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Halloween decorating gets even more elaborate
Sunday, October 22, 2000
MARISA AGHA
A haunting
collection of tombstones and cobwebs stands out amid the manicured lawns of a picturesque
Shoreview neighborhood just off Snail Lake.
A corpse-like figure of a butler, a twin of the menacing
caretaker from ``The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' greets visitors on the front porch. Two
weeks before Halloween, an army of neighborhood children plays among the pretend grave
sites, marked with sayings like ``Dead and Gone, but Not For Long.''
While some adults might find the scene a bit much, the
children know where they want to be on Halloween night.
``If we get a nice eerie night, the fog just covers the
house,'' said a jubilant Jean Collyard, owner and co-creator of the creepy setting.
Collyard and her husband, Don, cap off their horror masterpiece with a fog machine on All
Hallow's Eve.
The Shoreview couple represent what local merchants and
marketing experts believe is a growing number of people on the prowl for ghoulish wares to
adorn their normally fright-free suburban homes. Tombstones made of wood and fog machines
have replaced the plastic decor and pumpkins of old, says Lisa Durst, marketing manager
for The Paper Warehouse, headquartered in St. Louis Park.
She attributes the Halloween boom to adults who don't believe
the holiday is just for children.
``A lot of the popularity is due to the 30 to 40 year-olds
who grew up trick-or-treating and just don't want to give that up,'' Durst said.
Halloween is serious business, both for the celebrants and
the stores. Durst said Halloween sales now consistently are second only to Christmas.
People like Linda Kerner of Vadnais Heights fell under the
spell of Halloween decorating more than 20 years ago. Her yard boasts a graveyard, the
back of a witch crashing into a tree and a host of other scary creatures.
``It kind of started with a Halloween party,'' Kerner
explained. She now throws an annual neighborhood bonfire, with hot soup, marshmallows and
hot chocolate. ``It's just a fun time to get together with the neighbors. It's kind of a
last hurrah of the season.''
Gretchen Larson, a neighbor of the Collyards in Shoreview,
likes to create an autumn/Halloween scene complete with scarecrows, cornstalks, pumpkins
and mums that will welcome visitors.
``We both took the day off and he took me shopping,'' Larson
said of her husband. ``He gets into it as much as I do.''
Stores like Linder's Garden Center in St. Paul have broadened
their offerings over the years to accommodate the growing demand for fall/Halloween
merchandise.
``In the past years, we've seen more sales in the fall
stuff,'' said Heather Hawkins, general manager at Linder's.
While most agree that creating a Halloween paradise is hard
work and sometimes costly, the faces of entranced trick-or-treaters make it all
worthwhile.
``Every now and then, we're like, `It's too much work,'''
Jean Collyard said. ``But then October rolls around and we're like, `Let's get it out.' ''
Later, she offers a more personal insight on the annual
ritual. ``We never do anything in a small way,'' she said smiling. Now, she's just waiting for that raven and those black owls.
© 2000 PioneerPlanet / St.
Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press - All Rights Reserved
http://www.pioneerpress.com
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Every
year, Halloween enthusiasts anxiously await the retail
industry to begin their Halloween season and see who's
first to stock products for the spooky season. Many
stores begin stocking Halloween products as early as
July! |
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