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Vampires run rampant at Vidalia home
Published Monday, October 29, 2007
NATCHEZ — Halloween may mean candy and costumes to some, but to Vidalia native Mike Graves it means it’s time to give the neighborhood kids a little scare along with their treats.
Drive down Apple Street in Vidalia and you will surely see Grave’s house. There are goblins and ghouls mysteriously floating, bats just at eye level and a big chair for the master of ceremonies.
“I’ve always decorated my house for all occasions,” Graves said.
“I fool with it until it looks right to me then I get feedback from other people.”
Graves is looking forward to Halloween night, when young ghosts and goblins come by his house for a little All Hallows Eve magic.
“I have a few surprises planned,” Graves said.
Along with friends, he will work hard to give local kids a thrill.
“My friend Eric Higgins will dress up to surprise kids,” Graves said.
“He will have a chainsaw, without the blade. You just never know where he is going to pop out.”
Each year, Graves tries to create a new theme for decorating. This year, the theme is vampires. To decorate his yard, he used trees branches cut from his neighbor’s yard, moss taken from local trees and an assortment of bought decorations. Graves even bought a fog machine for the evening festivities. Decorating is only one part of preparing. He also prepared his yard for young visitors by making sure there were no ant beds or tall grass.
Graves hopes to eventually expand his Halloween décor into a haunted house.
“I like to do it just for the kids,” Graves said.
“A laugh is good for the heart, but a scare is good for the heart too.”
People can visit this scary Halloween display at 1219 Apple St. in Vidalia. Graves will be handing candy and drinks to anyone brave enough to visit.
Comments
Posted by ozzette (anonymous) on October 30, 2007 at 6:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I love this! I don't bother taking my kids trick or treating anymore, because there seems to be a lack of local interest. We make Halloween special at home for them with candy and movies, and usually some kind of family project. This year we are making Haunted Gingerbread houses. I gave up Halloween year before last when I spent $70 on costumes for everyone, and drove around for three hours stopping on streets that only had one or two houses lit up...just seems like people are losing the Halloween spirit. So I'm so glad to read that there are still some in this area that love this holiday as much as we do!
Posted by ghost (anonymous) on October 30, 2007 at 7:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Na its just the miss-lou area. People around here are losing interest in everything.........so despressing around here.
Posted by lrunnels (anonymous) on October 30, 2007 at 9:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Everyone hasn't lost the spirit. Last year my family moved to a different neighborhood in the Miss Lou, and on Halloween night, we gave out as much candy to adults (even grannies) as we did to kids. Huge groups would come up to our house with 1 or 2 kids, and the rest would be adults and older teens and all had bags wanting candy! Needless to say, we will not be giving out candy this year.
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on October 30, 2007 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good for you Irunnels. Save the expense and help keep the children healthy.
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on October 30, 2007 at 5:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll be driving by to see what his decorations look like up close, lol. Interesting that the female with the tongue favors his ex-wife in the face. <(don't take that as an insult, because she has a beautiful face) But, I have to wonder if Mike made the faces from molds of his and her faces? I knew he made wonderful bird houses, but I didn't realize how creative he was with decorating...makes me wonder what his Christmas decorations will look like.
Good job Mike.
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