Ashland neighbors go all out for Halloween with spine-chilling decor
By Kyle Schmidt
A 12-foot skeleton is just the start of what a pair of neighbors on Ashland Avenue have in store for trick-or-treaters Halloween night.
Brenda LaFollette and Meaghan Walker share a passion for going all out for the holiday. The two live in neighboring homes that are easy to spot at the north end of the popular trick-or-treating street.
“We just keep seem to be building our collection for the yard out here,” LaFollette said. “We just started decorating on the outside too since we realized how many people love to trick-or-treat on Ashland too.”
LaFollette has set up indoor decorations for more than 35 years and now has shifted to celebrating the holiday externally. She and her husband Eric say the setup for their outdoor decor takes about eight to 10 hours.
“We just have so many excited kids that come throughout the month of October,” she said. “I just love the kids’ reaction. They’re always so happy and excited for Halloween.”
The decorations outside of their house consist of light-up spiders, pumpkins, black cats, three 12-foot skeletons, a headless horseman and plenty more. As for the inside, LaFollette has a Halloween village and worked on something special this year.
“I happened to see on Facebook Marketplace a haunted doll house for sale and it was $1,000,” LaFollette said. “I thought I could do that myself with way less money and just put my own time in it.”
Working every day while dealing with a family hardship, she was able to turn an old doll house into a haunted one. Some of the items in the house she even sourced from another country.
Her neighbors the Walkers have a yard full of decorations as well. The 12-foot skeleton at their home has a special meaning.
“The first thing we ever got was the skeleton and we have a (skeleton) golden retriever and we are by the Parkway,” Walker said. “My husband and the golden retriever run it every day so it is their kind of dynamic but in skeleton form.”
Her yard has two other skeletons on horses to resemble “The Haunted Pony Express” as well as gravestones, a witch and a spider.
Since moving to the area in 2019, the yard has slowly filled up.
“I’ve made some of the headstones over the year, those are kind of fun to me,” Walker said. “I do love the Pony Express. Our neighbors made the saddles for them.”
The two yards in not in competition, more they complement each other. And the dual effort gives each neighbor something to look forward to each year.
“It’s kind of fun to see what she’s added for the year, what I’ve added,” Walker said.
With a baby on the way, the Walker family will take down decorations when they can. The LaFollettes make a quick transition.
“We start right away because the next day is Christmas,” LaFollette said. “When we bring it down, we bring Christmas back up.”
