Inspiring Yard Creations in Bayview

As I mentioned in my last blog post, there were some amazing yard decorations in the neighborhood around the Pumpkin Pavilion. For those familiar with the Milwaukee area, that neighborhood was Bayview. 

I have been looking forward to sharing these photos with you guys, because it's fun to show pics of something people probably haven't seen before. So many of these are DIY creations, so you won't have seen them in stores. You may have seen some parts in stores, like the skeletons, but the displays are pretty original.

Isn't it amazing how something so simple as a mask with the right lighting can have such an effect? I think simplicity is sometimes the scariest.

Those masks were hanging on the door of this house.

This decorator knew how to work with pink and red lights! I have a feeling that every angle was tried with the lights until it was just so. 

This little pirate spook was on a fence around the backyard of the next place you're going to see. 

Boo! How great is this? This pumpkin man was super tall and on a bit of a hill, so most people would feel like they're looking up at him.

See the floating candles above the door?

Here's the entire front of this very well-lit house. 

I love the friendly ambience with the string lights and pumpkin pail, but the figure was unnerving. I really couldn't tell if he was a real guy or not.

Even as I got closer to take this pic, I was thinking "Please don't move. Please don't move." I'm 99% sure he was a prop. I am noticing a lot of beer can accessories on figures and props this year. In this case, the can was what was making me unsure about his liveliness. 

I've probably shared pics of this house in the past. I think this will be the only display you've possibly seen on here before. But I will keep sharing it every time I visit it! How can I not? I don't think I'd captured how tall the house is before, though. You can see that small upper story window lit up. Look for the "Beware of House" sign.

That part of their porch that juts out really adds to this unhinged jaw look. I love everything about this.

I feel like a little kid when I look at this porch. This is an intimidating set of stairs to climb on Trick or Treat night!

I can't decide if this porch is welcoming or not! It looks like the skeletons are having a conversation. Check out that wreath.

There were some unique inflatables out that night. I have never seen any of the following inflatables in any other yard. The Sandworm from Beetlejuice: 

Here's the full view so you can see him coiled on the ground. There are so many little parts on this one.

The Reaper:

Yes, he's holding a heart.

This one is so well lit. I'm sure this is the most vibrant red I've seen from an inflatable. 

Those are spiders crawling on the skull. And you may be able to tell that there is a big purple spider in the background.

This is a good one for "Squirrel View" as I call it. :) Lately, I've gotten some more interesting photo angles by crouching down to the ground.

I don't know how to describe what this cool tree decoration is made of. It's some type of hard, transparent material you can see lights through. I remember seeing a lot more of this style of decoration right before inflatables became the thing. I'm sure this takes less upkeep while outside, although it takes more storage space since it doesn't deflate. 

Do you see the doll face emerging from the corner? They even set up some candles inside the window. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be part of the decorations we saw from outside, but they add something being behind that skull.

I thought I'd save this guy until last because it looks like he's waving goodbye as we leave the neighborhood. This skeleton looks metallic, at least in this light. I'm pretty sure he would look gold in the daylight. Wouldn't he be perfect in a pirate display?

On the way to the car, we passed this church. I had to include these pics because even though they're not of Halloween decorations, they are still pretty dramatic and spooky.

This door looks like it could be featured in a Hammer movie.

This is a pretty great area to explore when looking for Halloween decorations. Browsing up and down these streets was actually as fun for me as the Pumpkin Pavilion. I think there was an equal amount to see! 

I love it when a whole neighborhood gets into decorating for the holidays. Surprisingly, there have been some pretty solidly decorated streets closer to home this year. Pics from those streets will be coming soon.

Bayview Halloween House Tour

So here we have what was supposed to be this year's Halloween blog post, but you're going to get it for Thanksgiving! This goes to show how time has been moving lately. I've been looking forward to sharing these photos from Bayview's Halloween house tour. Some people in this neighborhood made the plan to really decorate their houses for Halloween. A list of house addresses was shared, so a person could know where to stop. 

You guys might remember all the many carved pumpkins that were in Bayview last year for the Pumpkin Pavilion celebration. Well, that would have been kind of a crowd gatherer, so I think they planned this in place of it. The houses did not disappoint! 

Check out this one with the teeth. It was one of my favorites.

The "jaw" is kind of unhinging here, which I didn't realize until seeing this photo at home. And there are some sort of Tim Burton looking tentacles reaching up there. They remind of the sandworms from Beetlejuice a bit.

Chomp! I was just thinking how these teeth must look from inside the window.

"Beware of House"

If I had to guess, I'd say that this figure was constructed with Saran Wrap over a metal frame. I would be interested to know what the materials were. I don't really understand what's going on, but it sure is creepy! This display took up much of a front window. Wait, does that look like a real-life cat lounging in front of the figure? I seriously only noticed that just now.

I like the way the different colors blend together on this house. I'm not sure why, but this is one of the creepier photos for me. Lighting can do some pretty magic things.

And how fun is this one? It's like a carnival ride.

I think I remember seeing this same inflatable in Cedarburg a few Halloweens ago. You can see the lights kind of move around in its head.

This inflatable Frankenstein display surrounded an entire entryway. I don't think I've ever seen an inflatable that does that. It would work well as a group photo backdrop. 

The owners of this house just went to town! I recall getting out of the car and having to take a cold walk to get the following photos. While walking by a neighboring house, I noticed the shadowy figure of a man sitting on the porch. I just noticed him out of the corner of my eye, and it was one of those things where you wonder if it is a person or a prop. Between him and the chilly weather, I was in a hurry to take these skeleton photos.

Can you read that sign? "WARNING Unattended children will be captured and used for medical experiments" That reminds me of some sassy signs I've seen in stores.

I like that giant werewolf thing. It looks worn out. It's walking like "Oh, my aching neck!"

That head on the stained torso is pretty creepy.

I think this zombie is a woodcutting?

This one is a classic. They had the perfect shapes and windows to work with. I think those figures in the attic are extra spooky. I'm assuming they are props.

Here's a bit closer of a view so you can see those cool rainbow light strings in the windows and the alien in the doorway.

This yard had the kind of big moving decorations you see in hardware stores. You know, those life-size ones that talk to you.

There's a pool of water in the middle of all this action.

This tree had something ominous to say, but I can't remember what it was now. Pretty cool with those red, glowing eyes!

The Reaper...

It was hard for me to choose which photo of this to post. I took several and in each one the lights were different colors. In some photos the jack-o-lantern is lit up. I like the pumpkin dark and shadowy, though.

Actually, you can see the pumpkin lit up a little here. It was difficult to choose a skeleton dragon photo to share too. It looked good in every color. There will be a dog skeleton coming up with a similar situation. Thinking back on this display, it must have been changing colors every few seconds.

I think this is scary, even knowing it was a prop, and knowing it's my own photo.

A ghoulie out walking his dogs:

And here's that skeleton dog pic I mentioned. It looked cool in purple and orange too, but I think it's best in ghoulish green. This yard really was lit well.

A gargoyle: 

I saved what appeared to be the most popular yard for last. At least, there were a ton of people in this yard. This one had a Ghostbusters theme and here they are crossing their streams. 

And here's Gozer! So much work went into this. Check out those glowing rope lights that are wrapped around something (thin poles?) to form the streams. 

Here's what I managed to get of the Ghostbusters. And how cool! I didn't even notice Zuel there until right this second! Wow, that's really looking like the real deal.

Well, there we have it! Pretty impressive displays, eh? I hope to see the massive Pumpkin Pavilion display out next Halloween, but I'd be happy if they keep up this elaborate house decorating too! I liked how people went in so many different directions with their themes. And I also appreciated the professional looking lighting on these displays. They were a ton of fun to photograph. If it hadn't been freezing out there, it probably would have been hard to drag me away from looking.

Happy Thanksgiving! 🍁