Covid isn’t stopping these Halloween obsessives going all-out with spooky home decor
If 2020 hasn’t been haunting enough already, Halloween obsessives across America have gone all out to transform their homes with jaw-dropping decorations for this year’s spooky season.
Coronavirus may have changed how we live our lives but it hasn’t stopped these Halloween fanatics spending hundreds of dollars to transform their properties from suburban family homes to stunning haunted houses.
From grave yards to giant spiders and ghost ships to monster houses, horror fans from across the country seem to have made the most of social distancing restrictions by spending their spare time to come up with some eye-popping home decorations.
Unlike a lot of celebrations and festivals that have been canceled altogether because of covid, Halloween festivities like trick or treating have not been completely canceled by coronavirus in most of the US.
Instead guidelines have been issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for how families can celebrate Halloween safely. Many states however have strongly advised against door-to-door trick or treating over the weekend due to fears it could contribute to the further spread of coronavirus.
But if you and your little monsters are still planning on venturing out head-to-toe in costumes then the CDC is urging children and adults to wear a mask (unless exempt) and have said hosts should set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take to avoid human contact.
Trick or treaters should also stay at least six feet away from other people and if possible, avoid going from door-to-door and instead people should walk from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.
Other advice, which can be seen in full on the CDC website, also includes handing treats out outdoors only and santizing your hands before and after handling treats.
People who do decided to do a walking tour of their neighborhood’s best-dressed Halloween houses are in for a treat in many parts of the US and Canada. Especially if you live close to 65-year-old Peter Goodhand’s house in Markham, Ontario. He has spent around $5,000 to transform his house into a stunning replica of a ghost ship.
Peter, who moved to Canada from England in 1988, said that on previous Halloween nights and he has a crew of eight pirates handing out candy to passing trick or treaters onboard the ‘ship’. Covid has stopped that practice this year, although Peter has decorated his home anyway, and hopes visitors will enjoy its spooky new look.
Impressive, right? Well how about this incredible house in Santa Cruz, California, which seems to have been overrun by a giant spider.
The amazing replica spider, which appears to be almost half the size of the house it seems to have occupied, even moves across the web design that covers the front yard.
The owner of this next house, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has stuck with the high level of creativity set elsewhere to turn her bungalow into an angry-looking ‘monster house’. Morgan MacKinnon posted her masterpiece online which includes a grave yard out front and impressive artistry to create realistic looking eyes and mouth for her home.
As this year’s Halloween arrives just three days before the US presidential election on November 3, some Halloween fans have used of the most controversial political issues – Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic – as inspiration for their home decorations.
One of the standout coronavirus-inspired designs shows a skeleton dressed as Donald Trump, standing in the middle of a grave yard and holding a bottle of bleach up to its mouth. The mock-up of the President pokes fun at when, in April this year, he suggested people should inject themselves with disinfectant to beat coronavirus.
From Tennessee to Indiana and New York to Illinois, Halloween fanatics across the country have refused to be put off by Covid when it comes to how they plan to celebrate during Halloween.
Many people seem to be going bigger and better than ever before, too, with some designs requiring weeks if not months of planning for them to be put into action.
Over the last three years Americans have spent an average of $9 billion on Halloween essentials and decorations. The spending peak of $9.1 billion came in 2017, a total almost matched in 2020 despite the disruptive coronavirus pandemic still posing a real threat across the country.
So far Americans have spent $8 billion on Halloween this year according to Statista.
To view the CDC’s advice and guidelines on the dos and don’ts this Halloween click here.