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When did you start attending non kid-friendly haunts/mazes?

Feb 22, 2018
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SoCal
I've been trying to get my two older kids (8 & 10) to attend either HHN or Knott's Scary Farm with me. Neither ever wanted to try TWD Attraction, even though I'd ask them every time we're near it. They've seen the decorations during the day and never seemed to be too scared of it, no matter how graphic they were. In fact, I've pointed out where scare actors might hide from you and then on subsequent visits, they'll try to hide behind those barriers and scare each other or me or my wife. As much as they'd like to watch any video clips on our phones or iPads, they won't even watch a video of a maze.

I don't peruse the horror threads much here, but I've noticed that some younger posters do go with their parents.

While I'd never force them to participate in something they're not comfortable with, I'm curious to know how old (or young) you were when you attended your first 13+ Halloween haunt or maze. I didn't start until high school, but I know some elementary kids do attend with their parents.

Also, what was your experience like? Were you traumatized for life? I know these non kid-friendly haunts/mazes are intended for those 13 and over, but that's a general warning and is subject to how comfortable a younger kid may feel. I'm just really looking forward to sharing the experience with my older kids soon.
 
I been to one back when I used to live in Hawthorne at age 4 or 5.

Wow! That sounds kinda young. My youngest is 5 and I don't think he's ready for a non family-friendly haunt. I'm not judging parents who take their kids that young, but I just don't feel my kids are that ready so young. Was this HHN or KSF or some other independent haunt?
 
I believe the first maze I ever went into, a local haunt with the gimmick of "REAL LIVE CRITTERS" (rats, snakes, spiders, etc), was when I was in 4th grade (9 years oldish). I then went to KSF maybe 2 years later. I didn't do any walkthrough mazes because the lines were horrendous, but we did do the Calico Mine Ride maze (I believe the theme was Army of the Underworld). After that, I was obsessed and the next year I went twice. Once on a field trip but all my friends were chicken, so we didn't do any mazes other than the log ride maze (Red Moon Massacre). And on my next visit, I did all the mazes because it was November and after Halloween when the place was empty.
 
Wow! That sounds kinda young. My youngest is 5 and I don't think he's ready for a non family-friendly haunt. I'm not judging parents who take their kids that young, but I just don't feel my kids are that ready so young. Was this HHN or KSF or some other independent haunt?
Homemade haunted house.
 
Bumping this thread after hearing @Michael S started going at 6. After all these years, I still can't' convince my kids to go to HHN or KSF. They're now 9, 12 and 14.

I've taken them to some home haunts/mazes to try to get them warmed up and they still won't go. I had to bribe them to watch Saw and Scary Movie.

How old were you when you started attending real haunts and what finally convinced you to get over your fears?
 
Also, what was your experience like? Were you traumatized for life? I know these non kid-friendly haunts/mazes are intended for those 13 and over, but that's a general warning and is subject to how comfortable a younger kid may feel. I'm just really looking forward to sharing the experience with my older kids soon.
my first haunt was scary farm in 2006 (I was 14) and I was very scared and compensated by drinking a lot of energy drinks. not sleeping all night didn't deter me from going to my first horror nights (hollywood) in 2007 — and while I was still very scared, I've been every year since.

I can't recall when I switched from being actively anxious before the event to "this is a fun thing I do" but it was probably in my late teens? I think admitting to myself that I was scared and allowing that to be a fun thing rather than an intimidating thing was what eventually did it.
 
I was 20 years old

I only got into Horror things like a year or two before this and even after liking Saw, just didn't see how it could be fun to go in these mazes

Then my friend's finally got me to go into House of Horrors.....and I had a blast and made sure we were at HHN in 2009.
 
My first haunt was HHN 24. I was 13
Michael Myers Dancing GIF
 
Bumping this thread after hearing @Michael S started going at 6. After all these years, I still can't' convince my kids to go to HHN or KSF. They're now 9, 12 and 14.

I've taken them to some home haunts/mazes to try to get them warmed up and they still won't go. I had to bribe them to watch Saw and Scary Movie.

How old were you when you started attending real haunts and what finally convinced you to get over your fears?
I was really young, like 11 or 12 around 2003. But it was Sixflags, which I think is a great place to test the waters with young ones as you can still enjoy the park for free with a season pass. SFDK only had like 1 scarezone & 2 haunted houses at the time too. I would be horrified sometimes standing in line but we would go with friends so you feel kind of pressured to do it when most of your friends are.
 
I was really young, like 11 or 12 around 2003. But it was Sixflags, which I think is a great place to test the waters with young ones as you can still enjoy the park for free with a season pass. SFDK only had like 1 scarezone & 2 haunted houses at the time too. I would be horrified sometimes standing in line but we would go with friends so you feel kind of pressured to do it when most of your friends are.
Second this for sure! I remember being very young and going to our local fire station's annual Halloween party, where they would have a magician, costume contest, and a small haunted house put on inside their bunk area. I was PETRIFIED of the idea of it, and just couldn't get brave enough to go through.

Six Flags on the other hand, was kind of a place of comfort and familiarity for me. My family would vacation and stay at the onsite campground at least once a summer (Darien Lake), and so I knew that park like the back of my hand. When the changeover for Fright Fest happened, it was just the right level of scary in the daytime where I could get acclimated to the props without any actors, and yet the familiarity with the park allowed me to relax a little bit. The daytime activities had that extra layer of familiar because it truly felt like a small town Halloween festival, which I was also very acquainted with (my home town had a really nice costume parade and Halloween culture about it). The small "SpookBarn" at the local pumpkin patch and more family friendly hayrides in my area featuring live actors also helped me feel a little more at ease once I was able to just plow through.

I think my first true "big boy haunt" was probably at the State Fair in some little pop up thing that came one year, but in a similar vein to Six Flags, I had an intimate knowledge of the fairgrounds and so it was easier for me to muster up the courage. Fright Fest followed soon after, as did a plethora of local haunts and hayrides. For me there was also a level of fascination with turning the familiar on its head, and more than a little curiosity/wanting to get bragging rights on the school bus, haha.
 
My daughter has been attending haunts since she was 2 weeks old (October baby) and really enjoys them now as a going on five year old. Thus far she has attended Scary Farm, HHN Orlando, LA’s Haunted Hayride, and the now defunct Sinister Valley multiple years.

Now, your kids are admittedly out of that age range and the 12 and 14 year old would definitely be more of targets.

To be fair, we have friends who are actors in various roles at Disney/Universal/Knott’s, so she has gotten used to the idea of it just being acting.

As well, she doesn’t go into the houses yet, but just plays in the scare zones. She has become something of a known entity around Knott’s in particular and on slower nights, the actors actually use her as a distraction.

Even at HHN, she brings her stuffed dog and when we go multiple nights, the actors recognize her and wave or play.

Honestly, we have had good experiences bringing her to haunts.

I would definitely buy noise canceling headphones, though, as those chainsaws are loud and some of the actors will bring them close (happened at Hayride).

My advice, I guess, is just make sure the kids know it’s pretend, and bring them. Maybe pick a slower night to try to ease them in, as the actors are usually VERY interactive if it’s slow.

If you pick Scary Farm, Gore-ing 20’s is a nice, brightly lit zone that would be a good first step.

Of course, we have a new spring baby that we are bringing for the first time this year, so we will see how he handles things…

Edit: I also feel like this topic might get more responses in a non-Horror Nights specific area. I would have answered this YEARS ago if I had seen it elsewhere, but I personally don’t look much in the General Horror Nights tabs. Then again, I don’t really know where would be better…so yeah…
 
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My daughter has been attending haunts since she was 2 weeks old (October baby) and really enjoys them now as a going on five year old. Thus far she has attended Scary Farm, HHN Orlando, LA’s Haunted Hayride, and the now defunct Sinister Valley multiple years.

Now, your kids are admittedly out of that age range and the 12 and 14 year old would definitely be more of targets.

To be fair, we have friends who are actors in various roles at Disney/Universal/Knott’s, so she has gotten used to the idea of it just being acting.

As well, she doesn’t go into the houses yet, but just plays in the scare zones. She has become something of a known entity around Knott’s in particular and on slower nights, the actors actually use her as a distraction.

Even at HHN, she brings her stuffed dog and when we go multiple nights, the actors recognize her and wave or play.

Honestly, we have had good experiences bringing her to haunts.

I would definitely buy noise canceling headphones, though, as those chainsaws are loud and some of the actors will bring them close (happened at Hayride).

My advice, I guess, is just make sure the kids know it’s pretend, and bring them. Maybe pick a slower night to try to ease them in, as the actors are usually VERY interactive if it’s slow.

If you pick Scary Farm, Gore-ing 20’s is a nice, brightly lit zone that would be a good first step.

Of course, we have a new spring baby that we are bringing for the first time this year, so we will see how he handles things…

Edit: I also feel like this topic might get more responses in a non-Horror Nights specific area. I would have answered this YEARS ago if I had seen it elsewhere, but I personally don’t look much in the General Horror Nights tabs. Then again, I don’t really know where would be better…so yeah…
The thing is I can't even get them to agree to go to the events at all. Told them about the No-Boo necklaces and they still don't want to go. They won't go the Stranger Things lights-on tour. They'll watch POV walkthrough videos of mazes.

I've tried home haunts/mazes. They'll only observe it from the street. They won't go through the actual mazes. Some of them have sliders and they can somewhat tolerate them but that's about it.

They do know that it's all pretend and that all the monsters are just regular people in makeup and costumes getting paid to do their jobs.

I asked my oldest if he would go if it's with a bunch of his friends and he said no. His friend that has a USH pass doesn't want to go to HHN.

Oh well. I have several more weeks to try to get at least my oldest to go. We'll see how that goes.
 
My friends aren't super into horror. They tolerated Fright Fest for me for a few years in high school (16 - 18 y/o), and I was able to beg them to go to Eastern State Penitentiary twice for my birthday - once during college, and once after. But I've been going to HHN solo since 2018, save one time when my mom was at Uni on a business trip and was THIS CLOSE to going in a house :lmao:
 
When I was 5, our cousins made a home-made Halloween haunt, I was lazy and on a stroller I stole the seat from my sister so my Tia pushed me into the Haunt, and right at the end of that hall was a clown sitting on it, lifeless. The 1978 Halloween Theme playing building up and slowly I approached it. Before I could prepare I was stopped right in front of it and he moved to look straight at me trying to hand me candy and I was scared shitless, I ran out crying and pretty much hated Halloween for a good 6 years, wasn't till I was 12 when I finally did HHN in 2015, now I like to build Halloween Haunts and am pretty much-studying stagecraft, lighting, and sound design, you can guess where that is trying to go lol
 
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I was probably 12, I had been in a lot of home haunts when I was younger, I was still scared to actually go through one tho till then lol
 
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