Homeowners embrace Halloween with immersive displays

Ahoy, mateys.

You have one day left to set sail on a horrifyingly haunted pirate cruise, filled with pieces of eight and pieces of skeletal sailors, before the “53rd Street ‘Hood” ups anchor and closes its treasure chests as Halloween comes to a close.

It was a wild sail this year, said Beau Devlin, one of the homeowners in the Pettigrew Elementary neighborhood who have come together for seven years to create a monumental Halloween display.

“Originally, there was two of us, then a third, and now we’re up to six,” Devlin said.

This year’s pirates-themed display lights up at dusk and continues until dawn, but if you don’t want to wait, there’s plenty to see at the walk-by/drive-by display right now.

“It’s been noted that a lot of people drive by when they’re going to Pettigrew or walk by to see it during the day,” Nelson said. “In the daytime, it gives them a better opportunity to see the finer details. At night, it’s more the spookier side of it.”

The display’s first year, just two neighbors featured skeletons in what Devlin describes as a free-for-all. As it evolved, so did the decision to come up with definite themes. Since space to store items is growing scarce, past themes will begin recycling next year.

Preparing for the event offers neighborly camaraderie, Devlin said, and the chance to enjoy others’ creativity.

“It’s a huge bonding for us,” he said. “We’re all helping each other out with parts of the build. ‘Do you have glue I can borrow?’”

Devlin said he’s not a skilled carpenter, but he’s familiar enough with tools so he can create the scenes he envisions. This year, his yard contains one of two pirate ships, and he built three cannons out of cardboard, PVC pipes, a joint compound and Drylok paint. One cannon fires and then emits smoke. It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t, Devlin said. He takes pictures, though, as reference for future displays.

“Seven years from now, I might have a new idea,” he said. “Or I can utilize what I’ve got.”

The 53rd Street spooktacular off Wilson Avenue was one of 11 displays entered in the 2022 Lake Lorraine Haunted House Decorating Contest. The entries were judged, and the finalists, announced this weekend, are 5600 W. Paradise Place, first; 1012 N. Prairie Ave., second; and 5620 W. Hemlock Drive, third. Lake Lorraine is a mixed-use development that offers community events, shopping, housing, dining and offices.

First-place winners Bryan and Misti Nelson started decorating their dwelling in September to prepare for a Halloween display that allows people to walk through their yard. It includes both animatronic and static displays such as spooky tombstones and a witch’s broom. While he didn’t snag this year’s hot animatronic werewolf from Home Depot, Bryan Nelson has others from previous years, including a witch, the Grim Reaper and a skeleton horse.

The Nelsons started decorating for Halloween about 15 years ago, but in the past half-dozen years it really has taken off. They have two sheds and a room inside their home dedicated to storage of their Halloween decorations.

“It’s just one of those things,” Nelson said. “Hard-core people just go over the top. I love being outside and seeing what we can come up with. It’s so fun when people come by and tell you how much they love it.”

Entering Lake Lorraine’s decorating contest helps draw crowds, Nelson said.

“We’re pigeon-holed in a mobile home park, and it’s hard to find us unless you’re actually going into the park,” he said. “Now, the crowds are great. The last two nights, I’ve been trying to finish the back half of our inside yard, and it’s hard to get anything accomplished.”

Heather Hirschfield’s house on North Prairie Avenue took second place in this year’s decorating contest after capturing first last year with the theme “Spiders vs. Skeletons.” For this year’s theme, “Pirates,” she designed a boat and tentacles for a kraken, a legendary Scandinavian sea monster.

Her sister, Tiffany Hirschfield, helps her decorate the house she shares. Their father, Donald Hirschfield, also is called in to assist. This year’s unofficial assistant was Hirschfield’s 3-month-old son. The sisters also decorate for their mother and an aunt.

Halloween, no surprise, is her favorite holiday. When Hirschfield moved into her house a dozen years ago, she told her mother, “Now I get to decorate for Halloween.”

“Every year, I think maybe I won’t do it next year,” Hirschfield said. “And I’ve had people steal things. But I love to see the kids. Every year, we have specific people who bring their kids to the house just to see it on Halloween. We have a jumping spider we move every year, and kids look around and try and find where it is.”

On Saturday, the Hirschfield sisters, their mother, aunt and the baby drove to 20 other decorated houses to check out what others have done. With the pleasant weather experienced this October, more people have decorated, Hirschfield thinks.

It was a timely tour because Hirschfield already is thinking about Halloween 2023.

“People always ask, what are you going to do next year?” she said.

Other houses in Sioux Falls entered in the Lake Lorraine event include the following:

909 S. Churchill Ave.

9313 W. Dragonfly Drive

1908 S. Valley View Road

7409 W. 61st St.

5700 S. Holbrook Ave.

4100 S. Birchwood Ave.

7421 W. 53rd St.

Here are a few other haunted houses you might want to check out.

Grandma Lu’s Hallow, 913 W. 36th St., Sioux Falls. 6 to 10 p.m.

The creators behind Grandma Lu’s Hallow, a free interactive display, chose “Hollyweird” to mark its fifth anniversary. The family-sponsored drive-by event has incorporated 31 horror movies in its display. New this year is Mongo, a 15-foot ghoul. Grandma Lu’s Hallow involves live actors and offers the chance to take selfies in a glow-in-the-dark shed.

Steve Blumke and Lisa Esser home, 617 E. 20th St., Sioux Falls

Blumke has made everything on-site himself except the 12-foot-tall skeleton.

Dale and Betty Misterek haunted house, 5600 S. Chuck Drive, Sioux Falls, 5:30 to 8 or 8:30 p.m.

The Mistereks have turned their garage into a haunted house for children age 12 and younger for 23 years. This year’s theme is Halloween Castle. It is free, and candy will be distributed. Parents are invited to join their children in wearing costumes.