KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City home is the talk of the town.
Everyone on the block can point out Todd and Lorraine Arbuckle’s iconic Halloween decor. The couple is finishing up final touches before spectators come to be spooked.
“I love it. This is what I'm doing for the rest of our life,” Todd Arbuckle said. “Pumpkin fanatics, Halloween fanatics like me, it’s an intense drive. We have to do it.”
It is a little more than a hobby. Every day is a countdown to Halloween at the Arbuckles'.
“Day after Halloween it's like, ‘Ah, there's only 364 days until Halloween, I don't have enough time!’”
Preparations for the holiday start with growing the pumpkins each year. They have about 50-55 vines scattered across their front and back yards. Arbuckle carves around 35-40 pumpkins a year.
“Usually the face is already in the pumpkin, I just kind of bring it out,” Arbuckle said.
Arbuckle uses much of what they find in the woods as material. He says it makes the scariness more realistic.
“I use a lot of vines, weeds, flowers...” he said. “You see shapes and faces and everything, it's like looking at the popcorn ceiling and you see ideas.”
The couple is expecting to see about 300-400 guests this Halloween. He says year after year, the streets are lined up with cars to get a peek.
“We got kids, so the kids love it. And just to see all the people in the neighborhood coming by to see the excitement, it's really cool,” said Caleb Walston, next-door neighbor.
While there is no end ghoul to all this, the Arbuckles say they will not be stopping their obsession anytime soon.
“Fortunately I've got very nice neighbors on both sides,” Arbuckle said.
