This was something my dad used to do when I was a kid. Next year when the kids will remember the person in the scarecrow, it will actually be stuffed, and I'll be hiding somewhere else!
View from a little further away, my husband was hiding behind the screen door controlling a spider that dropped from above ๐
[Image description: nighttime view of the front door of a house decorated for Halloween. A scarecrow sits on the porch with a large spider hanging above. In the foreground is a dark hooded mannequin, with swirling fog.]
Not as immersive but we have this little sound activated animatronic monster adjacent to the door, which typically goes off while they're yelling trick-or-treat. One little girl ran off screaming this year. One girl tried to make friends with the monster, attempting to shake its hand...
Hah! I love how different the reactions are. Some kids seem to have no sense of fear, while I've had others straight nope out. This year I had a mom grab her kid under the arms to drag him screaming towards me (but don't worry, heard him giggling back down the driveway with a "that was scary!"), and another one shouted "now you die!" (using his flashlight as pistol) after I startled him. ๐
If you see my set up from a previous year in my other comment, one of my favorite reactions was a trio of teenage girls where one saw me approach and let out a "FUCK THAT!" and ran, with her friends on her heels. Left me standing there holding the bowl with a faint "wait come back, I've got candy..."