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Eerie Halloween

October 26, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

Halloween is one of the best nights in my neighborhood.  Front yards become cemeteries, porches are haunted, witches fly through canopied live oaks on invisible wires. Fog drifts above the streets while Tubular Bells plays in the distance. Iโ€™ve seen grown men run down the sidewalk screamingโ€ฆ
One hundred year old houses with old porches and towering trees make for a perfect Halloween neighborhood, but we don’t stop on the outside. Inside we channel The Addams Family. I’m thinking a Haunted Halloween Home Tour would be a big hit…
Things around the house, already used, tarnished, rusty, and broken, appear realistically eerie in dim lighting. I stop polishing silver after Easter, which gives platters and pitchers the perfect patina for Halloween. Throw in some dead flowers, fried from the long hot summer, add a few gnarly sticks, and you have a haunting arrangement for the dining room table. (Ok full disclosure…. I only polish silver at Easter and Christmas.)
Mismatched, unused or oddly colored candlesticks, spray painted flat black, make Pottery Barn-like decorations. 
An old doll head is bizarre in the china hutch. 
A haphazardly arranged stack of mystery and sic-fi books on the mantle sets the tone.
In the fall as I walk the dogs, I begin dumpster diving, dragging home things for Halloween. Last year I found a mannequin on the side of the street. I carried her home, gave her a coat of paint, and she became an instant hit. The Schnauzers barked at her until November.
 talya
Musical Pairing:
Tubular Bells, Exorcist

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Halloween

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Comments

  1. Kristi Erickson says

    October 26, 2012 at 4:37 am

    Halloween is my favorite! And that doll head is spooky – not as bad as a ventriloquist dummy, but close!

    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 26, 2012 at 5:04 pm

      ventriloquist dummy is very midget-like.

  2. Danni Baird @ Silo Hill Farm says

    October 26, 2012 at 6:11 am

    How fun! Halloween is my favorite! I’m so glad you are going to be guest posting in our Inspiration Cafe! I’ve posted your button on my blog. Thank you!

    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 26, 2012 at 5:03 pm

      Thank you! I’m glad I found Inspiration Cafe. And thanks for posting my button. Only took me 2 days to figure out how to make it – lol.

  3. Kaa says

    October 26, 2012 at 7:58 am

    If you really want to freak people out, rig that doll head up to just blink once in a while. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 26, 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Doll heads are freaky enough as is. Besides, I don’t know how to do that…

  4. Sherry says

    October 26, 2012 at 8:40 am

    I love the painted mannequin idea! Now if only I can find a free mannequin. Thanks for sharing your tips for cooking with wine with us on Inspiration Cafe…we are happy to have you!

    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 26, 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Thank you! My neighbor, who abandoned the mannequin in her trash, didn’t even recognize it at our Halloween party :)) (I think she may have wanted her back…)

  5. gina knuppenburg says

    October 26, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Love this! I used to treasure hunt through other’s trash for Halloween props, too.

  6. pittypatter says

    October 27, 2012 at 7:25 am

    Here at Dairy Hollow, I’ve added decorations on the porch of my suite; as well as to the mantel and the microwave. You’ll have to come see!

    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 27, 2012 at 7:37 am

      There’s a porch!!!? omg can’t wait. Be there soon. Need to stop writing and get in the car…

  7. glitterandrainbows says

    October 28, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    Great decor!

    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 29, 2012 at 4:13 am

      thank you!


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: March 16, 2025

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