In Praise of Skeletons on the Lawn

There’s something about a neighborhood walk in October. First of all, yay me for putting on my sneakers and getting out there - there’s always that moment of “but it’s so much cozier indoors!”

But. The air is crisp, the leaves are colorful or at least crunchy, and front yards are populated by ghosts, skeletons, and inflatable monsters. Kinda spooky, yes—but also a hoot.

I love Halloween lawn decorations. Not just because they’re creative, but because they’re ours—a rare kind of celebration that’s, well, so inclusive.

Unlike other holidays that can lean religious or political, Halloween is almost completely bipartisan and non-denominational. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe; most of us can appreciate a grinning skeleton or a funny graveyard scene. For a moment, maybe we can ignore the lawn signs and just share a laugh.

Skeleton Does the Yardwork

Halloween decorations also let us play with darkness—and poke fun at it. Halloween gives us permission to laugh in the face of fear, even imaginary death. A skeleton pushing a mower or a zombie dog chasing a skeleton cat is equal parts creepy and hilarious. There’s something healing about that humor. In a world that often feels too serious, a front-yard cemetery with funny tombstones (“I. M. Dunn” or “I Told You I Was Sick”) offers a bit of relief.

Seeing all this through my grandkids’ eyes makes it even better. Every year we go down into my basement and break open the box of ceramic pumpkins, fake spider webs, and huge fabric spiders. “I remember this from last year!”. The creepy equivalent of Xmas ornaments, I guess?

This year the three “little monsters” talked us into a trip to Home Depot for more showy decor. We set a budget, and of course, since they couldn’t agree, spent three times said budget.

Bobby the Skeleton. Boo!

But then I just sent them out into the front year and they set it all up themselves! A Halloween miracle. Of course they had to name everyone. There is Barbara the cackling witch, Sally the ?- I have no idea what Sally is, but we plug her in and she inflates - and Bobby the Skeleton.

So much fun! And for me, it’s also creativity and community. Decorating becomes a shared neighborhood story told in pumpkins, cobwebs, and glowing eyes. You don’t have to know your neighbors to feel connected to what they added to their yard in October with imagination, and often humor.

Maybe that’s why I love it so much. Halloween décor can be a reminder that we all share the same sense of fun—and the same appreciation for a good laugh in the dark. It’s an art form that’s accessible and a bit rebellious: extravagant, but temporary; spooky, but safe.

So yes, I adore Halloween lawn decorations. They’re a celebration of humor, creativity, and togetherness—community spirit wrapped in spiderwebs. And if you pass a yard where a giant skeleton dances with Frankenstein while a plastic ghost waves from the porch, stop and smile. You’re seeing something rare: people having fun, for no reason other than shared creativity and expression. Boo!. 🎃