Porch Peepin' & Creepin'
Porch Peepin' & Creepin'
Raise your spirits with these spooky season outdoor decor ideas
Photographs by Betsy Blake & Lynn Donovan
Much to our delight and occasional horror, porches and front stoops around the city are terrifyingly tricked out in this time of year. From bats to black cats, ghosts to goblins, and witches to wickedly woven webs, the spirited touches these homes sprinkled on are enough to make Salem’s Sanderson sisters squeal with glee.
At the home of Chris Wilson and Cecelia Thompson, spiders big and small are crawling out of the woodwork to give you the heebie-jeebies. But don’t let them scare you — leave that to the scarecrow. It’s his job, after all.
We can practically hear this circle of witches burbling— Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble. Between the evil pumpkins, black-draped entry and broomstick-lined walkway in the Robinson family’s front yard, we’re certainly under their spell.
What a tangled web the McCord family weaves. Before approaching their door, ask yourself: Who is the spider and who is the fly?
The Hogwarts Great Hall? Nope, it’s the home of The Rodenbough family, who bedecked and bewitched their porch with floating candles and witch hats. We solemnly swear they are up to no good.
Dead Zeppelin? Nope, it’s Bad to the Bone, performing live-ish at a neighborhood block party. The Shilling — or is it Chilling? — family’s skeletons are out of the closet and cranking up the tunes, complete with their own security team.
Looks like some cowboys visiting from the Bone Star State are inviting you to pose for a “skelfie” in front of the Arthur family’s home. Beware: your photo op comes with a price. (Note: This year’s theme will be Jurassic Park After Dark with donations supporting a local animal adoption agency. Follow @RestingBoneFaceGSO for info.)
What’s black and white and webbed all over? The Sherouse family’s porch, which spiders and bats have made their favorite haunt. You might just stick around, too.
At the home of Chris Wilson and Cecelia Thompson, spiders big and small are crawling out of the woodwork to give you the heebie-jeebies. But don’t let them scare you — leave that to the scarecrow. It’s his job, after all.
Just one more . . . Jennifer Maston enlisted the help of Jamie Mostofian Design, who perfectly piled gourds of all sizes and sorts, creating a warm welcome to trick-or-treaters hoping the candy heap’s just as plentiful.
A smattering of skulls and animal skeletons, pumpkins in a muted palette and a bony-fingered, white-haired crone up the creep factor of the Boger family’s front stoop. But our favorite part? New life — or death — breathed into “half-dead” summer ferns with a coat of black spray paint.
Witch way is up? Sometimes, a simple, whimsical touch sticking out of a porch planter, such as legs in striped tights with sparkling hag’s feet, is all you need to conjure up what sometimes goes bump in the night. OH
Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is alive and well on the Hayes family’s porch. Have no fear — if you lose your head over this nightmare of a scene, they’ve got plenty of Jack-‘o’-lanterns you can pop into place.