So back on 8th October (which seems a lifetime ago) I showed you pics of some of the front yard garden Halloween decor that had started appearing.
And I seem to remember saying that this was only the start as there were still 3 weeks to go until Halloween...well, I was right. The decorations are growing in number and size (it's like The Blob), and we've still a week to go:
I actually showed you this house the 1st time round, but that was before a graveyard and a skeleton pirate appeared out on their front lawn.
One thing I've started noticing, is what a bad spider problem Arizona has...
(They've actually rigged this so the garage doors can still move up and down - genius!)
And look, there's more over there:
If there's one piece of decor a house has...well it's a pumpkin. There are some houses that have made us giggle because the only thing they've got is a single pumpkin plonked in the middle of their lawn. We're not quite sure why they bothered, I mean there are plenty of house who don't seem to be decorating at all. I would say if you took our estate on average 1 out of 3 houses have Halloween decorations so far.
But if there's 2 bits of decor you have as a minimum, it's a pumpkin AND a bag of cottonwool-like spider's web:
This is the first one I've seen that had actually 'caught' creepy-crawlies in it - most of them were plastic scorpions. And I love the dedication to Halloween meaning that anyone using the front door has to duck or limbo dance their way in under the web.
At the front of the photo there you can also see they have spider coloured lights. Driving around at night, it feels like Christmas, so many houses have lights up (although most are orange lights, some are multicoloured too).
And remember what I was saying about the decorations basically being in 3 categories:
- Cute, kitsch
- Gothic horror
- Gorey screamfest
Well here's some examples - first cute, kitsch:
Yep, they do love their inflatables:
(The funniest thing was I took this photo about 2pm...but then wanted to drive the girls past it after school to show them, and in the meantime an additional HUGE inflatable of a headless horseman...on an inflatable black horse had appeared behind the Mummy haha).
Whereas in the UK around now there'll be tons of posters going up in windows telling trick or treaters to go away, here people are putting signs up in their gardens welcoming them:
I don't know if you can make that out very well, but the sign at the bottom right of the photo there mimics lots of the house selling open house ones you see go up every weekend here.
I suppose that last photo shows you a bit of what I mean about gothic horror. Here are some more:
and....
Can you see in the middle at the bottom there, a scarecrow? There's lots of this as well - Halloween decor alongside Harvest or Autumn decor. I wonder if it's to take the edge off the scary? Lots of houses have Autumnal wreaths on their doors....and skeletons sticking out of their lawns.
I thought this was an inspired use of house structure in the gothicky style:
Yes, one of the eyes is a bit droopy but I think that makes it scarier.
So we've done cute/kitsch and gothic horror. You know what's left don't you.....downright gorey scary:
No surprises that Goth Child likes these houses the best.
And there's something highly disturbing about an empty crib, a rocker chair that's been 'distressed', 'mutilated' body parts hanging up in plastic bags and lots of Police Crime Scene tape in a front garden:
Ah America! Haha, you never fail to amaze me.
And as I said - we've still got a week to go. Who knows what will appear over the weekend!
You might also be interested in these previous posts:
Halloween Watch pt 1 - stuff you can get in supermarkets and why I don't get Halloween being a Brit
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