13 Incredible Halloween Displays You Have to See—Including the Creepiest Stranger Things House

There’s something strange in the neighborhood

Skeletons, shrieking ghosts and oversized spiders may send you running most times of the year, but come October, they’re the decor of choice. Halloween is the perfect time to live out your secret horror fantasies, get creative and freak out your neighbors. One couple in Illinois did exactly that and turned their home into a Stranger Things house, recreating a chilling scene from the latest Netflix season. Creepy photos of it went viral, but one of the couple’s neighbors was, apparently, less than impressed. With the Halloween house drawing gawkers, the neighbor called the cops. Thankfully, the issue was resolved, and the decoration is back up—and you certainly don’t want to miss it!

If you love Halloween movies, Halloween monsters and Halloween costumes, we dare you to browse these over-the-top Halloween houses. Like the Stranger Things house, they’ll give you chills—and ideas for last-minute DIY Halloween decorations of your own.

Stranger Things House

Location: Plainfield, Illinois

If you’ve binge-watched Stranger Things, you’ll undoubtedly remember the Season Four scene in which—spoiler alert!—Max Mayfield, possessed by Vecna, rises into the air. Die-hard fans Dave and Aubrey Appel from Plainfield, Illinois, recreated that moment in their driveway. And while the life-size floating replica is the highlight of the headline-making Stranger Things house, the couple’s Halloween display includes even more references to the popular show and nods to other horror hits. Trick-or-treaters can marvel at terrifying aliens, killer clowns and pet cemeteries, as well as the grandfather clock from Stranger Things that famously chimes when Vecna is up for his next kill. Dave and Aubrey, who love everything horror, spent months working on their outdoor Halloween decorations, saying they did it for the “scares, smiles, laughs and joy.”

Fun fact: The Byers home and Victor Creel house from Stranger Things exist too, but you’ll have to head to Georgia to see them. The real-life Byers home is in Fayetteville, and the Creel house is in Rome.

Shop the Grandfather Clock

Skeleton House

Location: New Orleans

Every year in October, New Orleans locals Louellen and Darryl Berger take the skeletons out of the closet and kick off the spooky season with some spectacular Halloween displays. In 2021, when Halloween around the world meant COVID-19 precautions, the skeletons all wore face masks. This October, their home features skeletons just dying to get fit. One proudly sports a jersey for the local basketball team, the Pelicans. Another sits on a spin bike (a “Skeloton,” if you will). Others are dressed in glittering pink leggings and stylish hats. Louellen says she wants them “to be funny” rather than terrifying. And to that we say, mission accomplished.

Shop the Skeleton

Old Shaw House

Location: Muncie, Indiana

Built in 1892, this two-and-a-half-story Queen Anne Victorian has become quite an attraction in Muncie’s Washington Street District. The owners surprise their neighbors several times a year with festive decorations, playing dress-up with their home on the Fourth of July, Christmas and, of course, Halloween. Past spooky displays have included skeletons hanging from the entrance and climbing the walls, inflatable monsters, tombstones, skulls and oversized spider webs in the garden, as well as spooky lights in Halloween colors. We can’t be the only ones excited to see what haunting displays they have for the neighborhood this year.

Shop the Inflatable Witch

Christine McConnell’s Monster House

Location: Los Angeles

While the Stranger Things house was inspired by a Netflix hit, this one was created by a Netflix alum. Four years ago, artist Christine McConnell—star of 2018’s Addams Family-like The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell—got creative with her parents’ home in the Los Angeles area, turning it into a bona fide Halloween house. The display got ominous red lights, painted black shingles, faux candlelit windows, pumpkins, hay bales and threatening fangs. (The only things missing were some spiderwebs and fake blood.) Keep an eye on McConnell’s Instagram for even more macabre decor and DIY ideas.

Shop the Hay Bale

House of Horrors

Location: Maplewood, New Jersey

Graveyard in the garden anyone? The owners of this New Jersey house are major Halloween fans and up their game every October. Locals say the owners’ latest decorations are their best yet—and it’s easy to see why. The whole front yard has been turned into a creepy graveyard, with life-size skeletons, more than a dozen tombstones, a giant grim reaper, ghosts hanging from trees and even what seems to be a real coffin—with a skeleton in it, naturally.

Shop the Foam Tombstones

Skeleton Yard

Location: Nashville

Instagrammer Danielle seemed genuinely surprised when she returned to her Nashville home to find more than a dozen skeletons waiting for her in the front yard. According to her social media post, her sister-in-law masterminded the display, and it certainly has the potential to inspire some spooky Halloween stories. Some of the skeletons are climbing on a giant spider web, while others are locked up in a cage, clinging to a rope or greeting arrivals with a friendly wave. Add the oversized spiders, the tombstones and the pumpkins, and it’s no surprise this Halloween house has turned into a neighborhood attraction.

Shop the Skeleton

Pumpkin House

Location: Colorado Springs

Looking for some pumpkin-carving ideas? The owner of this Colorado house had the right idea: carve sinister grins on your jack-o’-lanterns, then stack them for a spooky effect. The house is best seen at night, when the illuminated pumpkins create an eerie atmosphere. To give your house the same Halloween vibe, don’t forget the oversized skulls, mandatory skeletons and a flying witch or two.

Shop the Pumpkin-Carving Kit

Scary Christmas House

Location: Glendale, Arizona

Forget the Stranger Things house. If your idea of the best Halloween kids movie is the classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, you’ll go wild for this holiday mashup! The so-called Scary Christmas House has been around since 2016, when the owners, a family from Glendale, Arizona, started dressing up their home like a Tim Burton wonderland. Fans of all ages flock to the house to marvel at the colorful fairy lights, ghosts, tombstones and, of course, characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas. According to the owners’ website, most of the display is handmade by their daughter. In 2020, the owners turned Scary Christmas House into a fundraiser, asking passersby to donate to those in need in the local community.

Shop the Characters

Beetlejuice House

Location: Milwaukee

Jamie Beauchamp and his husband, Andy Reid, have gone all out on their Halloween decorations for the past 18 years. Their home has become a must-see attraction in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood, with hundreds of admirers showing up as soon as the sun goes down. Some even dress up in their Halloween costumes. Every year, the couple chooses a theme, and this year’s display, featuring illuminated characters from the 1988 horror classic Beetlejuice, has created quite a buzz. But this Halloween house isn’t just a fun project for the months leading up to spooky season; it’s also a fundraiser. For roughly 10 years, the owners have been raising money for Pathfinders, an organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

Shop the Beetlejuice Sign

Spider House

Location: New York City

Arachnophobes, stay away! This spider-covered New York City home will no doubt give you a fright. While the carved pumpkins on the stairs still look kind of friendly, the massive black spiders crawling on the walls—and their equally oversized webs—will rob you of well-deserved sleep. The creepy crawlies are so spine-chilling that the skeletons and mummies almost seem like pleasant party company in comparison. And who knows, they might even be up for some fun Halloween party games!

Shop the Spider Webs

Southwestern Halloween House

Location: San Jose, California

Decking out your house for Halloween? Amateur hour compared with this veritable village of Halloween decor. In this San Jose, California, display, the Southwest gets a spooky makeover. Life-size skeletons—many of them wearing cowboy hats and bandanas—pour drinks at The Ghoul’s Saloon, stare out of spooky jail windows, sell goods at the counter of Cauldron’s Corner Store and wait in a coffin at Decay Undertaker. And while the skeletons undoubtedly are the main attraction, the skulls, fairy lights and pumpkins further add atmosphere.

Shop the Skeleton

Herndon Halloween House

Location: Herndon, Virginia

The Herndon Halloween House has been a spooky staple for over 10 years. According to the creator’s Instagram account, it features a Nightmare Before Christmas theme every five years—and 2022 marks the occasion. The display features the characters from the movie, including Jack Skellington, creepy clowns and dolls, lots of Christmas trees and fairy lights, and even a life-size Santa. Still looking for scary Halloween costume ideas? You might just find some inspiration here. After all, it’s been inspiring the community for years. Now a local attraction, the Herndon Halloween House draws crowds throughout the month of October.

Shop the Halloween Christmas Tree

Clown House

Location: New York City

Suffer from coulrophobia? Skip this house in New York’s Murray Hill neighborhood, which is dedicated to creepy clowns. There’s no chance you’ll miss the XXL version at the gate, but look closer to find even more spooky characters. There are clowns hanging from the windows and some skeletons casually sitting on the balcony railings. And to further creep you out, there’s a black-cloaked phantom just waiting for its next victim. Love or hate clowns (and their spooky friends), this house has certainly nailed Halloween.

Shop the Light-Up Clown

Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more holiday, humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.

Sources:

• ABC 7 Chicago: “Stranger Things Halloween Display Shut Down in Plainfield, Illinois, Over Neighbor’s Concerns”
• NBC 5 Chicago: “This Viral Stranger Things Halloween House in Suburban Chicago Nearly Got Shut Down. Here’s How to See It”
• Secret New Orleans: “The Skeleton House Is Back This Year on St. Charles Avenue”
• PriceyPads.com: “Muncie, In’s Historic 1892 Shaw House Dressed Up for Fall”
• The Scary Christmas House
• TMJ 4 Milwaukee: “A & J’s Halloween House in Bay View Returns with a Beetlejuice Display”