I was, when I first saw it in a theater in 1988. Along with the delightfully loony opening music, getting tricked like that made it a fantastic opening to the film.
Help! Giant spider crawling on the house! Oh.
My people skills are fine. It's my tolerance of morons that needs work.
I first watched this on TV in the late 90s and was also fooled by the reveal that it was just a model of the town.
Trailer For My Second Feature
https://youtu.be/UXsIq-oPxXA
Well, the first portion of that sequence is actual scenery, but Burton pulls a fast one on the viewer and switches to the model when the shot changes. Watch it again and you'll see.
My people skills are fine. It's my tolerance of morons that needs work.