Wild Halloween decorations more thrilling than chilling to neighbors, buyers

It all started with a spider.

Nine years ago, Andrew Hedquist set up a hairy, eight-legged decoration next to a candy bowl on his front porch the night before Halloween.

"Eventually, it spiraled into this," he said, gesturing toward his front yard on a recent fall morning. In formation of a winding maze spanning the front lawn, there are 41 creatures, including the likes of screaming skeletons, bloody clowns, ghosts and monsters so tall that they come close to meeting treetops and second-story windows.

Andrew, now 15, set up this year's showcase of frights in his Bethpage yard earlier than ever before: The second week of September. He's continued to add more eerie props and brooding figures annually, so the setup "just got progressively earlier," Andrew said.

Around this time of year, you might find a scarecrow sitting on a stoop, or a laughing jack-o'-lantern or two around your neighborhood. But for these Halloween-loving Long Islanders, their front lawns were decked out starting in September, over a month before the holiday that falls on the last day of October.

As yard displays go, these residents in particular are the most spirited on their block. But for neighbors and real estate agents showing and selling houses this time of year, are these displays a trick or a treat?

DIY Barbie, Elphaba and more

When you're the one house on the block that decorates this big for Halloween, it stands out.

— Pete Lananna, of Wantagh

The amount of effort to complete his Halloween display calls for an early setup time, said Pete Lananna, 42, of Wantagh.

"It's worth it," said Lananna, a physical therapist. "To have all these things up for a couple weeks, doesn't make sense. I'll keep it up until the first weekend of November, and then I start transferring to Christmas."

But with great decoration comes great responsibility. "When you're the one house on the block that decorates this big for Halloween, it stands out," he said.

Anthony Secada lives on the same street as the Lanannas. His family moved there four years ago, which was about the time Lananna started his annual Halloween display. Now, the community looks forward to this tradition every year, Secada said, and he loves to see "how passionate [Lananna] is about it."

"I think that it's a lot of fun for the kids in the community," Secada said. "Both of my kids go to school with Pete's kids. I know they particularly love it because so many kids in the school come by on the weekends."

There are about 30 characters in Lananna's display. His daughters, Brooke and Emma, ages 12 and 9, along with Lananna's wife, Jackie, help bring each piece up the stairs from their basement (where the decorations are stored for the rest of the year) and to the front lawn every fall.

Among the collection: A Barbie skeleton in a blond wig and hot pink box made of foam board insulation, a Ouija board with its planchette moving from letter to letter on its own (with the help of some strong magnets and a motor), another skeleton scratching records behind a DJ booth constructed from PVC boards and mannequin Elphaba Thropp, the misunderstood witch from "Wicked," whose green skin and smoky eye makeup were hand-painted using acrylic paint.

It always makes the weekend nights interesting and lively. It gives it a festive feeling.

— Anthony Secada, who lives near the Lanannas

Some neighbors have motivated Lananna to keep outdoing himself, he said. He stays on top of trends and the year's pop culture (hence the inclusion of Elphaba) when brainstorming new props to build.

"A lot of people come around and say, 'What did you add this year?' " he said.

The setup brings extra cars and foot traffic, said Lananna, making the block a bit crowded on the weekends. Sometimes people stop by as early as 11 a.m. to check out the decorations, said Secada — but he doesn't mind the fanfare.

"It always makes the weekend nights interesting and lively," Secada said. "It gives it a festive feeling."

The family welcomes visitors to "Nightmare on Fir Street" nightly from 7 to 10 p.m., weather permitting. They are collecting donations for the American Physical Therapy Association this year, Lananna said.

As the tradition has continued, Jackie said they've been able to watch the children who come around every year grow from babies to toddlers. With the support of the community behind him, Lananna will keep it all going.

"I have to take things another step forward," he said, standing in front of a cauldron prop brewing with the help of a fog machine.

"He always does," said his daughter Brooke with a smile.

The maze in Bethpage

I obviously like clowns; it's the main thing I focus on.

— Andrew Hedquist, of Bethpage

Andrew was inspired to design his Halloween display after visiting decorated houses around his neighborhood with his grandfather, who bought him that first spider. Since then, he has mapped out a path around his yard using a grid, which includes placements of each character.

He's even built some features himself. With his father, Andrew constructed a booth with a head that pops out with the push of a button. A tall coffin he built in his middle school shop class now houses another twitchy demon that comes alive by pressing a foot pedal.

There are jump scares and chatty creatures warning of their evildoing around every corner. Andrew's favorite is a threatening scarecrow with long claws, tattered clothes and glowing orange eyes.

The front lawn and porch aren't the only decked-out parts of the property: The house's tombstone windows lend themselves to creepy nighttime projections.

"I obviously like clowns; it's the main thing I focus on," Andrew said.

Many of them are set up underneath a tent, protected from the elements. Andrew and his mother, Jenn Hedquist, cover the rest of the characters with tarps and garbage bags anytime it rains.

"He plans basically starting Nov. 1," Hedquist said. "By then, he's already thinking about what worked and what didn't work."

At the end of the season, everything gets broken down into boxes. One of the largest figures, a skeletal, 12-foot-tall monster with antlers, disassembles into about 26 pieces, Andrew said. The majority of the characters are transported back and forth each year from his grandparents’ home in Floral Park — the decorations all live in their detached garage, and the moving process sometimes starts as early as the summer.

As a parent, when you realize it's a hobby and not a holiday, and how much work he puts into it, it's just different when you think about it that way.

— Jenn Hedquist, Andrew's mother

The family welcomes visitors to the maze (called Fly Creek Manor) from 7 to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 7 to 10 p.m. on weekends. This year, they're collecting donations for Toys for Tots, Hedquist said.

As it gets closer to Halloween, the number of visitors increases. "It's group after group, cycling through," said Andrew, who sports a clown mask to frighten guests and guide them through the maze.

"He's very creative," Hedquist said. "It's more than just buying the stuff, but also how he can build things. As a parent, when you realize it's a hobby and not a holiday, and how much work he puts into it, it's just different when you think about it that way."

Selling Halloween

What about buyers in the house-hunting process who come across a property for sale that is just as decked-out as one of these? One real estate agent said a neighborhood covered in Halloween decor has the potential to be more "inviting" than off-putting.

"The home-buying process overall is super overwhelming, and I think when you see a block that is trying to come together and show unity and celebrate a holiday, it makes people excited about the process," said Natalie Villecco, who works with Real Broker NY, based in Massapequa.

Potential buyers "always have positive feedback" when seeing a house that is decorated for the holiday, she said. But if Villecco is listing a house in which the sellers may have gone a little over the top with their decorations, she can either edit some of the listing photos to make sure certain details of the home aren't getting lost in the festivities, or physically remove those items during the showings.

"People may be so focused on the decorations, and maybe there's something laying across the roof, or something covering a window, and then you leave out some details that buyers are really looking for," she said.

I think it can really bring a sense of emotion and connection between the buyer and seller, or the area itself.

— Natalie Villecco, Real Broker NY agent

But a seller who decorates their home for Halloween can show potential buyers the kind of attention they put into their property.

"Something that's really worth highlighting when you're purchasing a home is how the sellers have taken care of it," Villecco said. "And if they put decorations up, I’d say they take care of it pretty well, because they take the time to do that."

Whether a buyer is looking to start a family or downsizing, they might find some comfort in a house decorated for the season, the agent said.

"It's showing people that maybe there are kids on the block, and when they have kids, maybe they can hang out down the line," Villecco said. "Or, it can be really nostalgic for people who used to go all-out [with Halloween decorations], and maybe now their life has changed; their kids have moved away. So I think it can really bring a sense of emotion and connection between the buyer and seller, or the area itself."