At Home Halloween 2026

Some fun stuff here.

Christmas Yet To Come

The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One. He advanced towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape.

“Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said Scrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?”

Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.

“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!”

Roadside Reaper

Saw this perfect home haunt on a Sunday drive.  The tombstones looked absolutely real.  The statue had a perfect pose (and was sprayed with fake webs).  And there were leaves spread around deliberately, something that you rarely see out there in the wild on people's lawns.  Such an easy element to enhance any haunt, regardless of the theme.

An added bonus was a black goblin cat roaming the property.

Gothic Hills

Courtesy of westcoaster.net.

More images here.

Suburban Horror Show

Man, this photo really captures the oddity that is home haunting...  A small dark wonderful world surrounded by a big world of boring life stuff.

Image by Mike Procario.

City Reaper

A 16-year-old boy worked on his grandfather's horse farm. One morning he drove a pickup truck into town on an errand. While he was walking along the main street, he saw Death. Death beckoned to him.
The boy drove back to the farm as fast as he could and told his grandfather what had happened. "Give me the truck," he begged. "I'll go to the city. He'll never find me there."
His grand father gave him the truck, and the boy sped away. After he left, his grandfather went into town looking for Death. When he found him, he asked, "Why did you frighten my grandson that way? He is only 16. He is too young to die."
"I am sorry about that," said Death. "I did not mean to beckon to him. But I was surprised to see him here. You see, I have an appointment with him this afternoon - in the city."

Image by cameraupoint.

Bleak

Reaper

An old (true) story that inspired a prop...

Giving out candy on Halloween night for as long as I've been doing it has made me something of an observer.  I get to study how adults and children act when approaching my Haunt. If they're the type to pause and appreciate everything, or the sort that rushes up and away without hesitation and without looking back. There are the people that kneel down and study props, tapping lightly at the mache.  And the ones that get brushed with threads hanging down from the porch or trellis like thin spider webs and scream and run off before getting candy.  There are parents that get frustrated with their children who clearly are too terrified to walk onto the porch for candy.  And parents who love to sit back and watch their children slowly approaching the Haunt, with huge proud smiles.

Back when I gave out candy at my parents' house in the old neighborhood, I saw children grow up - going from trick-or-treater to parent.  That was the most peculiar feeling.  I'd see a young man carrying his own child, and I remembered when he was too scared to come up for candy. Crazy.

Then there was something else - Death.  There was a cloaked figure that walked slowly around the neighborhood.  A black hooded cloak, the deluxe variety, and a rubber skull mask.  I'm assuming it was an adult male based on the height and build.  I'm not exaggerating or embellishing in any way - I saw him every single year and had seen him for as far back as I could remember.  I don't know if it was the same guy or maybe a few guys over the years.  But there was always just the one lonely figure, keeping to himself and not stopping at houses for candy.  He was in character too, with a strange slow walk, like a one-man funeral procession.

It's a neat concept, an adult who never gave up on Halloween.  Keeps a cloak and a mask in a drawer or closet all year long. On Halloween night, he leaves work early, has dinner, puts a bowl of candy out on the porch with a "Help Yourself" sign, and then dons a rich dark cloak and an old, tattered latex mask, the kind that smells like new sneakers.  I bet he was smiling under there the whole time.

Or maybe it really was Death.

Graveyard Ghouls

Images by adamkissick.

An Unholy Place 2024

Todd's Yard Haunt in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

Always a dark treat.

South Park Horror House

More images here.

Their IG here.

Grimm's Hollow

More images here.

Death's Grip

The rate of preventable injury-related deaths occurring in or around the home has increased 253% since 1999. This rapid increase has erased the progress made over many decades. Between 1928 and 1990, the death rate decreased 65%, from 25 per 100,000 population in 1928 to 8.6 in 1990. In the last 10 years, the death rate has increased 86% while the number of deaths increased 96%. This increase in deaths is largely driven by increases in unintentional poisonings and falls.

Image source.

Text source.