SPOKANE, Wash. – As Halloween approaches, Spokane’s South Hill neighborhood offers a delightful treat for trick-or-treaters with some of the spookiest front yards around.
James Meeker, a resident at 24th & Ray, is one of the homeowners contributing to this eerie atmosphere.
“It’s fun just being part of a big community of people that just love Halloween,” said Meeker.
Meeker’s home was one of four stops made in the search for scary decorations and big candy.
The common theme among these homes is they all started at a much smaller scale. Meeker shared how it all began.
“We started with a few little small decorations,” said Meeker. “We started small.”
Over the years, their passion projects have turned into neighborhood icons. However, the cost of these elaborate displays is a different story.
“I don’t even want to estimate… we just get to go into debt every year, spend all summer paying it off and then go right back into debt… and that’s the cycle,” Meeker said.
Setting up these impressive displays requires careful coordination.
“It takes me a few phases. I start with a lot of the big animatronics first and then I kinda build each section of the yard afterwards,” said Meeker.
The community’s engagement with these haunting decorations is what keeps homeowners motivated.
“We had such fun response from the kids and from the public that we just continue to try and make it bigger and better every year,” Meeker said.
As Meeker and others decorate, they draw inspiration from their neighbors’ displays, fueling a friendly competition.
“And then as we started to decorate we got to see some of the people in the community and see their decorations, and then we just kept going bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Meeker.
For trick-or-treaters, the path to the most candy might also be the path to the most decorations.
