Front lawns across Potomac's Fallsmead neighborhood are loaded with cobwebs, life-sized skeletons and towering inflatable figures as residents stage their annual Halloween decoration tradition.
Families along Greenplace Terrace and Fallsmead Way transform their yards each fall in what has become a long-standing friendly competition to create the most festive house on the block, Common Sense, the Wootton High School student newspaper, first reported.
No two homes look alike. One yard might feature a cheerful jack-o'-lantern surrounded by friendly ghosts. The house next door could go darker, with hanging poltergeists, weathered tombstones and grim reapers.
Henry Jacobs, a Wootton High School senior and long-time Fallsmead resident, said the tradition draws the whole neighborhood out each October. "The decoration contest is easily something everyone looks forward to every single fall," Jacobs said.
The setup process pulls families outside and into conversation with neighbors they might not see the rest of the year. Amanda Schwartz, a Fallsmead community member, said the decorating and trick-or-treating experience gets everyone out visiting one another. Schwartz said families from other parts of the area often come to Fallsmead because of how rich the tradition is.
That cross-generational appeal is part of what keeps the tradition going. Sid Shetty, a Wootton High School senior and Fallsmead resident, said watching the neighborhood light up near Halloween each year highlights how special the community is. "It really highlights how special our community is when everyone comes together to participate in something so fun and memorable," Shetty said.
Families stroll the sidewalks admiring new additions, and local high schoolers pass the displays on their daily walks to school. The atmosphere gives long-time residents and newer neighbors a reason to stop and talk.
Halloween falls on Saturday, Oct. 31. Trick-or-treaters can walk Greenplace Terrace and Fallsmead Way that evening to see the full display.
