It's a Brooklyn Halloween!

Just because you don't have a big yard doesn't mean you can't decorate for Halloween. Check out this over-decorated yard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (Images via here and here)

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.

Gore N' More

If you're ever in the Davenport, FL area, be sure to check out Dave Gugel's amazing display. (It's really one of my favorites.) Not only does the outside of the house look great, but the inside is done up like a haunted house as well. In fact, on Halloween night, he opens up the gates to the inside so brave trick-or-treaters can walk through.

Yard haunt scale model

What a great idea! I should build one of these and keep it on display inside my house all year long so I wouldn't fall into my annual post-Halloween funk.

Random monster shot of the day

Castle Von Stuben

Here are some fun images from
"Castle Von Stuben". *For photos of his displays from previous years, click here.

Demon's Rest Cemetary

Here are some great images from the
"Demons Rest Cemetery".

Alien crash

Now here's a person who can think out of the box when designing a yard haunt!




(Click here to see a news report about the display.)

The house with the giant witch

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

Sarah Palin will eat you!

Since tomorrow is Election Day, I felt this was appropriate... Here's another Halloween display from my town. This guy puts up the same giant spiderweb each year, but he changes the arachnid's identity (and the assorted tombstones). This year, the spider is Sarah Palin, complete with Palin-esque glasses and hair, a hockey stick jutting through her 'do, and "Joe Sixpack" in her mouth. God bless America!

Great tree

I discovered this haunt while reading Pumpkinrot's blog. It's a perfect example of how a large yard isn't required to create a memorable display. And check out his amazing tree! He created it using 10 cans of Great Stuff foam and some aluminum window screening.

"Scariest" display in my town

Here's the house in my town that won the award for
"scariest display". They do a really nice job each year.

More yard haunt shots

Here are two more shots of my display.

"Oh these are the people in your neighborhood..."

It really seems like decorating for Halloween has become much more popular over the past few years. When I first started, there were only a handful of like minded yard haunters in my town. Today, that number has skyrocketed and a record number of homes are creating displays. Here's a nearby display that I've enjoyed. I believe they won the local "Most Dramatic" or "Most Creative" display award last year.

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.)

My neighbor's display

Here are a couple shots of my neighbor's display. Emanating from the dog house are ferocious barking sounds, bright red glowing eyes and the occasional movement of "Diablo's" heavy metal leash.

Grim Visions

Grim over at Grim Visions has posted some terrific new photos of his 2007 display. (Check out those gates!!) I can't wait to see what he's put together for 2008!

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.