GREENFIELD – Crazy? Maybe. Do they care? Not a bit.
A handful of Hancock County residents are proud to show off their Halloween decorations and are counting down the days to when hundreds of costumed neighbors appreciate their glory. While they say their family calls their Halloween obsession a bit crazy, they also agree: it’s worth it.
Mark Entwistle welcomes up to 500 trick-or-treaters annually to his home in Cranberry Estates just north of Greenfield.
It’s a sight to behold, with hand-crafted gravestones and a walk-through garage scene that changes annually.
The process is months in the making, and he chuckles that his family calls him crazy. But sure enough, come Oct. 31 they find the same Halloween spirit too.
“It just makes my night, knowing that I’m putting a smile on a kid’s face. In today’s society, any time you can make a child smile, you need to,” he said. “I have as many adults come by almost as I do the kids because the adults are just in awe of the detail.”
Entwistle is among a handful of Hancock County residents who go all out in scary decor every fall. From skeletons cruising in a Jeep to deadly creatures marching a parade processional, their creators say it’s all in good-natured fun to celebrate the creepy season.
“My mind really starts twitching in about May or June, as to what the garage scene is going to be,” Entwistle said of his creative process. “I try to change it so it’s not the same every year.”
Brainstorming and designing occurs during the warm weather months, he said, and he even attends a Halloween trade show in St. Louis annually for ideas. The craftsmanship begins in the fall.
A full-time equipment operator who does monster truck events on the weekends, Entwistle somehow finds some time here and there to add to his creation. He takes an old billboard and paints a new scene on it; places the billboard to his garage door and welcomes people into a decorated scene. This year’s theme is Area 51. After all, it’s been nearly 10 years since he’s featured aliens.
His neighbors enjoy driving by every day in October and seeing his progress at 3610 N. Mohr Road, Greenfield.
“I go for more detail and scale and different—all my tombstones except for a handful I’ve made,” he said. “They appreciate the amount of work that goes into it. Some think I’m crazy, but some appreciate it.”
Yvonne Couch said she’s gotten letters and notes from people over the years say how much they enjoy her Sleepy Hollow display. She lives between Greenfield and Fortville, at 1410 N. 700W. and even made a TikTok video to share her display with family and friends who live far away.
“Halloween is my favorite,” she said. “It’s the one day of the year when you can be anything you’ve ever wanted to be. And I absolutely love seeing children and adults dressed up in amazing costumes when I pass out candy. So fun!”
Machelle Poindexter says people call her the Halloween Queen. Her favorite decoration is her Jeep, nicknamed Ice Queen. It features a 12-foot skeleton and zombie babies.
“People are always around her, taking pictures,” Poindexter said. “I come out of the store and people are driving by taking pictures or their kids are posing by it. I use my Jeep for fundraising. Over the past few years, we have raised money and brought in supplies for the food pantry and also the Talitha Koum home.”
Mich’ele Everhart’s Fourth Street home in Greenfield is just east of Weston Elementary, and she’s heard from bus drivers that the kids love looking out their window each afternoon.
A 13-foot Jack Skellington is featured prominently in her yard. A hand-made coffin is being escorted by a carriage, with New Orleans-style skeletons marching with toy trumpets.
“It gets wild; I just keep collecting skeletons every year and do different scenarios,” she said. “I have eight grandkids; my youngest who’s 8 says, ‘Grandma, you’re crazy.’”
A vintage Victorian village with three baby skeletons and a nanny also adorn her yard, and a plague doctor is on her porch.
“I just love to see adults and kids say, ‘This is so cool!’” Everhart said. “They see something new every time they stop by. I just love seeing faces. I don’t ask for anything but smiles.”
