ATLANTA — Spooky displays are taking over neighborhoods all over metro Atlanta with Halloween just days away! We sent 11Alive reporter Paola Suro to find the most jaw-dropping yards that will no doubt entice plenty of trick or treaters this year. She's been on the hunt - or should we say, "haunt" - for the best decorated Halloween homes in the metro Atlanta area.
Is your home ready for Halloween, too? TEXT US pictures to 404-855-7600! And check out the Near Me section in the 11Alive app to see your photos!
Gwinnett County
If you drive towards Rivermist Drive SW in Lilburn off of Hewatt Road, it's hard to miss this home. It's right on the entrance of the neighborhood, and has yellow caution tape surrounding the yard.
Inside that caution tape, you can find an array of skeletons: some on a lawnmower and others coming out of the ground. You'll also find clowns playing tug-of-war with a baby doll.
Outside of the caution tape, and near the road, you'll find what Kaf Herring describes as the "kid's graveyard."
Kaf and his wife, Rachael, say their house is always a popular one on Halloween.
“Our local cops come by and help control the traffic. It’s definitely a zoo," Rachael said.
"We have kids not only in the neighborhood but surrounding area," Kaf continued. "We should start charging admission for this – that’s what we should do. Literally right from when the sun sets down, it’s pandemonium here! It’s kids galore."
Both smile as they describe that day, because it's the time of the year they look forward to the most. Christmas doesn't get as much love because of the Halloween commitment.
They've been doing their displays since 2017.
"It’s a way to scare the kids, have the kids have fun, 'hey look at this it’s really cool!' We have fun with this," Kaf said. "I think we've got about 60 items."
"Our kids pick the majority of them," Rachael added. "It's a great way to get them acclimated to watching scary movies, if they want to, and not get scared during Halloween. It's all fun and props and they can tell real from the fake now. It takes a lot to scare our kids, now."
Last Halloween the couple says they handed out about 3,000 pieces of candy, and once they ran out, neighbors brought more pieces their way.
"I never really had Halloween decorations when I was growing up because we moved a lot," Kaf said. "It just started with two pieces, then five pieces, then..."
"Of course, the more he bought, the more discounts he got... which means the more he bought! Then pretty much it just took a life of its own," Rachael said.
It's become so much of a neighborhood affair that Rachael says someone built a shed for their Halloween decorations.
They cannot wait for Halloween night.
"He's definitely going to be out on Halloween chasing kids with chainsaws without the chain on them," Rachael said, referring to her husband. "Jumping out, scaring them. If you want a good scare and interactive fun, this is the place to be."
DeKalb County
If you drive to Pangborn Road off Lavista Road, it's hard to miss a home with spiderwebs creeping down the roof, and spiders crawling throughout the yard.
It's a beautiful display with different colored inflatable spiders. The green one on the lawn moves its head, too.
Rob Stalder, who has been decorating for Halloween 10 years now, says this is his favorite time of the year.
"Believe me, this is the time of year I look forward to the most because I love Halloween, and as soon as I wrap this up in a couple of weeks it’ll be time to decorate for Christmas, which I love as well," he said.
While the theme of his decorations are spiders, it's the only time of the year Stalder enjoys them.
"Well, we don’t love spiders, but I love spiders in Halloween and I love that spiders scare other people," he said while laughing along. "But no, I'm not a big fan of spiders, no. We wanted to set ourselves apart a bit from a lot of other decorations around."
He says next year will be bigger and better.
Fulton County
In Fulton County, near Monroe Drive, you'll find the Sanderson Sisters, dragons, and even pumpkins-turned-human.
One thing is for sure, Halloween across metro Atlanta will surely lift your spirits.
Cobb County
For those of you in the East Cobb area, a viewer messaged us saying their Halloween is for a good cause. In the Pond Lane neighborhood in Marietta many houses have over-the-top decorations as well as a concert Monday night for autism awareness.
The viewer, Mark Taub, says that last time they had Halloween on their block (pre-pandemic), they had about 300 kids and families stop by.