UPDATE: What Should I Do About The Witch

Back in May, on the verge of moving to a new home, I asked you for some advice. Specifically, "What should I do about the witch?" Well, 4 months later I'm please to announce that the witch made the journey with me. I'm still not sure how I'll display her in the new yard, but I'm sure inspiration will strike eventually. Hoist her onto the roof with a crane? Surround her with black fabric as though she's melting into the ground? We'll see...

Moving my monsters

It took a 17-foot-long U-Haul and more hours than I care to admit, but I was finally able to get all of my outdoor Halloween decorations safely to the new house. My new neighbors have no idea what they're in for.

My son loves Halloween too

He's got his mother's eyes.

The early years

I was flipping through a photo album the other day and discovered these old images of my yard haunt. The first was taken back in 2003, the year my display made its debut. The second was taken in 2004. As you can see, that was the year I built my fence and uncovered my coffin. Since then, the display has grown considerably larger and my photography has become considerably better (thank you digital SLR cameras). I wonder how much more sophisticated it will all look in 2015.

Haunt Style's yard haunt - 2009

Haunt Style's haunt

Here's a preview of the shots from my 2009 yard haunt. More photos will be going up in the coming days.

But while I've got your attention, help me out. I can't decide which version I like better. What do you think? Version A (on top) or Version B (on bottom)?

Look, I'm famous!

And by "famous" I mean "of the dozen or so people who read this obscure NJ-based website, I feel certain that at least one of them took the time to read the article about my Halloween display."

(Read it for yourself here.)

The old man who watches over my Halloween display

I love this head. I bought it from Ghost Ride Productions this year and couldn't be happier! You know how things you buy online or from catalogs never look quite as good in person? This head actually looked better! On Halloween, I had trick-or-treaters standing in front of him for 5 minutes at a stretch, marvelling at his ability to remain completely still and refrain from blinking.

The house with the giant witch

Pasted together from 5 or 6 different images, here's a panoramic photo of my entire display.

More yard haunt shots

Here are two more shots of my display.

Only 364 days to go!

Halloween was a tremendous success! We won our town's contest for "Most Dramatic" display and as a result saw a boost in the number of trick-or-treaters making their way to our door. I estimate that we served over 500 kids! A good time was had by all. (With the possible exception of the children who left our yard in tears after the "animatronic" zombie lunged at them, or the Frankenstein monster suddenly started to violently shake.)

It's just around the corner...

Here's another shot of this year's display. Notice the silhouette of the person hanging in the window? That's a real corpse. Seriously. We dig up a fresh body each year and hang him in the dining room. It gets a little stinky, but I think it's worth it for that added bit of realism.

Haunted butcher shop

Here's a shot of the butcher shop I created for this year's display. The body parts mark the first time that I've allowed any "blood" into the display. I figured it wasn't gratuitous or overly gory. (It is a butcher shop after all. There has to be some meat on display.) I picked up the bar at an after Halloween sale at the Spirit store two years ago. (It wasn't even for sale. Just a display piece that they were planning on throwing away but gave to me instead.) Pair that with the "Chop Shop" sign that I picked up at Party City this year, a pair of fake candles I made myself, a vintage meat grinder and an old scale and voila!... instant spooky butcher shop!

My 2008 display

Here's the first official photo of my Halloween 2008 display. I hope to have more up soon.

My display was damaged tonight

There was a huge storm in my area tonight and this gorgeous "stone" column was badly damaged. Why is it that high winds only kick up on my block during the 3 weeks that my front yard is filled w/ carved foam? Now I have to spend much of the day tomorrow making repairs. Plus, the lights in one of my giant witch's eyes went out today. It would be easy enough to fix if she wasn't perched on top of my roof. Not sure how I'll fix that one.

My yard

Another old image of my display. I hope to take some new shots this weekend.

My display in 2006

Not the best photo in the world, but it should give you a good idea of what my display looked like in 2006.

My display

I spend so much time shooting my yard haunt from the front that I rarely think to show what it looks like from the back. Here's a rare "behind the scenes" glimpse at my display.

What a witch!

That's right. I'm the lunatic with the giant witch on his roof. As promised, here are all the gorey details... I discovered the witch in Media, PA. She was created as an advertising piece for the local theatre company's production of "The Wizard Of Oz". They told me I could have her for $100 as long as I "got her off of the marquee before Saturday." Otherwise, she was headed for the dumpster. With the help of some strong friends and a 20 foot UHaul I was able to get her back to NJ. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take her lower half (which was approx. 20 feet tall!), but the torso is more than big enough for me. I like to say that we used to have a two car garage, but now we have a one witch, one car garage. The torso is approx. 12 feet tall with an 11 foot armspan. She weighs about 300 pounds, so each year I have to hire a crane to lift her into place. She is tethered to the house at four points. In the yard, I poured two steel-reinforced concrete columns (hidden in the bushes) so I could attach her to the ground with a pair of aircraft cables. I've watched her during 50 mile an hour winds and she doesn't move an inch!

Welcome foolish mortals

Welcome to my blog! As a Halloween enthusiast, I'm always on the lookout for inspiring images of yard haunts and links to high-quality props.

Unfortunately, most Halloween-themed websites become a virtual dumpingground for anything and everything haunt-related. They force you to dig through hundreds of poorly photographed displays and cheaply constructed props just to find that one diamond in the rough.

This is site promises to be different.

I have no desire to publish links to every Halloween-themed site on the world-wide web. I will only publish images that I find personally arresting, how to's that I find inspiring, and links to sites that are worth your time.

You're a busy person. You deserve the best. Let me sort through all of the junk for you.