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Old Northeast St. Pete celebrates Halloween
Evyn Moon reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Trick-or-treaters across the Tampa Bay area went door to door Tuesday night in search of the candy and decorations. But, it's hard to find more elaborate Halloween decorations – and more committed neighbors – than in Old Northeast St. Petersburg.
The neighborhood has held a long-standing tradition of going all out for the spookiest season, with many of the homes taking on Hollywood movies themes. This year, themes included Beetlejuice, where the owners said they made a lot of their own decorations, as well as Monsters Inc. and Jurassic Park.
The Beetlejuice homeowners, the Wolski family, said they started building in August.
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"It involved many trips to Home Depot and Lowes and playing with power tools. I mean, it’s a guys dream come true!" the family said.
An obvious favorite this year was a Taylor Swift-themed house, decorated with a graveyard of her exes, and featuring her songs filling the busy streets all night long.
"I saw a skeleton Taylor Swift on TikTok and thought I can do that big," said creator Abby Ritchie. "There was a dance party out here last night, so I have a feeling there’s going to be a dance party out here again tonight."
The word on St. Pete’s Halloween festivities bringing thousands of people to the neighborhood, including one family who traveled all the way from Belgium: "It is actually our second year, second time we’ve come all the way down here to experience this crazy, awesome, beautiful neighborhood."
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The costumes seen in Old Northeast were just as elaborate, not just from kids, but from adults, who stayed in character all night.
A Beetlejuice impersonator, Ted Scarpino, said he has been celebrating in the area for 17 years.
"I just take their candy, have fun, visit… I get one day out a year, so I got to do what I can," Scarpino joked.
The Beetlejuice house won spookiest display in the neighborhood this year, said Ray Wolski.