As the sun goes down for the day, Kaitlyn Peeters, senior, looks out at her front yard and admires her work. For Halloween every year, Peeters and her dad set up animatronics and decorations in her yard and around her house.
Peeters said the decorations create scenes that range from clowns and graveyards to a gory hospital scene in the front room of their house.
“All my neighbors thought I’d be scared of [Halloween], but then they’d see me in my creepy Halloween costume and be like ‘yep, she belongs there’,” Peeters said.
Growing up Peeter’s love for Halloween grew every year. Now she goes to annual Halloween conventions, spending up to $15,000 dollars on hand-made decorations.
Not only does Peeters decorate her yard, but her family throws a Halloween party at their house every year, inviting friends, family and neighbors to celebrate the holiday. This year, around 50 people will come to Peeter’s house on Nov. 1.
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Three skeletons are dressed up and placed around a fake fire on Kaitlyn Peeters, senior’s, front yard.
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A pirate scene is set up on Peeters’ front porch. This Section of her house features dressed up skeletons, a pirate ship and a treasure chest.
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A gory hospital scene is displayed in the front room of Peeters’ house. This is the first room people see when they enter their house, and what people see through the window when walking by, Peeters said.
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Peeters’ dining room is decorated for Halloween, with skulls, a maid skeleton and orange lighting. Above the table, their light is decorated with a fake plant and Halloween ornaments that Peeters and her dad had bought while attending TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show in St. Louis.
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Looking in through her living room window, a figure of Jason Voorhees from the movie Friday the 13th stands in her backyard. Peeters said that this decoration is a newer addition to her Halloween set up.
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Dave Peeters starts up the spinning baby swing animatronic he created. This machine is located in Peeters’ garage alongside clown decorations.
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A fake cemetery as well as a tall scarecrow is set up in Peeters backyard. Peeters said that it normally takes her and her dad around two weeks to set up all the decorations, and they’ll leave them up for a couple months after Halloween ends.
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In the front of Peeters house, two skeletons are positioned besides a sign. Peeters said Halloween is her favorite holiday because it allows her to be creative.
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“The air just feels cool because everyone’s super excited to be there,” Peeters said.
Seeing her Halloween party grow bigger and people appreciating her hard work is one of Peeter’s favorite parts about Halloween.
“It lets me be creative with things I can’t talk to other people about because my family mostly understands it,” Peeters said.
Similar to Peeters, Tristan Cook, sophomore, throws a Halloween party every year.
Starting when Cook was 10 years old, his parents started hosting a barbecue, inviting people to come over and spend time together before the neighborhood goes trick-or-treating.
“It’s just cozy,” Cook said. “It’s really comforting having all the people I like near me.”
While Cook enjoys having a barbecue every year for Halloween, he said he enjoys being able to dress up and express himself through his costumes even more.
Last year Cook dressed up as Mario and added fake blood to his costume, and this year he plans to be an anime character.
“Halloween’s the one day that you’re truly you, and you can be whatever you want,” Cook said.
Every year, the MHS library is decorated for Halloween and hosts events like pumpkin decorating, a horror book club, and the Libro club throws a Halloween party for their club, Brittany Sharitz, librarian, said.
“This time of year doesn’t always feel like fall yet, when it’s 80, 90 degrees, so at least having the decorations around you, or reading material you get to dive into, it feels like you still get to enjoy fall,” Sharitz said.
Whether people dress up and decorate or not, Sharitz said her favorite part of Halloween is the playfulness of the holiday.
“It gives everyone the opportunity to embrace their inner child,” Sharitz said. “It’s great for us all to feel a little light hearted every now and then.”