We were inspected by the state of PA yesterday.
It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I am still a bit irritated that I don't charge and 99% of people that go through are from a 3-4 block radius of me. The boyscout haunt that does charge didn't get hit and it's 5 blocks down the road. I can understand that a prohaunt should be registered, and it concerns me that a little guy - which is really what I am despite the fact that I know a bit about web design which makes me look bigger than I am - is being required to do this. I liked John Humburger after I met him, but I think he still had the impression that I ask for donations. I do have a PayPal button on my site this year and list items I would like to have donated - mainly because my neighbors asked for a list and without it I end up getting everyone's garbage. And I use it somehow. People have always tried to hand me money haunt nights and I have always turned them down cause I never wanted to end up like someone like Kim of Kim' Krypt in Baltimore and have the authorities breathing down my neck. I have never accepted cash or received not one thin dime from the PayPal donation button.

Now that I am registered I am faced with having to get the local fire marshals invovled. I will have to adhere to all the regulations that a prohaunt does. I will have to remove all the fire hazards, use fire retardents, maybe rewire my whole house and put in a 100amp service like Altoona requires of all new construction and rentals now. In order to continue I will have to either chuck this money out my own pocket on top of the thousands I already have spent over the years while pitching everything that won't meet code or start charging people to make up the difference. Or quit and spend my mney visiting all the pro haunts that I'd love to see. ;-)

Just to make it clear - I have never had not one injury in the 6 or so years we've been doing this. At no time is a visitor to our haunt ever more than 5 feet away from a haunt actor. We have fire extiguishers and smoke alarms, but still use the dreaded black plastic. Nor have I had one complaint from any neighbor for the ruckus I cause on haunt nights. They love me, and I'm not sure if I can go pro and bring more patrons and cause more of a ruckus to make a profit here and still have them love me.

My concern over these inspections is for the fate of the little guy like me. Will a home haunter now have to hide in shadows - no web sites, no flyers, no signs and by invite only haunts? Where does this stop? I am a home haunt which is now most likely going to face it's death just like I originally posted. And who will be next? Everyone I suspect in Pennsylvania I suppose. And where does it stop? Will we one day have to register our Christmas light display? Sounds silly now, but then so did a state inspector registering me as a haunted attraction like Hundre Acres or Castle Blood. I would have laughed a few years ago at being put in the same category as them. And what will happen when all the haunted garages and home haunts are forced to have fire marshall inspections - where will Halloween go? Litterally before my family started doing this our block was dark on trick-or-treat night and many of our elderly neighbors left for the night in fear of someone breaking in - yes it happened to more than one little old lady on our street. Usually teenagers acting like idiots. Now I can honestly say I see more decorating and porch lights handing out candy than ever before. Our block is alive with activity and we get to meet our neighbors. It is safer in our neighborhood now than 10 years ago cause we all know each other and watch out for each other. There is no michief here and I don't want to sound arrogant but I really believe we restarted this here. So what will happen to other neighborhoods all across the state and country if goofs like me have to either go pro, fork out cash to or quit.