Completely Over the Top Halloween Decorations

So, people are very into their Halloween around here.  There is a Christmas decoration contest, but not a Halloween one--I don't think--but people go at this with a passion.  More people decorate for Halloween than for any other holiday.

I am sure a lot of this is just too scary for little children.  I know my youngest was afraid to go in stores at this time of year, I mean, even grocery stores, because around any corner might be a grinning ghoul candy display or something.

I know that once when I was a teen and felt I was too old for trick-or-treat, I made a haunted house with some friends.  One of us had a sort of enclosed porch and when kids came up to trick-or-treat, we would lead them through our haunted house--you know--"touch these eyeballs" peeled grapes sort of stuff.  One feature was they had to crawl through a paper box tunnel full of cooked spaghetti noodles.  I played the dead lady who sprang out of a coffin and screamed.  Very fun, though the neighbors called to say enough was enough at about ten o'clock.  We spent weeks planning and putting it together.

I heard that the house in this last picture used to run a little haunted house on their porch too, though my boys were too young to go there at the time.  Supposedly it scared the pants off kids, but they loved it, of course.  Reminds me of the year someone dressed in a gorilla suit jumped out of the bushes and frightened my son.  My boy took action and started wacking the gorilla with his light saber.  Hahaha! Luckily I was there to intervene.

Some years this house has enormous Egyptian looking cats with glowing green eyes flanking each side of that big web.  This year was not the year for it though.
Still--a great house, isn't it?