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SALT LAKE CITY — Halloween is a lot of fun for people of all ages, and more people are spending more money on that fun than ever before.
It's all about the tricks at John Nielsen's Millcreek that boasts a 9-by-9 foot jack-o'-lantern arch. Even in daylight, you can tell there's a lot to "Lights on Neff Street."
By night, things really come alive with a projection screen, 1,600 lights and music playing in the background. The spooky light and music treat is Nielsen's brainchild: a $1,000 investment, and that's on top of the candy he buys for trick-or-treaters.
"I do it just for the joy of it," Nielson said. "I thought about doing scary stuff, but I thought it's more interesting to be fun."
Meanwhile, there's a lot of haunting going on inside Shawney Robinson's Salt Lake City home. She lives in a remodeled church, which means there was plenty of room to turn the basement into a spook alley of spectacular proportions.
"There is this portion of the house that is unfinished. So it makes a really great spot to nail things and hang curtains," Robinson explained.
This is the fourth year she's built the spook alley. She gets decorations for the next year right after Halloween ends, then starts working on the sets and props in July. Her husband helps her with all the wiring and computer equipment so everything is ready come October 31.
"We have some neighborhood people that come; and all my friends that have kids, they come; and a lot of the teenagers like to come check it out," Robinson said.
All this decorating adds up, according to the National Retail Federation. This year, Americans are expected to have shelled out about $72 each for Halloween stuff. Nationwide, that's $6.8 billion — an all-time high.
Even if you're not into the big Halloween decorations like Nielson and Robinson, you've most likely spent your money what one shopper KSL News spoke to call "the Halloween essentials."
"You've got to get your candy, got to get your pumpkin,decorations, costumes; it's just endless you know," said Chase Terry, a Harmon's shopper.
The costs add up fast. But these days, there are plenty of people who figure the $50 to $70 or more is worth it.
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Written by Richard Piatt and Jennifer Stagg.
