I have always liked Halloween, but several years ago I got the inspiration to decorate my yard from
neighbors a couple of cul-de-sacs over. They put up a great display, and I wanted one too.
I have always been interested in Halloween, but this is what really got me started.
They had graves, lots of
cobwebs, dead bodies, live witches, and a scene on their porch
which would vary from year. One year they had (or were planning to have )
their porch covered with plastic (black butcher paper, perhaps?), and when a person
approached the door, a guy with a butcher knife/cleaver would come running at them
from out of the shadows. Another year they had a person draped over the banister of
the stairway inside, which was visible from the doorway, and when a person approached
the door, the person (in this case, a woman with long hair) would jolt up screaming,
her face covered in blood.
Another time they were planning to chain their dobermans to trees
a few feet from the path, so they would lash out at the people and scare them
but do no harm. One year they used plenty of ketchup for the blood in one of the dead
bodies in their yard and a skunk (or was it a possum?) started eating the ketchup out of the chest cavity.
How's that for a special effect eh?
I started the yard decorating the first year I saw their display.
At first it consisted of a dummy stuffed with leaves.
The next year it was basically the same thing plus a few tombstones.
In the following years, it has really taken off...
Also,
For the last several months, I have been subscribed to the Halloween-L mailing list,
which is where I got the inspiration
for the grave popper.