Three Haunted Houses Take Top Honors in Decorating Contest

Goblins and ghouls and ghosts! Oh my! Twelve Des Plaines Homes competed in the fifth annual Halloween House Decorating Contest sponsored by the Friends of the Parks. Judging took place on Monday, October 28. Judges from The Frisbie Senior Center, Oakton Pavilion, Lee Manor, and Alden Place, along with members of the Friends of the Parks and Des Plaines Park District staff, cast their votes for the most spirited Halloween haunts based on originality, arrangement, theme, and overall presentation. First, second, and third place winners were selected, and presented with Des Plaines Park District gift certificates. In Third Place: the Cook and Tobin families combined to create a dead-end cemetery at 1326 and 1336 Whitcomb Avenue. All means to an end were present including an electric chair, a guillotine, and a gallows. A delectable feast of body parts was laid out, and those not being served, were rising from graves. In Second Place, The Allegettis at 451 W. Walnut Avenue out-booed the competition with an Old Horror Movies Theme. The giant drive-in style screen sat on stacked bales of hay, and a skeleton tree that proclaimed “Death Awaits” greeted visitors. The 2013 First Place Winner was the Michalak family at 1784 Everett Avenue. The corner plot was decked out with dead brides, angel skeletons, ghouls roasting on a spit, baby goblins swinging solemnly, hideously twisted creatures rising in agony from tombstones, and an assortment of cats, rats, and bats.

The winning tableau also included a red collection barrel for the Des Plaines Self Help Closet and Pantry. “This house was so well decorated that it drew a crowd. I love that this family went the extra mile and parlayed the attention they generated with their haunts into doing something great for the community,” said Linda Traina, Superintendent of Recreation.

For more information about Des Plaines Park District programs and events, visit www.DPParks.org.