STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

A 12-foot-ball alien stands guard at the door at 1331 Northridge Drive. Witches hang on trees and point the way to the beckoning door.

Press the doorbell on a tombstone standing over a furry rat and cackly sounds reverberate while in the corner a spook chants “Ashes, ashes…” Nearby a ghost hanging from the gutter lights up the evening, its beady eyes and ribcage exposed. Some of its fellow ghouls are animated. Some glow in different colors. And the cacophony sounds like a haunted house.

Welcome to Halloween at Tim Eagan and Jane Reynolds’ house.

The Hailey home has become the stuff of Halloween lore for 20 years.

“Halloween was the first holiday after our wedding 20 years ago,” said Reynolds. “Then, everyone in the neighborhood decorated their homes.”

The display draws 800 trick-or-treaters a year, Reynolds said. Tim Eagan dips into his box of costumes to turn himself into a ghoul lurking in the dark. And Reynolds dons a big beautiful Halloween-orange gown, sometimes adding a black cape or fairy wings, often adding a somewhat mysterious mask.

“This year we went over the top on our Halloween decorations and it’s so beautiful. It’s outrageous,” Reynolds said. “It’s amazing to look at in the daylight, and we light it up at night and that’s beautiful, too.”

Reynolds has fond memories of Halloween growing up in Ketchum where Halloween was an event that brought out everyone—children and adults alike.

Highway 75 running through town would be closed down and revelers would construct elaborate Halloween ruses from turning several friends into the whole gang from the “Wizard of Oz” to constructing a lifeguard seat—complete with a lifeguard in Speedos—on top of a pile of sand.

“It was the street of dreams in Ketchum. There were bonfires lit on Main Street Everybody dressed up. It was so joyful and such a mixture of people. You’d have Dracula acting out, and you’d have the cutest costumes, too, and you wouldn’t know who anyone was,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds recalls she and her high school pals would start their Halloween Day, dressing up in costume and promenading around the Sun Valley Ice Rink—just like youngsters still do today.

“All my friends from Wood River High School and the Sun Valley Community School would then go dancing at Whiskey Jacques, The Casino and Slavey’s until 2 or 3 in the morning. They had the best bands and no one minded as long as we didn’t drink. And a lot of the kids would come to our house afterwards,” she recounted.

That tradition still continues with a lot of kids still coming to the Eagan-Reynolds house on Halloween night.

If they make it past Eagan hiding in the bushes, Reynolds opens the door onto a front foyer lit with Halloween Jack O’Lanterns, a scarecrow sitting on the hallway chest and a witch with a sharp pointed nose sitting in the corner. A large cauldron boasting more than 800 Butterfingers, Almond Joys, Snickers and M&Ms sits within reach, while another receptacle holding bags of chips sits nearby.

The couple have found M&Ms at the door, a stick of Spearmint gum, the Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and gobs of dinosaurs and dragons with long wagging tails.

“The kids from the high school can’t wait to come to my house for Halloween—they’ll ring the doorbell at 10:30, 11 p.m. even, and we’ll answer because we want them to feel like their childhood is extended,” said Reynolds. “Tim always dresses scary and is outside lurking around. He does his best to scare the bigger kids, being careful not to scare the little kids. And candy and chips—we’re very generous with them.”

“The little kids who come are so precious,” added Eagan. “And now I’m seeing the children of those who were children when we started this.”

Reynolds started her Halloween collection with ghouls and goblins she found at Jane’s Artifacts. Tim found the 12-foot alien this year at the Halloween store in Twin Falls.

It takes two weeks to ready everything for the big day—or night.

“And more and more we’re finding that the parents are dressing up, too. It’s so inspiring to see the imagination and joy with this once-a-year opportunity to be whatever we want to be and enjoy the sense of community,” said Reynolds

Reynolds said she finds Halloween to be a joyful occasion for many reasons.

“It’s not like Thanksgiving or Christmas, which can get emotional for a lot of people because of things that happened in the past,” she said. “Halloween is not about that. It’s a time to be creative and express something you might want to be. There’s fun, there’s candy, there’s a chance to get dressed up and have fun, to let your imagination run wild.

“It also marks that we’re changing seasons and getting close to the start of the ski season, which is the highlight of our valley,” she added. “So, there’s the joy of anticipation. And what I really love about Halloween is that All Saints Day follows Halloween, and that’s about the remembrance of people who have passed on.”

Eagan noted that Halloween began as a Celtic tradition in Ireland 2,000 years ago.

“I’ve always found had a fascination with Halloween—it’s a no-guilt holiday,” he said. “It’s a time to decorate, have fund and the kids have a good time.”

As an Episcopalian, Reynolds said she loves the opportunity on All Saints Day to remember the saints whose stories have been recounted for hundreds of years.

“And I think of today’s saints walking on the earth in our present time,” she said. “So, that’s another reason to love Halloween—the anticipation of honoring those who have made this world a better place.”