A 2020 Better Homes and Garden survey noted that nearly 50% of holiday decorators begin adorning their homes with Yuletide trinkets between the day after Thanksgiving and the first day of December. For those traditional vogue-setters, holiday decorating likely begins with a tree in a stand and a wreath on the door.
For other aficionados, decorating their favorite haunts begins early in October. That’s when the bats, bones and broomsticks cover lattice and lawn in anticipation of Oct. 31, when spooks of all variety come knocking at the door.
For 12 homes in Fort Atkinson, that knock came early, on Saturday, Oct. 23, as Fort Atkinson Online photographers, Kim and Ashley McDarison, accompanied by Brett Drew, also known as “The Grave Digger,” a hearse-driving and former longtime resident of Fort Atkinson now living in Deerfield, went in search of festooned homes, many of which had been recommended by members of the community through Facebook.
Our ghoul-hunting team was promised an array of decorated delights — from a yard full of heads to an alien invasion — and it was not disappointed. With Brett behind the wheel of his 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse, fully accessorized with a coffin in the back, the team set out to capture the spirit of the season, and then, serving as judges, selected the “Most Intriguing Halloween House” to receive a prize.
The team spent most of the afternoon, moving across the city from north to south, learning from the industrious hobgoblins, many of whom were still preparing their yards, about their particular compulsion.
Photos from the 12 houses our team visited follow.
Photos by Ashley McDarison unless otherwise indicated.
North side, House No. 1
Homeowner Josh Hertzfeldt was on hand Saturday to talk about his holiday decorations and his family’s enjoyment of Halloween.
“Halloween is just a favorite holiday,” he said.
He and his wife, Lisa, and their two children, ages 8 and 11, live in the home and have been decorating for Halloween for the last three years, he added.
Finding and making the yard full of decorations is a family hobby, Josh said, but he is the team member who ultimately places the various pieces on and around the house.
Josh said the family had some siding put on the house this year, and afterwards they were inspired to find more pieces to add to their Halloween collection. About 30% of the decorations in the yard this year are new, he said, adding that he made a special piece: two spooky pillars, which he debuted for Fort Atkinson Online on Saturday. The pieces will not appear again in the yard until Halloween, he said.
It takes a couple of weeks to place all the items in the family’s collection. Josh begins assembling his display during the first week of October, and places pieces throughout the month until Halloween. The family tries to add at least one new decoration to its collection each year, he said.
Typically, a lot of trick-or-treaters come to the neighborhood, he said, adding that it is not unusual for the block to receive between 300 and 700 visitors (Kim McDarison photo, above and first photo below).
North side, House No. 2
House No. 2 owner Dawn Anderson, pictured below, near this year’s newest decoration: a graveyard, said she and her family began decorating for Halloween about 27 years ago.
“Halloween is a special holiday,” she said, ranking it “right up there with Christmas.”
Describing her desire to decorate, she said: “Halloween and Christmas, I just love it. It’s fun to do.”
Dawn said she particularly enjoys Halloween because it brings an element of whimsey: “You can do what you want and be who you want,” she said.
Over the years, she has enlisted decorating help from her husband, Roy, and Kody Hoefs, the couple’s 16-year-old grandson, who also lives in Fort Atkinson.
The collection is a combination of things that the family has made and purchased, she said, adding that the graves in the front yard are new this year, but the headstones were already part of the collection.
A casket in the yard was made by a member of her extended family, she said, adding that friends and family members often bring her items to add to the Halloween display because they know how much she loves the holiday (Kim McDarison photo above and first photo below).
North side, House No. 3
House No. 3 owners Alan and Laura Stillman, pictured below, have lived in their Fort Atkinson home for six years. The couple said they began decorating their house and yard for Halloween about three years ago.
They were inspired, Alan said, by a neighbor across the street who purchased “a huge blowup” and began displaying it in their yard.
“We saw that, and we said, ‘now it’s on,’” Alan said. “I like to be competitive. To me, this is fun.”
The couple has been adding pieces to their collection annually which now covers both the front yard and a second yard to the side of their home.
“We go to Spirit Halloween once a week,” Laura said.
This year, the couple admitted, they expanded their collection by about 50%.
Describing her attraction to the holiday, Laura said: “I love it for the different decorations and costumes. I don’t care how old they (trick-or-treaters) are. If a teen shows up here, they get candy.”
Alan, too, noted his enthusiasm for the season and decorating.
“I drive a semi and I decorate my truck,” he said.
The couple said that while they do more decorating for Halloween, they enjoy decorating for Christmas, too.
Decorating is a hobby they can share with their 8-year-old grandson, Bernard, Laura said (Kim McDarison photos, above and first two photos below).
North side, House No. 4
House No. 4 owners Erin and David Drake said they both enjoy decorating for Halloween.
The family began decorating and collecting holiday pieces for display about 24 years ago, Erin said.
Most of the decorating is done by David, she added.
“When the kids were little we used to do a haunted house in the garage. He dressed up like a butcher,” Erin said.
The couple adds pieces each year. This year, a giant skeleton is new in the yard.
Also new this year are Frankenstein’s monster and a werewolf. About half of the collection is homemade, David said.
Erin said she likes Halloween even better than Christmas: “You don’t have to put up with family for Halloween,” she said.
She said the neighborhood works together to make Halloween special. One neighbor makes hotdogs, she noted, adding that traditionally, the neighborhood gets a lot of trick-or-treaters.
“We get about 1,000 kids every year,” Erin said. Last year, with COVID, she said, it might have been closer to about 700.
Taking COVID precautions, she said, last year, she and David placed candy in separate cups so visitors could safely help themselves (Kim McDarison photo above).
North side, House No. 5
“Alien Invasion,” and “Radiation, Keep Out,” signs warn the community about strange events at House No. 5. The creative “ET” theme is the brainchild of homeowner Crystal Bright.
On Saturday, Crystal was busy decorating her home’s interior in preparation of an adult Halloween party. She was expected about 25 guests, she said.
Several “spaceships” had already landed in her yard, made of discarded patio umbrellas onto which she had added some embellishments and spray painted the full structures silver.
A three-year resident of Fort Atkinson, she said she is originally from New Orleans, adding: “We are all eccentric.
“I like decorating — for every holiday,” she noted, adding that everything about Halloween appeals to her.
“It is one of my favorite holidays besides Christmas. I like the fun decorations and to dress up.”
This year, she said, an alien theme was “just what I decided to do.”
She landed on the concept last year and began collecting umbrellas to make it all happen shortly thereafter.
She does all of her own decorating work inside and out, she said, as she scrambled about, making last minute adjustments in anticipation of company.
She has been assembling the decorations in the yard, bit by bit, she said, over the last few weeks (Kim McDarison photo above and first photo below).
North side, House No. 6
At House No. 6, the home of Robert and Dixie Beaster, Robert admitted that Dixie, pictured below, was the creative spirit that had taken control of the yard.
“She has been doing it for a long time,” he said, although she took a break for COVID. About 90% of the Halloween collection is homemade, Robert said.
“I do the dishes and the housework and she does the creative part,” Robert said about the couple’s division of household activities.
Dixie said she began decorating at Halloween for the enjoyment of it.
“I like seeing the smiles on kids’ faces,” she said.
“It seems like more work the older I get,” she added.
While she takes time to decorate for both Halloween and Christmas, she said: “I like Halloween better, but Christmas is more work.”
Dixie said much of her collection is homemade. Gravestones are crafted from styrofoam insulation boards and she and her adult son, Dennis Drew, made the PVC-constructed fence together.
“It’s just fun,” she said (Kim McDarison photos, above and second photo below).
North side, House No. 7
“I have tons of bloody mannequin heads from beauty school, and spider webs,” Nicole Sommerfeldt wrote to Fort Atkinson Online in an email, and while she was not home when our team visited, she invited us to take a look around the yard.
We were not disappointed: mannequin heads appeared in myriad precarious situations, near headstones, where, one might imagine, the rest of their bodies might possibly reside.
Nicole noted that the display has a lighted component, making it particularly inviting at nighttime for Halloween spooks (Kim McDarison photo above).
South side, House No. 8
While situated in town, House No. 8, the home of Dick Schultz, is not easily visible from the street. One walks down a quiet, country-like and tree-lined driveway to arrive at the porch of a cottage-styled home where an enthusiastic visitor, or perhaps resident, greets guests.
Dick, a longtime Fort Atkinson resident and a Jefferson County Board supervisor, is known for his interest in area history. Who his holiday houseguest might be is a well-kept secret, since nothing about his, or her, attire gives them away.
The display is simple, but elegant, and uses the natural ambiance of the setting to make Halloween spooks feel right at home.
Dick was not home when Fort Atkinson Online stopped by, but he invited us to visit with his friend, who was a gracious host (Kim McDarison photo).
South side, House No. 9
The yard of House No. 9, at a south-side duplex, was another imaginative gathering spot for colorful specters.
The home was a suggested stop, and the family was not home. Armed with a zoom lens, we worked to include the imaginative efforts albeit from the street. Perhaps these skeletal folks were performers in life: many had sequins festively placed around their eye sockets, making us painfully aware that finding “the look” is hard when you don’t have flesh. This couple was not deterred, and represented their living friends well from their front yard seats (Kim McDarison photo above).
South side, House No. 10:
Halloween spooks were the only ones home at House. No. 10. The home had many decorations, some of which were not inflated. We later learned that the inflatable pieces were on a timer; we were sorry we’d missed them. From our street-side vantage point, we again depended on a zoom lens to present some of the imaginative display. (Kim McDarison above photo).
South side, House No. 11
At House No. 11, 21-year-old Nikita McAllister, pictured above, said she and her mom, Maria Arndt, were responsible for creating most of the family’s Halloween display this year.
Although they had a small space to decorate, they filled it with big ideas: the mother-daughter team used ordinary objects found at area retail and resale shops to fashion a cacophony of small displays.
Nikita said it was her mother’s idea to use dolls as mannequins.
The whole family enjoys decorating, Nikita added, which includes her parents and three younger siblings.
“It’s a great holiday to get scary with it and have fun. We love to have a great scare,” she said.
The display took about two days to make.
“We like DIY projects,” Nikita said. (Kim McDarison above photo.)
South side, House No. 12
Situated just outside the city limits on a county highway, House No. 12 typically gets a lot of attention on Halloween from passersby, homeowners and family members Roy, seated above; Cathy, pictured with a horse-drawn hearse, and Roman, pictured with a skull and hands, Hagemeister said.
Roy purchased the home some 15 years ago and began the Halloween decorating tradition. Cathy married Roy, joining the family five years ago.
When Roy met Cathy, he said, she was already into Halloween. “It was part of the attraction,” he noted.
With Cathy came a collection of “Boney Bunch” candles, she said, and Roy built a coffin as a display case for the collection. Today, the family’s living room sports a year-round Halloween theme.
Outside, this year, Cathy said, Roy built, at her request, a horse-pulled hearse. It holds a prominent place in the outside display.
Roman, 15, and a Fort Atkinson High School student, says he began taking an interest in the family hobby when he was in grade school.
“I just saw things he (dad) was building so I wanted to help,” Roman said.
Among items in the yard, he takes particular pride in a skull placed between two boney hands. The placement of the skull was his idea, he said. Before that, it was just two hands sticking out of the ground.
The display is a mix of homemade and store-bought pieces.
Roy said that while he has been adding to the collection annually, this year, he wanted to increase the collection, so he began buying things in January.
“People notice the display as they drive by,” Roy added. The home’s highway location brings lots of attention as people wave and even sometimes stop and take pictures, but, he said, the highway also makes it difficult for trick-or-treaters to stop. In fact, Roy said, over the course of the 15 years that he’s lived there, no trick-or-treaters have come.
The family likes to decorate for Christmas, too, they said, but admitted, even their Christmas display includes a few skulls. St. Patrick’s Day brings out the skeletons, too, Roy said.
While he loves all the holidays, he said, Halloween is special. “I mean who doesn’t like free candy?” he asked (Kim McDarison above photo and first two bottom photos).
Cathy Hagemeister shares her indoor candle display case which is a coffin made by her husband, Roy. (Kim McDarison photo.)
Fort Atkinson Online Halloween decoration contest judges longtime former Fort Atkinson resident now living in Deerfield and hearse owner Brett Drew, at left, and contracted photographer Ashley McDarison, prepare to begin visiting 12 homes, decorated for Halloween, as suggested by Fort Atkinson Online Facebook friends and readers. Brett brought the coffin along just in case our team, which also included Fort Atkinson Online reporter Kim McDarison, not pictured, came across any lost souls who might need a ride. As we visited the 12 houses, Ashley used a 200 mm. zoom lens to highlight the various features of the displays and Kim used a 55 mm. multipurpose lens to capture the full displays. Choosing a winner was much harder than we anticipated. The creativity and attention to detail put into all 12 Halloween displays was more than intriguing, but we only have one prize.
The title of “Most Intriguing Halloween House” goes to House No. 4. Congratulations Erin and David Drake.
A special thanks to Brett Drew, pictured at left and above, for his driving and navigating skills.
About our Judges:
Brett Drew: A man with a hearse, Drew acquired it after hunting for several years for the perfect Cadillac model, he said, adding that he was inspired by a neighbor in Fort Atkinson who had one when he was a kid. His hearse is a 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood model.
A fan of Halloween, Brett said, he also is an actor at Schuster’s Haunted Forest in Deerfield.
Calling himself the “The Grave Digger,” he has all the props, including a fully equipped coffin which travels in the back of the hearse. He’s even been known, on occasion, to nap inside it, he said.
Ashley McDarison: Born in October, Ashley has been attracted to all things Halloween since childhood. She enjoys watching horror movies and making scary Halloween video clips. She is also, it should be noted, afraid of spiders.
Kim McDarison: Kim is the editor/reporter with Fort Atkinson Online. She couldn’t resist the opportunity to travel about town in a hearse, and enjoys meeting the people of Fort Atkinson no matter the occasion.
Our prize:
Two tickets to a show or concert at the Greenhill Center of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.