I do Kermit voice karaoke of Rainbow Connection regularly, my Kermit voice kills. I plan to stay in character all night, saying inappropriate sh*t as Drunk Kermit then apologizing for it as slightly-more-sober Jim Henson."
Lots of Money
"I've spent an outrageous amount of money putting together a film accurate original trilogy stormtrooper costume this year, and it's probably going to be my Halloween costume for the rest of my life. Also, shout out to r/501st. I ordered an armor-only kit from a builder. It's made of vacu-formed glossy white ABS plastic, and is pretty complete."
"The kit cost about $800 and you have to trim to fit your body, and assemble and glue the halves together, cover strip the seams, etc. The kit did not include soft parts such as undersuit (I purchased underarmor compression shirt and leggings), belt (fitted to the size of the wearer), holster, neck seal (also fitted), and boots."
"The grand total, including accessories (fan kit) and construction materials like glues, paints, etc. was in the ballpark of $1200, and there are still things I'd like to add like a voice amplifier. I also have a 3D printed E-11 blaster kit I'm working on, but isn't finished yet that I'm not including in that total."
"Here's a pic of the completed armor."
- pdxb3
Alone Again
Macaulay Culkin Running GIF by Home AloneGiphy"Macaulay Culkin. As I'm home alone. Except I'm missing the part where I have a home. And family. And friends…"
Well those are all interesting. I plan to stay in and rewatch all the Halloween movies. I love Michael Myers. He's masked, which is safer. I'll be ready next year.
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Redditor thotthebot wanted to hear from the thespians who partake in creating spooks for the masses by asking:
"Haunted house workers, what is something that a guest had said or done that made you break character?"
"Oh, HELL No!"
I was an actor at a haunted house years ago. We had separate rooms connected by hallways for guests to walk through (like, there was a murder room, a haunted house room, a circus themed room, and a zombie room). I worked in the zombie room, and played a zombie.
be quiet the walking dead GIFGiphyThe room was made up to look like a living room of a house that had been broken into by zombies-- furniture toppled over, lamps laying on the floor, the door hanging off the hinges, a broken window, blood everywhere, and a half-eaten body lying on the floor. I was to be hunched over the dead body, pretending to munch on it when the guests walked in. And I'll say, our make-up crew was skilled. I looked like something from The Walking Dead.
Well, this dude walks into my zombie room, he sees me hunched over the dead body, and I did this creepy thing where I slowly look up at him and stare with my mouth hanging open. He goes "Oh, HELL No!" and stumbled backwards onto the couch, tried to scramble off the couch, only to trip over the lamp that was on the floor, and wound up falling facedown on the floor.
I have to admit, I broke character and laughed. I couldn't help it.
"well I guess we don't go"
One night this couple comes in with a 3-4 year old girl. She is throwing a huge fit, kicking, screaming, crying, the whole 9 yards, she doesn't wanna go in.
Now, a logical human being would see this and say, "well I guess we don't go" but not these two idiots. They keep trying to force little girl to go through the house, but she won't budge. This is causing a bit of a scene as well as backing up the line. Myself and one or two other monsters tell them "look, you gotta either get her to go in, or you gotta leave, you're holding up the line" but they are adamant that she has to go through and she is not having it.
Now were pissed off because, why the hell are you trying to make this small child go through when she is obviously terrified and scared out of her freaking mind? We realize something has to happen, so we seek out one of the girls from further down the house who was a witch we called Baba Yaga since she was the most human looking of us. We told her the situation and asked if shed help walk the girl through the house, and she agreed.
So we bring Baba to the little girl, and she goes into this cartoonish Russian accent "HellO leetle gorrl, I am Baba Yaga the gOod weetch! I am going to heyalp you scare all the mon-stors awaY!" She takes the little girls hand and off they go. We run off through the house spreading the word, "If you see Baba with a little girl, let the little girl scare you". Sure enough, whenever they got to where one of the monsters was hiding, the little girl would yell "BOO!" and whoever was there would lose their marbles. Screaming, running around in circles, falling all over the place.
Sometimes there'd be more than one monster and they'd run into each other like the Three Stooges, all to the delight of the little girl, who was now giggling and jumping up and down, clapping her little hands, it was adorable. The adults that were with her look annoyed, but f**k them, the rest of the group that got lumped in with them were having a great time as well watching this tiny child scare the mean ugly monsters away.
I've never seen an entire house break character like that, but it was fun to be a part of.
Falling Back!
So I was stationed in a small room just off to the side of a long hallway with a strobe light at the end. It made it hard for guests to see down towards me, but very easy for me to see them. So one evening a group of a five teens come through; four girls with one guy leading them.
Just as they enter the hall, the guy turns around to talk with them. Having just been handed a golden ticket here, I sneak up right behind this guy. The girls all go stone silent and when the dude realizes they're looking at something beyond him, he turns around and finds me standing within inches of his face.
I give out the most guttural scream I can, and in response, the guy LEAPS backwards and knocks down all four girls behind him like they were bowling pins, leaving them all a tangled pile on the floor.
I literally could not hold it together. I had to run off into a staff only area because I was laughing so hard and could not stop. Easily one of my favorite memories from that place.
".... That's.....awful."
As a haunted house customer...
My Type 1 diabetic girlfriend and I were waiting to enter and begin the actual house. This was after the line to get in and the holding area for parties to be able to go together. There was this big demon tree thing that had an actor actually talking to us.
wtf GIFGiphy"Tell me, mortals. What do you think your souls taste like?"
I looked to my girlfriend. Just a sheepish grin and a shrug. Then I chime in and respond
"Well, I don't know about me, but her soul would be pretty sweet because she has diabetes."
".... That's.....awful."
Still one of our favorite memories but that whole evening was just lovely and pleasant.
"is he real?"
Used to work in one years ago. I worked the crowd - but mainly by standing at the entrance in a coffin that was fitted with an undertaker. I walked in the undertaker's feet but my upper half was in the coffin. One night I was standing there. Bone still. I did my own makeup and frankly it was good. Made me look "fake".
I'm standing there completely silent and still. Some German woman; drunk (because you can smell the beer on her) goes "is he real?" Cue me to kick the back of the coffin as a jump scare. She then proceeds to back hand me across the face.
She did not get to go through the haunted house and was not refunded her money.
Hear Me!
I said "I'm gonna skin you b***h!"
She replied, "no you're the skinny b***h!"
I broke character and told her what I really said.
Maaan, I was there to scare not body shame.
The Reaper....
I (M) was playing a grim reaper statue that comes to life and lowers my (fake) scyth blade in front of guests from behind. This college age girl walks up to me and, convinced I was just a statue or a prop, grabs my parts to prove to her friends it was safe. I looked at her slowly and asked "So do you take me to dinner now or..." that was the best scream we got all night.
In the Hay...
Worked a haunted trail/hayride when I was younger. When we see someone clearly not into it we'd ask if they were okay and if not we had a codeword we'd pass down the line to let them just go through. Not sure if others worked like this though.
season 1 hay GIF by OutlanderGiphyNot Here!!
Not a worker, but as a customer, my sister and I once took a wrong turn in the haunted house. We were cornered by a dude in a hockey mask who was revving his chainsaw as he approached and we were screaming in terror...
Then he took his mask off and said in exasperation, "guys you're not supposed to be back here." Then he shooed us back into the main hallway. Lol
The Autopsy....
Not a worker, but I got to witness it. The worker was dressed as a crazy doctor.
season 1 GIF by Twin Peaks on ShowtimeGiphyWe enter the room, and the worker says "Are you ready for you autopsy?" in a really creepy voice. My friend responds "...Yes?" The worker's face just changed from menacing to complete confusion, then she dropped the act and asked "Do you know what an autopsy is?" My friend did not know, so we had to explain it to her.
stewie GIFThe Dead Bringer....
I'm going to dress up in my renaissance clothes and pull a wagon around the neighborhood shouting, "Bring out your dead!"
I've spent the last two weeks trying to gauge how inappropriately appropriate it would be to dress as a plague doctor this year.
I've run the idea by a few people I know, concerned that it might be a little insensitive. Some think it would be. But I'm afraid my love for the idea might overcome my sense of propriety.
Seeing Red
make up laugh GIF by maskworld.comGiphyGet some red contacts and go to work as if nothing's wrong.
Trick or Treat
Put treats in individual snack baggies on a table on my front lawn. I will replenish in between groups.
I am encouraging my neighbors to do this too. Baggies of candy on the lawn, lining the sidewalk. Homeowners 6 feet away at their homes/front doors.
Also, we will have a costume parade for the young kiddies at a set time, all groups staying 6 feet apart, just walking a set path in a circuit around the neighborhood.
Small Party
tom cruise vampires GIFGiphySame as every year, Virgin sacrifice followed by vampire orgy.
What is wrong with you? You cant possible ensure social distancing at an orgy.
Darkness....
Shutting off all the lights, ignoring the doorbell and watching a movie.
Same. I was considering giving out candy, but nah. It seems like most people aren't planning on taking their kids out anyway in my area.
Sounds like a typical Halloween to me!
Tradition.
jason voorhees horror GIFGiphyLike me n the boys always do: play horror games together on Discord. Gotta keep up the tradition, worldwide pandemic or not!
Who Knows....
Hopefully by being scary/weird for the poor kids on our street who have been cooped up for 6 months and deprived of a social life. I don't know if we're handing out candy because Covid, etc. but we're going to try to make it special for the little folk somehow.
Wholesome Moon
Trick Or Treat Party GIF by Fleischer StudiosGiphyThis is the first time in a long time that it'll actually be cool on Halloween in my area. Plus we're going to have a full moon.
So. Roasting marshmallows over a fire pit. A movie screen & projector setup outside in the edge of the woods, with a marathon of Paranormal Activity movies playing. Homemade hot cocoa kept warm in a crock pot.
My fiancee & I curled up under a blanket, snuggling while watching the movies.
Thinking Ahead
A guy decorated a length of PVC pipe and attached it to the handrails along his front steps, angled down toward the sidewalk. He can shoot candy down the tube and kids can put their buckets under the pipe and catch it, hands-free. I can't wait!
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