One of the best known displays belongs to Nick and Lexi Brown at 510 Payne Street. This will be their fourth year decorating. Their largest decoration is a 15 foot worry crow, which is taller than their neighbor’s roof.

“It started out with just one 12 foot skeleton, and the next year we got the dog and another skeleton,” said Nick Brown. “We had some inflatables. Then last year I built a hearse.”

Their display takes up the entire of their front lawn and lights up at night. The theme for the left side of the lawn is Game of Thrones, and up front is the headless horseman, on the right there will be a little stage coming with K-Pop Demon Hunters.

“It’s kinda whatever we find. We get an idea and run with it because we get a lot of kids,” he said.

New Ulm residents set out so many Halloween displays it’s hard to pick a handful to showcase. Have fun driving or walking the town to spy your favorites, like this one at 510 Payne.

“It’s about being scary, but being fun and enjoying things,” Lexi Brown said, “there’s a little bit for everybody.”

“This year it took a lot longer to set up. With our busy schedule, I mean, maybe it would take about a whole day if I had the time, but we’re still setting up,” Nick Brown said. “Last year we had 495 trick-or-treaters, and that was just kids, not the parents.”

The Browns are planning on decorating every year as a family tradition, since they were married just last year on Halloween.

Another house that might be recognizable is at 418 N. Washington. The Boyum family has been decorating for 20 or 30 years.

“I do Christmas, too. I put the lights all over the place. I’ve always liked decorating over the years. I just put it out for the kids and the grandchildren, but they’re all getting bigger,” Mike Boyum said.

Becky Gersch and her son Benjamain, decorate for Halloween with movie themes every year.

“We find the decorations at whatever stores, but that arch is old, maybe, 15 years old and there’s those pirate guys, a couple skeletons, the outhouse being pushed over by the reaper,” he said.

“I work 10 hour days, so it takes a few days to get it all out. I’ve been so busy with other stuff, I just put up a few things here and there. That bush took me a good hour to put all those lights on. There’s probably 1,500 or 1,600 lights on there – it’s a big bush,” Boyum said. “I like all the decorations, but I think I like the black cat best. He’s pretty neat.”

It’s all Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetle Juice, and creepy clowns at 7 South Payne for Becky and Benjamin Gersch’s Halloween display.

“I have been decorating since 2017. My son’s favorite thing is Halloween. He works on independent films as a special effects artist so helps me a lot. He goes by Dr. Gore in his movie creations,” Becky Gersch said.

“I make most of the decorations,” she said. “I have a roommate that helped me do the tub, and I made Sally by taking an old sheet and dying it, then I used some old clothes and stuffed her. For the Sanderson sisters I bought the wigs, made them with old JC Penny bodices that were closing out, and the bottoms are tomato cages. I found wigs and clothes at thrift stores. I utilize a lot of different things.”

Nick and Lexi Brown at 510 Payne Street have been decorating for three years and have decided that this is definitely going to be their yearly tradition.

“It takes us a couple days to set it all up–the gates are an old crib. The kids love it; they go back and forth to school, and the parents can’t wait. They look forward to it, too. This year’s new addition was the swing set, but my favorite decoration is the Sanderson sisters. I like Hocus Pocus; I made Billy with a frame and pool noodles. But, we have floating candles, pumpkins, hologram lights. My son made those lights. He does that kind of stuff. The theme is all movies. Oogie Boogie is made of chicken wire and burlap sacks, and the snake was an old hose,” said Gersch.

Pumpkins and skeletons are ready to spook trick-or-treaters at the Krenz family house at 151 Continental Communities. Another long time decorator, the Kyle Krenz and his family have been putting up a display for about 15 years. His son Joey has help speed up the process.

“Joey was instrumental in saying where everything went. We made sure we had a cemetery this year. Most everything was from Menards or Walgreens, it’s been easy enough stuff to find, like old blow molds that don’t go out of style,” Kyle Krenz said

“I love all of it,” said Joey Krenz. “It takes about a month to set up the whole thing.”

“We try to take some time to set up each weekend and enjoy it,” said Kyle Krenz.

The Krenz family utilized plastic pumpkin pails and solar yard lights for the perimeter of their display. Skeletons are everywhere—in the graveyard, enjoying a sit, and even in the bathroom.

“We have draping lights inside with pumpkin pails on the lights, which reminds me of “The Halloween Tree,” by Ray Bradbury. It’s a super good story. They made a movie of it, very worth watching and reading. It’s about a group of friends that go on a journey all night on Halloween,” said Kyle Krenz.

Their display has 15 lit up pumpkins that Kyle made from yard lights with a hole drilled in the bottom for a plastic pumpkin pail. There’s a 6-dollar spotlight illuminating a ground-breaking skeleton, and even a skeleton on the toilet.

“One of our neighbors put a hat and scarf on the skeletons sitting over there,” said Kyle Krenz, “we still don’t know who did that.”

“I love the history of Halloween. It’s such an American holiday,” said Kyle Krenz. “This is my favorite holiday. There’s something about being chilled but not frozen, something about getting candy, dressing up to be something different–you know, the spirit of Halloween. Look at the lights and the smiles kids get. It’s such a great time.”

Kyle and Joey Krenz pose with their giant ground-breaking skeleton.

Mike Boyum’s favorite Halloween decoration is probably the big black cat, which moves its head left and right, looking for those ghosts and goblins.

A green witch hangs from the Boyum Halloween house at 418 N. Washington.