Butler County homes decorated in the spooky spirit
Children who enter under the stone arch and make their way past a sharp-toothed scarecrow, a skeleton on a swing, a floating witch and other spooky characters at 1214 Oakridge Drive are rewarded for their bravery.
Trick-or-treaters can follow the fog to the Davis residence, which is so popular for its Halloween décor that even the neighbors have to stock up on candy for visitors, many of whom come from other neighborhoods to brave the scene.
Terry Davis, owner of the Butler Township house, has been decorating it for Halloween for 27 years, all to the apprehensive joy of the children who see the decorations.
“The first couple years, after trick or treat, I used to have a pizza party for all the trick-or-treaters,” Davis said. “I do it for the kids, the kids love it.”
Davis’ dedication to bringing joy to children with his Halloween decorations is a sentiment shared by other homeowners in the area who also appreciate the holiday.
Leanne Feil, of Butler Township, even raises money for children’s medical research with her Halloween décor, through St. Jude’s Skeletons for Hope program. She said she started providing a QR code in her yard last year, after amassing a collection of 12-foot tall skeletons and other decorations.
“It just adds some meaning to it,” Feil said of the Skeletons for Hope program. “We raised about $250 this year; I’m hoping to raise about $600 again.”
Rachel Quinn’s home on Heist Road in Summit Township resembles a workshop, with textiles, bones, Styrofoam and plastic décor partly assembled for her yard. The exterior is where all those creations come together when finished — her yard filled with homemade skeletons, cobwebs, ghouls and more.
According to Quinn, crafting Halloween décor is her creative outlet, and she works on materials throughout the summer and fall so she can eventually fill her yard with scares. A lot of her decorations are “upcycled,” often made from items people are trying to get rid of.
“There’s a lot going on in my head at once,” Quinn said. “There is a Facebook page, I get a lot of stuff from there; some things are from the flea market ... Dollar General.”
A ghoul is made from Styrofoam and duct tape in the center of Quinn’s yard, and she has a few signs made from bed frames. She also placed a doll on a tricycle and put a mask on her, calling her “Krumpus,” which looked so realistic in the dark that Quinn’s mom thought a child was in the driveway.
Darla Gabriel, who lives next door to the Davises, said she always knows when autumn begins because she sees a U-Haul parked on the street.
Davis said he keeps all of his décor in a storage unit, because there is too much to fit in his home or garage.
“It takes me probably like four full days,” Davis said. “I rent a U-Haul every year to bring it here, put it all up — then I bring the U-Haul back and pick it up and take it back to storage.”
Feil said her family keeps the decorations in the garage, which itself creates a spooky image.
“It’s kind of spooky, too, because the (skeletons’) torsos hang on bike racks in the garage and the rest get shoved in Christmas tree bags,” Feil said.
The Feils’ front yard is guarded by several 12-foot tall skeletons, one dressed as Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” as well as many other props from the movie, lit by Halloween yard lights. One 12-foot tall skeleton has been dressed by Feil with a women’s nightgown, size 3XL.
Feil said it takes about 50 hours for her, her husband and their four children to set up their yard for Halloween. They also start a little earlier than most other people, but Feil said no one seems to mind, and people start coming by their house as soon as the décor goes up.
“We get a lot of kids who want to come by to look,” Feil said. “I love other people enjoying it too.”
Ellen Tedesco, of Cashmere Court in Cranberry Township, has been decorating her house for years with the help of her sister, Susan Cipcic, even after several moves around the area. The pair always work together to create a scene outside Tedesco’s house, which is where Cipcic’s Master’s Degree in sculpture helps.
“The theme this year is a zombie wedding, so Ellen would come up with the scenario and I would do the fine-tuning,” Cipcic said. “I have two zombies as the bride and groom, and a bunch of small zombies carrying her train. They’re just a bunch of thrift store dolls that I altered, so they are pretty creepy.”
Tedesco said Cipcic lives in Atlanta, so she, herself, sets up the Halloween scene before the arrival of her sister, who then makes it all come to life.
“I do all the lighting, I do the building up the bodies, but mostly it's getting these things to stand up,” Tedesco said. “What she comes up with is amazing.”
Davis said in addition to the props he gets from Halloween stores — usually after Oct. 31, when stores have items on clearance racks — some of them he built himself. A fence that surrounds his yard is made of PVC pipe and wood, and a swing holding a skeleton is PVC pipe disguised by hay.
Gabriel said even after living next to Davis for several decades, she is increasingly impressed by the décor.
“I have never seen anything so great,” Gabriel said. “It gets better and better every year.”
On Halloween, Davis turns on his fog machines, gets into costume and opens his garage, where the treats for trick-or-treaters are. But first, they have to make it past his costumed-self.
“Some of the things are on a remote, I carry the remote with me and I have some things on timers already,” Davis said. “I walk around on the driveway here, they have to pass me.”
The treats children get from Davis’ garage are not the typical candy bars seen at most houses on Halloween, because he normally gives out items like glow sticks or other small toys.
The neighbors also see the effects of Davis’ popularity.
“We have to buy for at least 300 kids,” Gabriel said.
Quinn said she gets few to no trick-or-treaters at her home, so the décor outside is mostly just for her own enjoyment and expression.
“I love horror movies — it’s just a passion for Halloween,” she said. “My house is decorated all year round — gothic, skulls, skeletons, creepy stuff”
Tedesco and Cipcic said they love seeing children make their way through Tedesco’s yard on Halloween, and in previous years, the ones who made it all the way to the door earned a big prize.
“We had a maze one year and the brave kids who made it through, they would get the big candy bars,” Cipcic said. “The little kids, they still got candy, but they got the fun size.”
Feil said she shouts out the Skeletons for Hope fundraiser on Halloween, which helps to raise more money for St. Jude. She also said the decorations attract a lot of children.
“A lot of kids want to come by; some kids want to come every day,” Feil said.
Over the years, children who were previously too scared to approach Davis’ house have grown braver with age, an accomplishment he likes to reward. However, some are still too scared by the transformed suburban yard, even after seeing it year after year.
“There is one boy, he won’t come to my house,” Davis said. “He is much older now, but he still won’t come. I must have scared him so bad.”
