Fall frolics
Woman creates Halloween spectacle
By BOB McCLURE
| Article published on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 |
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| Sally Cloutier and two of her sons, George, left and Paul Ringo, sit in a Halloween coffin in the front yard of their North Redington Beach home at 17316 Kennedy Drive. |
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NORTH REDINGTON BEACH – When Sally Cloutier was a young girl, she couldn’t wait for Halloween to arrive.
Now, some three decades later, the same thrill is still there for Cloutier, her husband John and their three small children.
Now, instead of dreaming about all the candy the night before Halloween, she and her family decorate their home at 17316 Kennedy Drive much like other families do for Christmas.
Both inside and outside, the spirit of Halloween thrives at the Cloutier home.
Outside, there’s a replica wooden coffin located not far from a creative graveyard, an inflatable ghoul on a motorcycle, a ring of ghosts, a line of five skulls that light up the driveway, a Halloween merry-go-round and much more.
Inside, Cloutier has more decorations valued at thousands of dollars.
A glass display case showcases a number of high-quality vintage, glass and gourd Halloween pieces. Further into the home is a collection of miniature Halloween houses with miniature Halloween decorations inside and a miniature Halloween Village with an impressive collection of Munsters slot cars, among many other artifacts.
That’s just the beginning of a decorating process that Cloutier has been doing for about three years.
Many of the items stay up year-round.
“It’s Halloween year-round at our house,” said Cloutier, a former flight attendant. “Some people are into Christmas. I’m into Halloween.”
Cloutier started collecting Halloween decorations 10 years ago when she and her husband lived in Evanston, Ill.
Over the years she has picked up additional items online by attending Halloween gift shows in Sanford, Michigan and California.
While most people have Christmas trees, Cloutier owns a spooky Halloween tree that is decorated with Halloween items much in the same manner as a Christmas tree would be. Due to space considerations, the tree is not up this year but will be in the future, she promises.
In addition, Cloutier makes Halloween jewelry and dollhouse miniatures that she sells on eBay.
Her sons John, 6; Paul Ringo, 3; and George 2; all help with the decorating process, which takes about two days to complete.
“They fight about who’s going to turn on the lights (outside) each night,” said Cloutier. “They just have a ball running around. When they’re adults I’m sure they’ll have fond memories of Halloween too.”
Cloutier said the decorations will remain up through Thanksgiving before she transforms her home into a Christmas showcase.
“This is great because you kind of get to be a kid again,” she said.
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Article published on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009
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