I'm the first to say keep the littles home, but at that age, it does vary tremendously. We met the coolest 10 year old a couple of years ago - he was so into it - was confidently rating all the houses by the quality of "jump scares" to let us know which to hit first. lol. He sounded like a pro.
Some kids do seem to do just fine, at least initially…then the nightmares kick in nwahahaha. JK however…
Agree, it’s never a good idea to generalize, especially when it comes to kids. All are different mini-me’s
even though it’s been tamed down in recent years, HHN can still be quite intense. It’s a decidedly mature crowd, having adult fun that can be ‘salty’.
YMMV, my experience:
My Kids all embraced the horror genre early. Had eagerly experienced the local haunts and seemed to be good candidates. However, I’ve always been of the mind there is some entertainment that should be specifically for adults, if not older tweens/teens.
I insisted a no-go to HHN until youngest had hit 11. I said the same thing to my GD, still haven’t taken her along despite her pleading…soon m pretty lol
also, made it very clear ahead of time that, if anyone freaked, out of the park they would go with the parent that lost the rock-paper-scissors on that one.
at times, it’s a bit cringey to read the posts from those who ask if their kids ‘can do HHN‘. My thot, if you have to ask, you already have the answer In hand. Good intentions do often pave the way to an unfortunate experience.