TheGate

The humble story of my li’l ol’ yard haunt...

Since I bought my house in 2003, I’ve begun to live out my life-long dream... to be the crazy guy on the street who goes all out on Halloween. You remember, when you’d be walking to school three weeks before Halloween and noticing something big was beginning to occur at that one house at the end of the street... the one you anticipated going to see.

In 2003, I simply carved pumpkins and handed out candy. Nothing terrific, but Siggy and I erected four simple tombstones that she designed and painted. We didn’t get much in the way of trick or treaters. Our neighbors told me that there had been less and less each year.

I was determined to reverse this trend, so in 2004 I took our four handmade tombstones and began building around them.

The concept here is that it’s obviously MEANT to look scary but isn’t scary enough to really frighten anyone... it’s as much nostalgia for adults as it is fun for kids.

No one gets hurt and everyone gets a treat!

Why We Haunt.

Back in the good ol' days it was me, Dad, a thermos of dad's coffee, and my bag of candy. Trick-Or-Treating was our opportunity to see all of our neighbors and friends. As I walked the street, Dad stood at the gate with other fathers drinking coffee and telling us to " go.. go.. ".

Sadly, the days when your neighbors were your friends are starting to fade. How many of us can say we know our neighbors names? These days, Mom and Dad both work and commute. When the long day is done, and the family is finally together, nobody has time or the energy to be a truly good neighbor. 'Trick-or-Treating' has turned from a 'walk around the neighborhood visiting friends', to 'getting candy before bedtime'.

It is our time to step in. We haunters give our passion and love to the forgotten art of being a good neighbor. Come to our house Halloween night. Meet your neighbors. Make new friends. Send your kids to the door for candy, and hang out with the adults sipping my coffee. Take your time, because in that brief moment of magic you are the hero and the protector to your lil'un. As they timidly walk up to the spooky house and look back for your reassurance, you truly get to say, "it's okay, you're safe.. go.. go..".

I found this short essay on the site mentioned above.

It perfectly summarizes what I am trying to do with my yard.