Many Crawfordsville residents and business owners are in the Halloween spirit this year.
Several places in the area offer spooky décor and some are real showstoppers. Two local displays stand out. Thomas Crane and Kimberly and Ryan Brooks both have assembled amazing displays and invite the community to enjoy their hard work and ingenuity.
The Brooks are best known for their Christmas display and their generosity toward children. Last year they set up 23 Christmas trees and had people sponsor and decorate them. They were able to provide 22 children with Christmas presents thanks to the community’s support.
This year the Brooks decided to decorate for Halloween and invested even more time and money into their spooky display. The couple set up several 12-foot characters and large animatronics and created a graveyard on their property at 4433 S. C.R. 275W. They also set up a camera on a cart next to their display to capture reactions from visitors.
The Brooks said they got into decorating for Halloween on a whim. They were inspired by a friend and fellow Halloween décor connoisseur, Thomas Crane. The couple was at an auction and saw Crane buying three large skeletons — that’s all it took for them to start their display.
Based on Ryan’s comments it seems their displays will only get bigger and spookier in the years to come.
He added that he has even more displays in storage that he didn’t get put together for this year.
The Brooks plan to transition to their Christmas display shortly after Halloween.
Crane also outdid himself in his second year of decorating. He said his inspiration for a full-fledged creepy display began with a little girl’s birthday party.
“Some little girl, her mom put on Facebook that she needed some decorations because her little four-year-old loved Halloween. She goes, I need some Halloween stuff for my little girl’s birthday party. And everybody tagged me on Facebook,” Crane said.
He reached out to the girl’s mother and offered for her to come look at some of his decorations. The invitation ended up with him offering to host the party and setting up a spooky display for the girl.
“It just expanded from there,” Crane said.
This year, Crane has dedicated the display to his late father, David Crane, who passed away shortly after seeing Crane’s set up last year.
Crane has made a path on his property at 3046 W. Black Creek Valley Road for visitors to drive through and admire the eerie environment, or what his father referred to as a carnival.
On the weekends, Crane, his wife, and some friends dress up and scare visitors as they drive through the exhibit. It’s nearly the equivalent of a haunted house tour, and his wooded property fits the aesthetic.
Crane also has a “no scare” night for children.
This will be the last weekend Crane’s display will be set up, from 7-10 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday, but he also will be open on Halloween night.
Another decorated property worth checking out is the 12-foot “Thriller” themed skeletons in the 900 block of West Market Street.
On Halloween night, be sure to visit West Main Street during trick-or-treat hours from 5-8 p.m. There are always plenty of homeowners who provide a hauntingly good time.
