BILL GAITHER/The Register-MailMany of Steven Duerre’s yard decorations at 821 S. Whitesboro St. have lights pointing upward, giving an eerie effect as the night hours creep in.
They do the Monster Mash
Home decorating for Halloween becoming frightfully popular
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Friday, October 27, 2006
GALESBURG - It's a graveyard smash.Steven Duerre does the Mash in his yard every Halloween. His front yard at 821 S. Whitesboro St. is decorated in a tribute to all the classic horror monsters - Dracula, the Grim Reaper, werewolves, mummies, witches and assorted other freaky characters.
Duerre has been inventing new ways to spook his neighborhood for about 20 years.
"I add a little every year," he said. "It scares some of the little kids, though."
Duerre has crafted life-sized characters out of a wood frame, chicken wire, padding, scraps of cloth and rubber masks. A furry brown werewolf lurks just behind the maple tree; an eerie mummy stands guard on the south side of the yard; a vampire - named Count Ghoulula - rises from a handmade coffin among a couple dozen tombstones; a witch stirs something in her black cauldron as steam rises out of it. A creepy fortune teller with a lighted crystal ball is seated at a table next to the driveway.
Duerre, who works for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, has invested more ingenuity than money in his handmade decorations, he said. He has devised several of his own "special effects," using dry ice inside the witch's pot, and small motors to raise and lower witch Agnes' arm as she stirs her pot. He also used a motor to raise the vampire to a sitting position in the coffin and one to help the devil on the porch wave a pitchfork at visitors. Spotlights illuminate each character, and on Halloween, spooky music will drift out onto the lawn from speakers near the porch.
"The kids seem to like it," Duerre said. "They look at this and that and enjoy seeing what kind of costumes the characters have.
"I always liked all the classic horror characters, the old-fashioned ones."
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Count Ghoulula sits half out of his coffin, keeping an eye on his dormant neighbors Tuesday evening at 821 S. Whitesboro St. |
On the other end of the spectrum, more cheery than scary, is the home of Dave and Donna Dickerson, 514 Lawrence Ave.
The Dickersons have compiled a happy assemblage of inflatable characters and a bright display of orange and red icicle lights that make a big impact in their small front yard. They decorate for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and July 4.
"I don't like anything scary," Donna said. "We like to make people happy. It's just fun. I can't help it.
"We get a lot of comments from people."
A large inflated purple and black spider crouches in the center of the yard, a moving ghost floats up and down on the porch and a life-sized dancing Frankenstein beckons to visitors on Halloween night. Two animated child-sized figures stand by the door, using motion detection to sing, talk and bob around.
Donna professes a weakness for the animated and inflatable items she buys on sale after each season.
"I love shopping for those things," she said. "When they're on sale I can't help myself; I buy more.
"It started out small, but now my friends just egg me on. They tell me about something new they think I should get."
Dave had to install a larger fuse box a couple years ago because the many decorations started causing fuses to blow. Donna says though the extra use of electricity inflates their monthly bill, they'll continue to decorate unless it becomes too expensive.
