HALLOWEEN / NEBRASKA
Smoke machines and Hollywood folklore.
In 2023 we spent Halloween in Nebraska, visiting family.
Trick-or-treat always happens on October 31st. This year (2025) it falls on a Friday, but when we were there, it landed in the middle of the school week. Didn’t matter; trick or treating is non negotiable.
My sister lives in downtown Lincoln, a neighborhood that goes all in for spooky season. Kids and adults in costumes everywhere. Some houses had full movie-set energy: mechanics and smoke machines. Others keep it simple: a plastic pumpkin on the stoop or an open window with a speaker playing the Monster Mash. Either way the atmosphere was buzzin.
SPAM, SPAM, LOVELY SPAM greeted trick-or-treaters, Monty Python style in this house.
Frank in a demon mask and his aunt dressed as the Schitt´s Creek fashion icon: Moira Rose.
Moira Rose giving out candy (unrealistic, Moira would never) while shower curtain ghosts flank the entrance.
Hollywood classics everywhere; Ghostface from Scream and Arnold sinking into lava, suburban edition.
This house was a mix of DIY craft and nightmare fuel.
A giant clown moved and shouted “check under your bed before you go to sleep!” followed by a sinister laugh, triggered when you walked past on the sidewalk. Handmade teeth and eyes framing the entrance and a curtain of Michael Myers greeted you in the doorway.
Speaking of Michael Myers, he was easily the most common costume that night. Closely followed by killer clowns. Nebraska takes fear seriously.
👺 Frank
This house stole the show.
A mechanical werewolf surrounded by smoke, scary enough that a few parents had to collect the candy on behalf of their kids.
It might be the focal point, but there’s plenty competing for attention: a giant spider, two mummies, a gargoyle, a cauldron full of treats, and the graves of Dracula and Mr. Hyde.
Yes, of course they have a full moon.
and it lights up at dusk.
Putting a dolls head on a pole goes a long way too.
Internet mythology was well represented, of course. Not sure, but I think this is from "Friday´s at Freddy´s".
Slenderman a modern classic, been lurking online since 2009.
That's all for now.
Happy Halloween!
