DETROIT, Mich. - Halloween activities, like costume parties and trick-or-treating, will look much different this year because of the pandemic. Some families might be looking for new traditions like going from house to house checking out Halloween decorations at a safe distance.
There is one home in Grosse Pointe Farms that is a must-see.
For 24 years, Mark Van Sile and his wife go all out for Halloween. Their home sits on the corner of Lake Shore Drive and Moross Road. With thousands of LED lights and tons of spooky decorations, it has become an attraction!
“It means more to people this year than in the past because it is a sign of normalcy,” Mark said.
He puts up the lights and decorations himself. He’s in real estate and construction and rents equipment. Mark says it takes 80 hours to decorate about $8,000 worth of props and lights.
Every year, the Vane Sile couple would dress up and pass out full-size candy bars to 1,400 trick-or-treaters. But because of the pandemic, they are keeping safe and won’t be hosting trick-or-treaters.
This year, people are welcome to walk up the driveway and check out all the spooky sights at a safe distance.
“People are truly enthusiastic about it,” Mark said.
It is not just Halloween, they go big on Independence Day and Christmas.
Mark has so many decorations, he built his own storage room. The homeowner is so festive, he was featured in a Valero Energy commercial for putting up half a million lights
Mark says he’s happy when all of his efforts bring smiles and lasting memories for little ones.
“When you have Halloween decorations, you have Christmas decorations, it’s for everybody to enjoy," he said. "Take a step back, relax. Forget about the troubles for a while and just have some fun.”
Mark will be taking down the Halloween decorations the day after Halloween and will start putting up Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving.
This story was first published by Syma Chowdhry at WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan.