It was impossible to drive past the home at 604 N. Cherry Street, Morrison, IL, the morning of Saturday, September 28, 2024! Artistic, humorous, and gory decor was in place, wrapping three sides of the home, and on a porch and its roof. Occasional bones and dismembered body parts littered the grass.
Ms. Swanson have lived in Morrison for a year; this is the first Hallowe’en effort in the new home. It is opposite the playground of Northside School. She and her son, Samuel, started setting up “in the past 48 hours, and would finish that evening. The Editor said she would return for a nighttime photo.
Swanson decorated Rock Falls, IL, meeting halls and ceiling rafters “for years and years! It [was] a different theme every year.” Her joy is providing “something else to look at” each season.
Samuel has been her “biggest help for many years. He used a sledge hammer to pound metal posts into the ground that support the mannequins.” She finds all the costumes. “He is doing an alien theme at his house.”
The creative decorator also invited the Editor to come back to see the interior decor. “It’s Hallowe’en all over inside, too!” Ms. Swanson exclaimed.
The scene is enhanced during darkness. Friday and Saturday nights include light effects and music. Cameras are installed throughout the property to protect the Swanson family Hallowe’en display.