It’s time for the obligatory Halloween decoration post; I can’t delay it any longer as we are well into October. Actually, even though I dislike Salem’s endless Halloween festivities in general, I like to see houses dressed up for the season, especially if the decorations tend more toward “harvest” than the macabre. One of the things I like best about living in a small city full of streets lined and fronted with old houses is “entryway decor”: people really make an effort in Salem, and not just on Halloween. I used to make more of an effort, but I think I’ve been in a funk since the antique planters on my front steps were stolen this summer–there’s just one replacement planter out there now, filled now-lackluster summer plants that I neglect terribly. I did manage to put some spiders on my door wreaths this weekend; they will have to suffice for me this Halloween.
The photographs below, taken on Federal, River and several streets around Salem Common, show homes of people who have made much more of an effort! As you can see, I have a preference for little pumpkins, preferably white, but orange will do–and I like whimsical Halloween decorations, even if they are store-bought: the eyeball lights in the yew below captured my attention, even in the daytime. If I were to give out an award for best decoration, I would give it to the raven–festooned white house on River Street: those birds made me stop in my tracks.
October 15th, 2013 at 7:51 am
Oh, very nice! thanks for the tour….wish I could see them for myself, but your visual report is the next best. . . . M.
October 15th, 2013 at 7:53 am
Thanks, Melinda–I did have to edit carefully; there’s a lot of kitsch out there too.
October 15th, 2013 at 8:14 am
Wonderful photos! I grew up on the North Shore and I do miss it in the Fall! (Currently residing in Austin)
October 15th, 2013 at 8:34 am
I like the elf legs in the pot and the rat on the broom!
October 17th, 2013 at 12:43 pm
I agree, i love the one with the birds, but i love the colour of the blue house, with the pumpkins. What gorgeous houses you have in Salem.