It’s been a spirited Halloween season of events and decorations…a few more photos before the night ends:

Among the last decorated-home photos we received were these, from Zach, Colleen, and Melina: “We’re pretty proud of our display this year. Lots of skeletons, lots of lights, lots of pumpkins! 5933 32nd Ave SW”

Shawn and Rob on 48th SW sent a photo late this afternoon of their awareness-raising display and trick-or-treat plan:

Last year approximately 1,500 books were banned in schools across the United Stated and 22% of those books directly addressed issues of race and racism. In an effort to bring awareness to this issue and to encourage people to talk about why everyone should be allowed to choose for themselves and their families what they read, we will be passing out treat bags filled with candy, ACLU bookmarks and $5 gift certificates to Pegasus Book Exchange tonight to the first 100 trick or treaters (young and old)! Exercise your rights. Rebels read banned books!

Meantime, we made a few stops tonight, including our every-few-years visit to the front-yard animatronic “Nightmare on 44th”:

Creator Dave told us earlier this season that this might be the last year for his Halloween-only show full of creepy characters.

Early in the evening, we visited another event that had been listed in our West Seattle Halloween Guide – the block party on 37th in Upper Morgan, Here are the neighbors who joined forces to make it happen:

Also seen in that neighborhood – a reminder that the next holidays aren’t far away:

(added) Larry sent photos “from our Halloween block party tonight on 31st between Elmgrove and Thistle”:

And if you want to stretch out Halloween, Ron and Brian plan to keep their show going a few more nights:

Well, the budget was a little tight this year but we still managed to pull off a fair presentation for our most favorite day of the year! We had over 120+ Trick ‘r Treaters show up at our door, we ran out of the regular-sized candy bars we stocked up on at Costco, and we resorted to offering bananas!

One more time – thank you to everyone who sent photos, video, tips, event listings …. true community collaboration!

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As mentioned here last week, after more than a decade and a half of animatronic Halloween shows – even an online-only pandemic production – the curtain is about to fall on Skeleton Theatre, forever. Tonight until 9 pm, and again 6-9 pm, this time it’s a sort of hybrid event: A very brief “performance” (video above) and then the chance to get up on stage, see behind the scenes, take pics with the skeletons. You can watch from backstage too. As the producers explain online, “Basically, you can watch the stuff we usually hide.”

Skeleton Theatre has been a Halloween tradition since 2006, masterminded by Chris Walker with a supporting crew of family and friends. (We’ve been covering it since year 2!) It’s in the front yard on the southwest corner of 36th/Hanford.

Three more home displays to show you on this Halloween Eve:

Kristi and Mark sent the video, explaining, “We have been working on our skeleton pirate ship off and on for about 8 years. We’ll have the thunderstorm and the cannons going on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Come find us is you dare! 2652 52nd Ave SW”

This photo from Joanna is a sneak peek:

She explains, “We will have a display in Arbor Heights on Halloween. Address is 9616 39th Ave SW, just past 98th where 39th DEAD ENDS (insert spooky laugh!).”

And here’s David‘s display:

He says, “I think we have a pretty great display at our house, especially at night. It is all sorts and sizes of spiders and webs, along with other inflatables. 4042 55th Ave SW.”

Thanks again for all the tips and pics – see all our spotlights by scrolling through our Halloween coverage archive; most are also in our Halloween Guide (though we’re still catching up with a few to add there too).

In the trick-or-treat-event section of our West Seattle Halloween Guide, we invited people to let us know if they’re participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project, “a simple way to make trick-or-treating safer and more inclusive for the one in 13 children living with food allergies, and many others impacted by intolerances and other conditions.” We’ve heard from (updated) 21 participating homes so far, and added those addresses to the Halloween Guide, in case that helps your family’s trick-or-treating plan; if you’re a Teal Pumpkin home too, it’s not too late to let us know so we can add you to the list – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

On this Halloween-Eve-Eve, three more West Seattle displays to show you, starting with this one at Ashley‘s house:

We have a Halloween display at 7019 14th Ave SW. We have a giant spider named Garth, a giant skeleton names Indiana Bones, and a humorous mausoleum.

There are several other decorated houses on 14th and Myrtle.

A texter sent this photo of macabre marine life in a window along 34th north of Thistle:

And not only did Alki Mail & Dispatch (47th/Admiral) send this photo from their spirited in-store display, customer Al tipped us about it too:

Though this hectic Hallo-weekend is wrapping up, we still have some Halloween-night info to add to the Halloween Guide – and there’s one more big pre-Halloween event tomorrow, the Fall Fest at West Seattle High School – check back!

(WSB photos, video unless otherwise credited)

10:58 AM: Halloween in The Junction is on! The costume parade, led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band, will soon leave Junction Plaza Park and head around the Farmers’ Market, then around the extra block that’s closed for today’s celebration, California between Alaska and Edmunds. Trick-or-treating is getting under way – find candy outside participating businesses as well as at booths south of Alaska. The Seattle Thrillers are set to perform at noon, and there’s a surprise performer – The Bubbleman is here.

We’re helping hand out candy (while it lasts!) near Walk-All-Ways. See you here!

11:20 AM: The parade is over (added: video) …

(Photo by Holli Margell)

… and the trick-or-treating has ramped up.

11:50 AM: Huge turnout. Hundreds of pieces of candy already distributed. (We’ve gone to the store in search of more.) In the booths here on California south of Alaska, you’ll find local schools and organizations with treats and activities, like Westside School (WSB sponsor):

And Tilden School (WSB sponsor):

Coming up: Thrlllers perform here at Walk-All-Ways at noon.

12:19 PM: Many creative costumes!

Everything stopped dead in its tracks, of course, when the Seattle Thrillers started their show:

They’re also doing a slow-speed audience-participation version:

The Bubbleman – who’s emerged from retirement – remains here close to our booth, with low-key bubbly fun:

The party’s on until 2 pm. (And yes, we found more candy.)

12:45 PM: The pace has slowed. More time to appreciate the costumes!

If we were judging, we’d have to say this multi-holiday family wins:

And we have to go out on another candy run!

1:31 PM: New phenomenon this year – non-costumed adult trick-or-treaters. (Hey, the free candy’s for everyone!) Meantime, we should note that it’s not just those of us who have been hanging out in the street who are handing out treats – your Junction businesses are at the heart of this, long before it turned into a block pqrty – this is presented by the West Seattle Junction Association! It’s an especially big day for kid-oriented businesses, like Curious Kidstuff:

And 3 Little Birds:

And a visiting-for-the-day business, from south of The Junction – West Seattle Nursery:

Thanks to everyone who’s stopped to say hi, too!

2 PM: Party’s over, as somebody just said. We’ll be adding video and more photos later.

7:19 PM: Still in the process of doing that. Meantime, regarding the comment discussion about leaving Alaska open to cross-traffic this year, Marco says he emailed WSJA and executive director Chris Mackay has replied that they’ll definitely return to doing that next year.

Thanks again for all the great Halloween-display photos, videos, and tips! More to show you tonight:

That’s the Patch family’s “haunted yard” at 5206 23rd SW – nightly “through Halloween from dusk till 9:30. Come see the show and walk the graveyard. Full bars on Halloween night.” They sent video too:

In Gatewood, Yma says, “Come say hi to our ‘pets’ out front! Portland St off California, mid block. Across the street from Berg’s Pumpkin Patch“:

And Joseph sent the next photo with the warning, “Quick heads up. Alert! The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was spotted. Corner of Manning and 53rd. Be Advised”:

They’re hoping to welcome lots of trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. (Scroll through our Halloween coverage archive for all the displays we’ve shown this season!)

Meantime, check our Halloween Guide for what’s happening through the big night – including Halloween in The Junction tomorrow, starting with the 11 am costume parade led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band, followed by trick-or-treating at businesses and booths, until 2 pm. See you there!

The next round of West Seattle business-district trick-or-treating is on! Until 2 pm, at least half a dozen businesses at Alki Beach (see the map here) are welcoming trick-or-treaters, along Alki Avenue between 57th and 63rd. Trick-or-treating with a view!

Lots of families here to enjoy it.

In tonight’s Halloween-decoration spotlight, Jason has again adorned his corner (52nd/Dakota) with dozens of jack-o’-lanterns! Some years he’s had a hundred. Go count this year’s lineup while admiring them! Thanks again to everyone who’s shared decoration-location photos/video/tips – we have more to show you before Halloween arrives; you can scroll through our coverage archive to see everything we’ve already shown. And plan the rest of your Hallo-weekend with our West Seattle guide – we’ll be adding more events before the night’s out!

(WSB photo – Skeleton Theatre stage site)

After more than a decade and a half, the West Seattle front-yard animatronic Halloween show Skeleton Theatre is about to hang up its (bone) spurs. We stopped by the corner of 36th/Hanford after the Skeleton crew started building this year’s stage/set, and they told us this would be their last year. The website‘s not updated yet for this year, but it has tons of history on this longtime local Halloween favorite, which dates back to the mid-’00s (they even did an online version for pandemic year 2020). It’s usually full of corny jokes, lighting and sound effects, and of course, the animatronic skeleton stars. All they would tell us about this year’s show is that it’s called “Junior,” and that the name would make sense when we see the show. The schedule is the same as previous years – Halloween night and the night after (October 31-November 1), 6 pm-9 pm, more or less continuous shows with a reset break between them.

Both of these are near Admiral (where business trick-or-treating kicks off Hallo-weekend tomorrow afternoon!):

The photo above is from Nichol, whose display is at 2752 38th SW. The photo below is from Wyatt, who has a message, too:

Hi, community! We are slowly but surely catching up to all of your amazing displays, and before long, our block will be in full spook to welcome all of you Trick-or-treaters to our annual Halloween spectacular! Come by for some new items, ideas, and humorous twists! I want to note that my display doesn’t and never will have an age limit for trick-or-treating. I love putting together an experience for all to enjoy, and believe that everyone should have some hot chocolate for Halloween!

Wyatt is at 40th/Charlestown. See everyplace we’ve featured by scrolling through our Halloween coverage archive; for the dozens of events coming up between now and the big night, see our West Seattle Halloween Guide!

(Awaiting the Great Pumpkin on 34th near Barton – photo by Mark Watters)

The big Hallo-weekend is almost here, with trick-or-treat events, carnivals, haunted houses, spooky shows, even a run through the forest and paddling on the Sound! We don’t want you to miss out on any of it, and that’s why we’ve been updating our West Seattle Halloween Guide, where you’ll find a list of more than three dozen Halloween/Dia de Muertos options unfolding over the next six days. (And if we’re missing something, please let us know so we can add it! Thank you!)

Now tonight’s Halloween decoration spotlight: Darrell sent photos of the display he createdin the 9000 block of 18th SW – a sight to see, day or night:

If you’ve seen the Halloween display at Trader Joe’s – Darrell’s responsible for that too!

Just six nights until Halloween – and dozens of events in the days and nights until then – we’re still adding to the list on our West Seattle Halloween Guide page!

Thanks to Lauren for sending photos of tonight’s featured Halloween display – “pics of my house on SW Portland in Gatewood! It’s Berg’s Pumpkin Patch.”

Halloween is one week from tomorrow, and this weekend is full of festivities – we’re continuing to add to our West Seattle Halloween Guide! If you have info for it, please email westseattleblog@gmail.com as soon as you can; thanks!

Multiple readers suggested we check out this Halloween display at 37th/Graham. As our video above shows, it’s a light show with music. The yard has additional decorations too:

You can hear the music via 87.9 FM.

We’re continuing to spotlight West Seattle displays nightly through Halloween – if you have one to suggest, whether yours or someone else’s, please email us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – with or without photos – thank you!