His and hearse and the ghoul of your dreams

If you only got 10 or 15 little goblins at your door last Halloween, maybe you have to add a ghoul or two or perhaps a coffin to your outdoor landscaping scheme.

"Last year was the first year we ran out of candy," said Jason McNutt, of 184 Heritage Drive.

McNutt has a spooky coffin with a leering plastic corpse stuffed inside. The black structure is right beside his front door and the lid bangs open and shut unexpectedly. It's a hoot, but whether the coffin is the big draw or not, last year he counted 400 visitors on Oct. 31.

Allan and Sandra Arsenault at 51 Goodridge Drive have two coffins standing on either side of their front door. In addition, their yard boasts dozens of ghoulish- looking mannequins. These freaky-looking undead souls may or may not have something to do with the guillotine that also enhances the Arsenault's décor, but the couple was still outside at 11 p.m. last year trying to spook passersby. They gave candy to 200 people.

"Just about the time when we started to run out of candy the fire department came with bags of candy they donated for the kids. They just dumped the candy on the driveway and the kids grabbed it," Sandra Arsenault said.

Householders everywhere adopt a Muppet-like Count von Count persona on Oct. 31. Neighbours like to brag about how many kids came to the door and how much candy they give out.

The Carli family at 64 Embassy should win the contest for 2010 because they counted close to 3,000 people last Halloween.

"We ran out of candy at 1,000," said Ingrid Carli.

The piÈce de résistance at their house this year is a 1983 white Cadillac hearse. The Carlis bought the vehicle specifically for Halloween and then had the hood airbrushed to show a depiction of the Grim Reaper.

All-Hallows-Even

The word Halloween dates back to the Middle Ages and refers to the evening before All Hallows Day, which was the mass day for saints.

The pumpkin carving tradition likely originated in Ireland and Scotland, where people carved turnips in honour of dead souls. By the mid-1880s North American immigrants, who kept the old ways, began using pumpkins, because they were bigger and easier to carve than turnips.

Pranks became associated with Halloween and blamed on ghoulies and ghosties thanks in part to poets such as Robert Burns and John Mayne. Popular novels such as Frankenstein and Dracula further popularized the myths and symbolism of the holiday and by the 20th century, horror movies brought these characters and other undead beings to life on the big screen.

Collecting food or pennies for the poor dates back centuries to the practice of Souling. Poor folks went door-to-door asking for handouts in exchange for a promise of prayers for the saints.

21st Century

The increase in Halloween consumerism in the 21st century could be related to the Harry Potter phenomenon as well as to books and movies about vampires and zombies.

"The new Halloween consumerism trend is related to the fantasy genre of the last dozen years. Society pays less and less attention to the pagan rituals and Halloween has very little religious affiliation for most people now. But pop culture and modern-day fantasy stories certainly are an influence," said University of Alberta marketing professor Kyle Murray.

American marketing trends, including decorating magazines featuring colourful Halloween photos also contribute to the expansion of the theme in Canada, Murray said.

Scary spectacle

The Spectre of Halloween Past is moving into the big time now as the colourful Jack O'Lantern on the step makes way for black-garbed creatures that swing from the trellis.

Some homeowners are spending thousands of dollars and an equivalent number of hours on the construction of innovative props such as creaking doors and groaning coffins.

"It's fun! We cover our whole house with black cloth — even the windows and doors — and the entire front yard is one big grave with lots of creepy, freaky things," Arsenault said.

For Arsenault, the best part of the night is watching older kids come up to her door and then seeing them hesitate until they get enough courage to ask for candy.

"I'm sitting on a rocking chair near this outhouse-like building and I hand out the candy. But if you want candy, you gotta go through the main entrance. We don't scare the little guys, but the teens are a blast! They try to be so cool, and you can see them debating whether to go in. It's hilarious," Arsenault said.

The Carlis started decorating their Erin Ridge home eight years ago and as their theme grew and they got more and more devices to scare people, the crowds grew, too.

"The first year we had 75 kids. Then it grew to 200 and so on. Last year the majority were adults between 20 and 30 years old," Carli said.

She gets the biggest kick out of surprising people and every year she and her husband build different sets so they can jump out and go "boo" from different places.

"People watch for the decorations now. The kids call us Mr. and Mrs. Halloween and the other day this little guy came up to me and said, 'Mrs. Halloween! Isn't it time to get started?' "

He'll have to wait because the Carli family will spend all day Monday setting up their display. They promise it will be different and scarier than ever.