Must-see Long Island homes decorated for Halloween

Some folks go really hard on their Halloween decorations. The spooky holiday rivals Christmas as far as decorations go, with local residents adorning their homes to the hilt. If the live action haunts are too scary for you, take a trip around the various neighborhoods of Long Island to take a gander at the displays some families have constructed on their front lawns. Here are seven selfie-friendly haunted homes to see this season.

CREEPY CLEARY ROAD

47 Cleary Rd., Ronkonkoma

This Halloween house is tied to the love story of singers Lee Ann Brill-Prussen, 70, and John Prussen, 64, of Ronkonkoma. The couple, who met singing at open mic night at Brios in Huntington, share a love for Halloween.

The entrance to the home looks like an amusement park and the madness extends all over the property. The front lawn features a parade of demons, haunted trees, creepy crows, evil pumpkins and scary scarecrows. The backyard contains a large pirate ship with a shark and sea creatures.

“Many people who drive by stop and take pictures,” Brill-Prussen says. “Sometimes we cause a traffic jam on our block.”

THE HAUNTINGS OF MICHIGAN DRIVE

42 Michigan Dr., Hicksville

Hicksville resident Krystina Rody knew her family had to step up her Halloween decoration game when the cardboard tombstones in their small makeshift graveyard were falling over and breaking.

Now Rody’s home looks like Halloween exploded all over her house. It begins with the Halloween arch filled with knickknacks  the family collected over the years. On the right, there’s a skeleton bar scene with a skeleton coming out of a wine barrel, a skeleton bartender and skeleton dealing cards at a table. To the left, there’s a pumpkin patch filled with movie characters like Pinhead (“Hellraiser”), Freddy Krueger (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”), Jason Voorhees (“Friday the 13th”), Michael Myers (“Halloween”) and some gremlins.

“Pinhead is the most popular,” Rody, 39, says. “People are either terrified by him or intrigued by him. He’s toward the front, so people tend to take selfies with him.”

NIGHTMARE ON STONE AVENUE

52 Stone Ave., North Babylon

Ricky Ruggles, 18, of North Babylon, has turned his parents’ house into a Halloween haven. In fact, he hopes to one day become a professional movie set designer.

“When I was young, I’d go to other Halloween houses and got so inspired by that type of stuff,” Ruggles says. “I fell in love with how the decorations operated and moved.”

The graveyard gets haunted by ghosts, werewolves lunge back and howl while witches cast spells — and that’s only the beginning. In a more intense area, there’s a man that gets electrocuted as well as an evil butcher shop.

“I love seeing all the kids' faces and enjoy how adults react to it,” Ruggles says. “If I see someone get startled, it brings a smile to my face.”

CARNIVAL OF CHAOS

130 Sullivan Ave., Farmingdale

Tattoo artist Trish Failla, 47, of Farmingdale, is determined to not go with store-bought decorations.

“I love having things that no one else has,” Failla says. “I use every kind of baby doll and turn them into horror characters or zombies. If a doll collector looked at my lawn, they would probably cry.”

Her front lawn is populated with repurposed toys that have been converted into evil creatures, all under the umbrella of a carnival theme.

“The carnival angle added more color and weirdness,” Failla says. “Kids get so excited because they really pay attention to all the little details.”

NILL STREET NIGHTMARE

29 Nill St., West Babylon

After years of cutesy blow-ups on their lawn, Kim Macaluso, 53, of West Babylon, and her fiancé Brian put their Halloween decorating into full gear this season.

“We decided to make a change after seeing other people’s houses,” Macaluso says. “Our neighbors love it and thank us for doing it.”

The front yard features Skully, a skeleton who stands 12 feet tall. A pumpkin man jumps straight up in the air while a 6-foot spider crawls around among an 18-foot crow and another skeleton holding a crying baby upside down.

“I brushed the skeletons with flooring stain to make them look like they have rotted flesh,” Macaluso says. “Then I use a heat gun on them to make them look a bit melted, which is something I learned on TikTok.”

THE HAUNT ON LIBERTY AVENUE

123 Liberty Ave., Lindenhurst

When August comes around, Mike Cody, 37, of Lindenhurst, begins building Halloween decorations in his backyard. Come the first week of September, creepy creatures start getting moved to the front of the house.

“Growing up, Halloween was very animated. It was a big community event,” he says. “People went out and everyone was kind. I’m trying to bring that back.”

Each of Cody’s pieces are motion activated. Some move forward, others light up and certain ones even talk. The bogeyman will say, “I’m going to find you in your dreams!” Cackles the Clown snaps, “I hope you are not scared of clowns because I’m coming for you!” Additionally, a 12-foot demon growls and a 12-foot werewolf howls at the moon. On Halloween night, the display gets amped up with extra effects.

“We play themed music, fog machines are running and strobe lights flicker,” Cody says. “This year we are going to have live actors on Halloween playing Michael Myers [“Halloween”] as well as Ghostface ["Scream"].”

NIGHTMARE ON WEST STREET

21 West St., Middle Island

Linda Beattie, 69, of Middle Island, decorates for Halloween as a way to amuse her grandson Logan, who has a passion for horror movies.

“The scarier, the better, Logan feels,” Beattie says. “He’s going as Ghostface from ‘Scream’ for Halloween.”

Beattie’s display features a 20-foot black cat whose head moves back and forth. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” characters Zero, Jack and Sally dance across the lawn while a series of skeletons pose doing various activities from playing music to getting married. There’s even Disney characters — Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto — dressed in Halloween costumes.

“Logan is very excited and tells all his friends about my display,” Beattie says. “Doing this gives me great pleasure.”