A Walk in Lambertville

Let's face it, on any fair-weather day or evening, Lambertville, NJ is a great urban hike.  Lambertville is home to numerous historic homes and buildings that have been meticulously restored and adaptively reused.  It also contains numerous bars, restaurants and inns overlooking the gentle flow of the Delaware River.

However, when October rolls around, Lambertville takes on an additional persona.  It becomes a Halloween city.  Private residences are bedecked with ghouls and goblins then bathed in black light in celebration of the spooky holiday.

Earlier this month I took a walk through the streets of Lambertville while many of the standout exhibits were being assembled by their creators.  Below are some examples of brilliance that I found in a few short blocks.

First up: this resident took the typical sheet ghost to the next level by creating a faceless specter.  What a cool way to imagine a ghost.  He or she also made sure the ghost was accessorized with skeletal hands clutching chains and a lantern.

This Frankenstein-green house has made the most of its structure by using the door to display a mural of the body of the revived monster.  The head is above the door; presumably trick-or-treaters will enter through the belly of the beast.

This Victorian inn has gone skeletal.  These popular, poseable, plastic skeletons have been making the rounds—not surprising considering they are weather proof and light weight.  I find brilliance here because the designer dismantled one of the skeletons and used the upper and lower sections separately for comedic effect.

Some other standouts include: a haunt based on Van Gogh’s (or is it Van Ghost’s) Starry Night (not pictured)—I would have never even thought of that as a theme; and a pirate ship on a deck (not pictured)—which is an excellent exploration of theme.

Of course, no tour of Lambertville in October would be complete without a stop at the home of Dolores Dragan on North Union Street.  This spectacular black light installation grows annually.  It was even filmed for TLC’s Four Houses in 2012.  This celebrated home does not need me to gush over its genius, but this haunt is the complete package and well worth the trip.

If you have an evening free between now and Halloween: don comfortable walking shoes, grab a flashlight, park on the edge of town, and to spend an hour or two enjoying the sights.  While you are there make a night out of it by trying one the restaurants, coffee shops or public houses. 

For more information about fun activities in Lambertville and along the Delaware River check out: http://delawarerivertowns.com/.

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#10cheaptricks, #Halloween

Hey Folks,

I hope you're fall is going great.  The skies of New Jersey are clear for the moment and fall is looking lovely.

I am starting a multi-part series featuring yard haunts.  I will be discreetly taking pictures of local yard haunts so that we can all learn from their effective design choices.  I will also make some recommendations on how to add to these haunts whenever possible.  Please feel free to jump in with pictures of your own haunt and your feeling on the yard haunts posted.

To get us started off, this is an early presenter--which alone makes them worthy of my praise.  Above you see the traditional cemetery scene.  The home owner had his yard regraded this summer so he is using the fresh earth resident in his haunt space to create the feel of a cemetery.  The addition of the ground breaker skeleton is whimsical and calls attention to the plot. The home owner has also used the playground equipment as part of the haunt.  He has simply installed a floating vampire figure on the slide.  The juxtaposition of a fun play ground and a ghoulish fun seeker puts a smile on my face.  What else is cool? At first glimpse you may mistake the slider for an actual child.  The double take and surprise are part of the fun.

I would add to this scene some lighting so that the fun continues at night.  A simple, all-weather spot aimed at the skeleton and tombstone possibly in red would go along way.  The vampire on the slide could also use a spot.  I would recommend  a white light because of his dark color.  I would plug both into a photo-electric outdoor timer for efficiency and ease of use.  Another simple thing to add is some interest to the eyes of both the skull and the vampire.  Craft stores carry packaged gems that can be glued in the eye sockets.  The mailbox section of your local home and hardware store may sell small stick on reflectors that could be placed in the eyes as well.  They will catch the eye at night and add life to the display.

All in all a good show from this home owner for enhancing the existing terrain for Halloween.

#10cheaptricks

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