Halloween Web - Lisa L

Out next Halloween Web guest is another Countdown blogger!

C'mon in and tell us about yourself.

Thanks for the opportunity to chat!  I’m Lisa from Maple Grove Cemetery.  I have a static yard display in SE Michigan, I have a mix of goofy & spooky with skeletons doing random things around the cemetery like trick or treating or dancing.  My mascot is a 3 foot skeleton named Chuck that is sort of a Halloween version of a Flat Stanley - he has traveled with me extensively and I take pictures of him doing fun things or at neat places and post them on Instagram under #skeletonroadtrip or #maplegrovechuck.

What was Halloween like for you as a child?

I grew up not far from where I live now.  Clawson, Michigan is a small town about 15 miles north of Detroit, about 2 miles square.  I graduated with the same people I went to kindergarten with.  I’m the youngest of 5, so Dad would always take us out trick or treating while Mom stayed home to hand out candy there.  As my siblings got older, they did their own thing and I still went out with Dad.

Do you have any special memories or favorite costumes?

The memory that stands out most is Mom’s homemade costumes. And the inevitable hand-me-down costumes, too. I recall this awesome paper pumpkin that I wore when I was 2 and a ladybug that she made when I was 5 or 6 that I hated since she made me wear a dot of black makeup on my nose.  And it rained that year, so the dots ran on my paper wings.

How do you celebrate Halloween today?

My daughter & nephew both have birthdays at the end of September, so we usually get together for lunch and celebrate them, then go to the orchard.  I traditionally wait until the day after her birthday to start setting up my cemetery - but the 28th falls on a Saturday this year, so she already knows that I’m not giving up a Saturday!

Is there anything special you do every year?

I go to Romeo’s Tillson Street twice every year, once during the day so I can leisurely check out the details, then at night to see it in all it’s glory.   Imagine a street 2 blocks long of mostly historical Victorian houses - but 98% go all out at Halloween.  Each year the local football team patrols the street on Halloween to help with crowd control & any lost kids.

Any particular music, movies, or TV to put you in a festive mood?

Gosh - not really!  I do have my Halloween playlist on my phone that I made for my masquerade ball a couple years ago.  It’s got the usual like Monster Mash & Purple People Eater, along with Spooky Scary Skeletons, the Gangnam edit of Halloween,  a selection from Sharon Needles & Lindsey Sterling, etc.  I have a hard time just sitting down to focus on watching TV or a movie, so there’s not much on my “watch list”. 

Why do you think we still celebrate Halloween as adults?

I think the fun & creativity and seeing the look of joy on the kids’ faces as they come up my driveway.   And the fact that nobody really does the same thing when it comes to decorating and its all awesome!

Inside the Spookster's Studio

The worst thing to get while trick or treating was any sort of hard taffy - Now & Laters, etc.  They were too much work!

My favorite thing to get was Mounds / Almond Joys.

My favorite monster cereal is Count Chocula!

A big thank you to Lisa for chatting with us. Please check out her blog, Maple Grove Cemetery. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you check out the other Countdown to Halloween bloggers by clicking below, a ghost may follow you home!