With five months to go until the High Holiday, it felt like a good time to look back on the Halloween season behind us and share some memories from a very neat Autumn. One day in particular was utterly packed with Halloween magic.
We loaded up the car with some props and figured we’d wing it and look for some shooting locations on the drive to our destination. The plan was to make a full day of it as we worked our way through Bucks County, Pennsylvania to New Jersey… waiting for the sun to set on the town of Lambertville – home of the Lambertville Halloween House. This house was something I’ve heard and known about for over a decade. I’ve wanted to visit it for almost as long. It’s relatively close too. It’s funny how you can talk yourself out of doing the little things that turn out to be massive, important things. Really special things.
With coffee and coal-fired bagels, we drove and listened to Halloween playlists with horror soundtracks, psychobilly songs, and goth anthems. We eventually found a beautiful corn field and the Witch and a scarecrow felt right at home among the brittle brown stalks.
The weather was perfect. Crisp and cool with a gentle breeze. With the props back in the car, and our coffee pretty low, we headed off on winding roads to eventually cross the Delaware River into New Jersey.
Lambertville: Imagine something you love and then finding a town that was devoted to it. Usually that would be something like Christmas or maybe Spring or Summer, and you’d find the usual festivals or open markets some weekend morning. Imagine the thing you loved was Halloween, and this town was a love letter to it. And then imagine this town was old…historic. With large Victorian homes and Williamsburg colonial revivals.
It seemed every house and each storefront were decked in orange and black, with plastic skulls and paper pumpkins (real ones too, of course). There were string lights, fake webs, ghouls, ghosts… and long-leggedy beasties. It was a literal Halloween Town. And we were in the middle of it. Antique shops, gift stores, chocolatiers, all packed with Halloween atmosphere, lined the streets leading to the more residential part of Lambertville. They were the perfect warm-up for the Lambertville Halloween House.
We spotted a pub on the way with a sign for a Scarecrow Contest by its door. The pub was closed, but the owner happened to come outside while we were there. We talked a bit and she happily let us inside to take a look at her Halloween decor. It was amazing in there. More on that later…
Now, as a Yard Haunter, the notion of anyone visiting my display in the daytime gives me hives. Despite featuring daylight photos of my display over the years, I still consider it a Night Haunt. But here we were, just a few blocks from The Halloween House, in full sunlight. I’ve seen many photos online and I knew they gave daytime tours. The display was designed to be enjoyed in both daylight and moonlight, and as we approached and took our places at the end of a short queue, I could tell this was going to be something very special. It was already elegant and mysterious. It was inviting, intriguing, and definitely spooky. I’ve heard its style compared a lot to Tim Burton’s, but after seeing it in person, I think it’s more accurate to say it was like being inside an Edward Gorey illustration. We wondered how it would look and feel at night.
We took so many photos our phones were dying. We retreated across the Delaware River back into Pennsylvania and headed to Peddlers Village for lunch and libations. We did a tasting at Hewn Spirits while eating a picnic lunch. Their Dark Hollow bourbon was our favorite, just perfect for the season, and with the best name ever. Dessert was some Halloween-themed truffles we grabbed earlier at The Chocolate Shop in Lambertville.
With spiked hot cider in to-go cups, we set out to do some shopping and check out Pedders Village’s famous scarecrow display. There were loads of great ones, and we discussed the possibility of one day entering the contest again.
Dinner was in New Hope, which I have written about before, and was, surprisingly, not as well decorated, despite having a reputation as a neat, artsy town. We shared small plates and flights of bourbon and wine with a view of the river while reminiscing about the day so far.
Our plan was to revisit the Halloween House at night before heading home, but after our earlier discoveries, we decided to hang around a bit longer…and grab a drink in what we now call the Halloween III Bar.
[Part II: Lambertville at Night – Coming Soon]
