By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
It’s quiet again these days on the southeast corner of Mix Ave. in Decatur, just off Washington St., but for a month each year it comes alive with a Halloween display that is like no other – and which draws onlookers on a daily basis.
To Alicia and Cale Shields, Halloween is like the Fourth, Memorial Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving and all the rest wrapped up into one.
If you haven’t seen their yard full of skeletons, ghosts, witches, goblins, et al, then mark it down on your 2026 calendar for a visit next October.
“My husband (Cale) and I have had a love for Halloween for many years,” Alicia says. “Every year for the last nine years we have had a Halloween costume party with friends and family. When we started seeing these large props, we knew we had to have them.
“We love Halloween so much my husband and I decided to get married last October 26 and turned our Halloween party into our reception.
“It was a blast … We knew last year we wanted to go big and this year we went even bigger. Halloween holds a special place for both of us now.”
They went big, alright. Maybe “huge” would be a better description.
And the stuff is all theirs.
“We own all of our props; either we purchased them or built them,” Alicia explained. “We have been collecting these large displays for the last four years.
“ We started doing large props four years ago, but the last two years have been the largest by far. Every year we add more large props and change the dynamics of the display.”
Alicia and Cale – a quality assurance manager and a welding supervisor, respectively, with Strickler Trailers of Monroe for 10-plus years – do all the work setting up the display.
“We usually have a game plan or strategy already planned out before we set up each year,” she said. “We try to make it different every year. Depending on the size of the display it can take anywhere from one to two weeks with us adding small things each week afterward until we are finished.”
Then, of course, that is always that remorseful day that inevitably comes around each year. This year, it began the Saturday after Halloween.
“When we tear the display down we usually recruit a friend’s son to help us and we can get everything down and put away in two to three days.” Alicia explained. “Once everything is boxed or bagged back up, we store it all here in our shed and basement.
“Any larger of a display and we will have to buy another shed!”
The display has, as one can imagine, numerous onlookers.
“During the evening, Cale and I would sit out in the garage and watch people drive by wave and video the display,” Alicia noted.
“Many people would stop and ask if they could take pictures with their kids. Some nights we would have 15-20 cars after turning the lights on, depending on which night of the week it was. But many people would drive by during the day as well, just to tell us how awesome it is.
“We had multiple parents bring their children almost every night to the ‘spooky house,’ or take the long way home just to drive by because their kids enjoy it so much!”
Those who have seen the display can appreciate how much work – and cost – goes into it. But for the Shields couple, it is a labor of love.
“We work so hard on planning, making props and setup/tear down that this (story) and the hundreds of compliments we have received this year make it all worthwhile,” Alicia exclaimed.
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