Spooky homes

When James Ramos met his wife, Jenny, several years ago, he was "pretty shocked" at what she had collected.

Jenny had an impressive inventory of spooks to decorate for Halloween.

"I couldn't believe how much she had when we got together," the Post Falls man said.

Then James got the bug.

Each year the couple hits the clearance sales hard after Halloween to beef up their group of freaky friends for display.

They have spent thousands of dollars on decorations over the years - and cringe at the thought of trying to pinpoint a closer estimate.

"We're not done," Jenny said. "I already have the day after off and plan to hit the stores again. James also has his eyes on a few items. I just love adding to it every year."

The couple plans to open their garage at 3141 Thrush in Post Falls' Fieldstone subdivision on Halloween where five different scenes featuring Freddy Krueger, Jason, witches, clowns, a scarecrow and a cornfield await trick-or-treaters.

Their yard has been converted into a creepy cemetery. All the special effects, including fog, music and lighting, go with the display.

"It's fun for people to come to check it out," James said.

The two, along with a few helpers, spent four full days setting up. Jenny's specialty is decorating inside the home, while James shepherds the outdoor project.

The couple has five kids in the household ranging in ages from 2 to 15, but James and Jenny admit they are into decorating much more than the youth. The youngsters are warming up to their seasonal company, however.

"This year Freddy is the best friend of our youngest (2-year-old Cole) and last year he was afraid of Santa," Jenny said.

James and Jenny dress up every year - they have been everything from a knife-throwing act to a witch and warlock - but they're not certain what's in store this year. Or at least they're not revealing the secret.

Jenny said she's carrying on the decorating tradition of her grandma, Joyce Rapp.

"She can't do what she used to, but she still has about 12 inflatables in her yard," Jenny said.

Jenny and James decorate for all the holidays, but Halloween takes the top prize.

"Halloween is easier than Christmas because it's not so cold," Jenny said. "Halloween is also the funnest because more people come around. I just love seeing trick-or-treaters come up. Halloween also seems to stick around longer than other holidays."

If candy-seekers are looking to be impressed in another section of the county, it's easy to spot Becky Albrecht and Joe Hollingsworth's home in Hayden.

It's the one fronted by 6-foot gothic fence markers, with shrunken skeleton heads on the spikes. A nebulous fog spurts out to the sounds of thunder and sinister chuckling.

There's a 20th-century-style hearse parked on the tombstone cluttered yard. Don't forget to glance up at the spider several feet long, splayed across the roof.

"We try not to be too scary," Albrecht said, adding that this is their fifth year of being the stand-out house on their block. "We get a lot of little trick-or-treaters. Sometimes they don't make it past the fence, so we bring the candy out to them."

They start prepping the house around July, she estimated. The couple doesn't just grab items at Michaels, either, but crafts the majority of the decorations themselves.

The giant spider is chicken wire, piping and cloth. The tombstones are painted foam, the fence is plywood and paper mache. A pumpkin scarecrow with a wicked grin, like the gnarled skull tree, is also a paper mache miracle.

"We don't really do anything for other holidays, so we go big for Halloween," Albrecht said with a laugh. "It's getting people into the spirit. When we first moved here, nobody was doing decorations. Now we have neighbors who go all out, and kids stop by to ask how to make things."

They might have trouble recreating the spider's victim, hanging from the porch roof, which is foam-stuffed overalls that shakes when kids lumber up the porch ramp.

"I got the shaker that people get to shake their hedges," Albrecht said.

The hearse, roughly 13-feet wide and 6-feet tall, is a bit of a masterpiece, made of plywood and other odds and ends, like flower-pot bases that serve as hubcaps.

"Awhile. I don't keep track of time," Hollingsworth said of how long it took him to cobble.

They exchange a smile when asked why they invest so much effort and money, which they admit they've just stopped counting.

"People enjoy it," Hollingsworth said. "Two weeks ago, when we hadn't started setting things out, people stopped by, asking 'Are you going to do something?'"

The couple lives at 1004 Starling Ave. in Hayden, in the Grouse Meadows subdivision off Prairie Avenue.

A massive bowl on the porch is already stocked with candy. They usually see a couple hundred trick or treaters, Albrecht said.

"We want lots of trick or treaters," she said. "We hope they come."