Halloween houses so scary that children are banned! Homeowners spend thousands to terrify their neighbours with spooktacular October 31 displays
Halloween obsessed Brits have gone all out this spooky season to turn their nondescript homes into haunted houses.
Halloween obsessed Brits have gone all out this spooky season to turn their nondescript homes into haunted houses.
As many homeowners have decorated their pads for charity donations from trick or treaters, one of the scariest of all is so frightening that children are banned altogether.
Decorations seen across the country vary from the more harmless traditional pumpkins and cartoonish ghosts to more sinister gravestones and horror movie murals.
Elliot Smith and his partner Tasha Quick have decked out their end of a terrace in Stafford with ghoulish decorations, ghosts and haunted mazes.
The Halloween-obsessed couple are daring thrill-seekers to enter their home on Halloween but the horror maze is too scary for children and is over-18s only.
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Elliot Smith, 32, and his partner Tasha Quick have decorated their house so terrifyingly that children are not allowed in
Another of the UKs best Halloween houses this year is Lisa and Paul Spanns three-bed home in Bolton (pictured) which projects a 35 minute show with over 100,000 LEDs
London are determined not to miss out on the fun either, using what space they have outside to put up some smaller decorations
Elliot and Tasha spent three weeks turning the family home into an abandoned haunted house complete with a witchs cave and pet cemetery.
They have even recruited actors to give people a fright by leaping out at them.
Father-of-three Elliot, 32, said: We trialled the maze with some friends kids but they came out too terrified so we had to make it adults only.
Instead weve added a mini-maze for children which has animatronics.
Our main maze has actors who dress up and we scare people in there. People love it but they dont realise how scary it is.
While the front of the building follows a haunted house theme, with humanoid ghosts projected onto the windows, the side is a witches cabin.
Theres three witches in there, Elliot said. They do all their spells and fly their brooms.
And in the garden, visitors can go to a haunted pumpkin patch, where the vegetables tell jokes and sing songs.
Elliot, a building maintenance worker, spent hours in evenings and on weekends converting the home into the perfect horror house, as the couple hope to raise money for local charity Childhood Cancer Parents Alliance.
Elliot Smith dressed as a Corn Maze Clown outside his Halloween house in Stafford, seen with visitors Penny Unitt and Charlie
Elliot and Tasha spent three weeks turning the family home into an abandoned haunted house complete with a witchs cave and pet cemetery (pictured)
The Halloween-obsessed couple are daring thrill-seekers to enter their home on Halloween but the horror maze is too scary for children and is over-18s only
The main maze features real scare actors, but a mini-maze has also been installed for children which only uses animatronics
While the front of the building follows a haunted house theme, with humanoid ghosts projected onto the windows, the side is a witches cabin
A mural on Elliot and Tahas wall features Freddy Kruegers rhyme from A Nightmare on Elm Street
Skeletons are scattered through the garden including fake animal skeletons
The windows of their home have been boarded up, and realistic ghosts are projected onto them at night
The couple hope to raise money for local charity Childhood Cancer Parents Alliance
Another couple looking to raise funds through their haunting decorations is Lisa, 54, and Paul Spann, 59, who have created a spectacular light display at their home using more than 100,000 LEDs.
The pair expect to dazzle hundreds of visitors with the incredible display outside their three bedroom house in Bolton.
A 35-minute long show involves props dancing with the bright lights to Halloweens songs such as Spooky, Scary, Skeletons.
Lisa and Paul took around one month putting up the lights and spent £2,500 on extra props this year, Lisa revealed.
New additions include a 14ft tree two gothic lampposts and a light tunnel of light.
Weve had 100 to 150 people stood outside all watching the show, Lisa revealed.
She added that their neighbours are all behind the light show despite it causing the street to be closed.
They are all behind it because they know we are doing it for charity, she said.
The Hemley Close Lights are all in aid of Fortalice, a vital charity supporting women and children affected by domestic violence in Bolton.
Lisa, 54, and Paul Spann, 59, took around one month putting up the lights and spent £2,500 on extra props for their display in Bolton this year
New additions include a 14ft tree two gothic lampposts and a light tunnel of light
Weve had 100 to 150 people stood outside all watching the show, Lisa revealed
Further north, the Howson family have set up their Halloween house of horrors for the 18th year in a row
Inside are sinister animatronics that cackle and chant - and the Howson family, hiding in costume and ready to jump out at visitors
Further north, the Howson family have set up their Halloween house of horrors for the 18th year in a row.
William Howson, 69, and wife Roslyn, 62, spend around eight weeks in the lead up to Halloween, enlisting their children and 17 grandchildren to help decorate their Motherwell home.
The front of the house has been lit with green lights, with a skeletal graveyard scene set up in the garden and spiderwebs adorning the exterior.
Inside are sinister animatronics that cackle and chant - and the Howson family, hiding in costume and ready to jump out at visitors.
Their tradition began in 2006, after decorations for a Halloween themed birthday party for their grandson attracted neighbours attention - and each year since, the family have opened their doors on October 31.
William and Roslyn now welcome hundreds of visitors each year for free, sometimes spending up to six hours in costume and scaring willing guests.
Over the last couple of years, weve had around 600 people, William said, and I think it might be a wee bit busier this time.
Britains scariest house for Halloween, as crowned by budget supermarket Aldi, can be found in Anfield, Liverpool, where Katie Griffiths, 27, and her partner have decorated the home with giant spiders, menacing skeletons and eerie tombstones.
Britains scariest house for Halloween (pictured) can be found in Anfield, Liverpool
Katie Griffiths, 27, has decorated her home with giant spiders, menacing skeletons and eerie tombstones
Locals in Kensington, Notting Hill and Holland Park are among those pushing the boat this year to celebrate Halloween. One house in the capital which has invested in decorations is pictured
While residents in the capital often have less space to work with at the front of their properties, they are determined not to miss out on the fun either
Celebrity florist Warren Bushway has spent the past 10 days decorating multi million pound homes in the upmarket part of west London
Many households have spent around £1000 on Halloween celebrations
There are also live performers which helped the couple earn £1,000 of Aldi vouchers as the shops champions after a nationwide search.
Judge Darren Butler said the 27-year-olds home stood out particularly because of its cemetery front gate.
Ms Griffiths said she was thrilled to be crowned champion after five years making the display, which has become a way to support two charities - Alder Hey Childrens Hospital in Liverpool and Zoes Place Baby Hospice - which Aldi are also donating £500 each to.
While residents in London often have less space to work with at the front of their properties, they are determined not to miss out on the fun either.
A haunted rat and a skeleton in a bin bag certainly tailor this decoration to its city life
People who do have some greenery on their plot have draped shrubs in fake cobwebs and spiders
One of the many homes in London which has gone all out this October
Children trick or treating at this house might be in for a surprise as a witch appears from behind the buses on either side
A horrifying scarecrow with a pumpkin as its head, fixed to a pillar outside a townhouse
This home in west London has veered away from spooky ornaments and instead focused on the autumnal colours of Halloween
Locals in Kensington, Notting Hill and Holland Park are among those pushing the boat this year to celebrate Halloween.
Celebrity florist Warren Bushway of London Event Florist who counts Simon Cowell, Robbie Williams and Jamie Redknapp as clients has spent the past 10 days decorating multi million pound homes in the upmarket part of west London with many houses spending £1000 on Halloween celebrations.
In the absence of big gardens, Londoners are using their pillared entrances, steps up to their front doors and front gates as an opportunity to house displays.
People who do have some greenery on their plot have draped shrubs in fake cobwebs and spiders, with the occasional skeleton hanging out from the trees.
