The Craigslist ad was just three words: Free Halloween decorations.
That was all Nate Taylor, 49, a part-time DJ and stay-at-home dad in Traverse City, MI, needed. He met the woman giving away a holiday collection spanning 20 years.
“Really, ma’am? You want us to take this?” he asked. She was downsizing due to a recent divorced, so the answer was a resounding yes.
It took Taylor three trips in his truck to transport the animatronics and other decorations back home. He then set to work making a plan to display as much as possible in front of his Cape Cod-style home with a 40-foot-wide yard near Kid’s Creek Park.
Getting started
Most of the decor wasn’t really weatherproof, so Taylor had to construct a makeshift tarp, anchored by a sizable branch of a big tree in the yard.
He was so proud of what he had though, in 2017, he invited passersby and neighbors to enjoy the display—and he had a decent turnout.
Being located close to Munson Medical, the city’s biggest hospital, many visitors who stopped by had family members in the hospital. As the display leaned more toward whimsical, not scary, it was a welcomed respite.
“I’m not into blood and gore or jump scares,” Taylor says.
Inspired, the next year, Taylor created a bigger covered area and put out more decorations, including a big graveyard with headstones. Word had begun to spread, and out-of-town guests were starting to arrive to see his display.
Year after year, Taylor and his wife kept building on the display. By 2021, they started going “all night,” which started to draw anywhere from 30 to 40 visitors are night, by their estimation.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot, but for a seasonal display, it is.”
They wanted to share the joy with even more people, especially neurodivergent and special needs kids and groups. Taylor has two kids on the autism spectrum, and had long been disappointed that during Halloween, there is “nothing for special needs kids to do overall.”
That’s really his goal in doing this–to create a safe, entertaining space that is “easily accessible and free” to the special needs community.
“We have never charged a dime–not one–for any ticket,” he says.
A scare in the plan
In 2023, Taylor put out a guestbook, and that’s where he saw that several people suggested he put out a donation box.
“We didn’t need it,” he says. “I am grateful my wife has a decent job at the hospital.”
But the build does take him two months, which is time away from family and home responsibilities. In mid October 2023, he followed the suggestion and added a donation box. It brought in $1,200.
Taylor insists that “every penny helps with the build,” and that by “no means” is anyone charged to see his display.
In 2024, his neighbors helped him get his Dead Ends on Spruce display up on Facebook so more families could enjoy it. That year saw the biggest crowds, with Taylor estimating that 18,000 people, including six school groups, visited throughout the month of October.
Then Taylor took 2025 off to care for two ailing family members, including his mother who was fighting colon cancer and has now had a full recovery.
He was ready to come back strong in 2026. As he does every year, he started on August 1 by meeting with fire marshals and the city manager in charge of code enforcement to share his plans. He also requested that his street be shut down to traffic on Halloween night as an additional safety precaution, something he started doing in 2024.
The city had always consented and there had never been a problem–until this year.
A tradition out of hand?
According to Taylor, one of his neighbor’s complained to the city, accusing him of running a business from his yard by “selling tickets” for the display.
In response, Taylor said the city sent him a “four-page letter from the city’s lawyers” outlining the rules and regulations that need to be followed for home operations.
“They think I am a business,” Taylor says,” I am not.” (Realtor.com reached out to city officials for comment on this story, but did not immediately hear back.)
In reading the letter over, there was one rule in particular that would be especially hard to enforce: No more than eight car trip ends.
In other words, no more than eight cars at a time can park in front of the display. If a ninth car comes, the city can shut him down.
Taylor contested that all of this was initiated by a complaint that was never thoroughly investigated.
“So I requested a meeting,” he says.
Taylor tried to reason with him. “They had a tip that I had 18,000 people, but if you spread that out over 30 days, it’s not any busier than a big garage sale. Nobody is blocking driveways.”
Taylor insists he’s also careful to limit noise and end at 10 pm, all while ensuring light displays don’t impede on neighbors’ properties.
More money, more problems
The real issue, he says, is the money.
When Taylor took 2025 off, he “had a little bit of trouble getting things up and running” for 2026 and because of that, he shared his Venmo online, asking fans if they were willing to donate.
“We got maybe $400,” Taylor admitted. At the same time, he started selling some DJ equipment to help fund the project.
“We have been bare-bonesing hardcore to make this display work,” he says.
He certainly didn’t have the funds to hire a lawyer to help fight the allegations. Luckily, he didn’t need that.
“Three lawyers reached out to me, saying they would love to represent me about this.”
Taylor and his lawyer ultimately sent a letter to the city, asking them to spell out their “true intents” in a response no later than September 18, noting that his Halloween display is a time-sensitive issue as Taylor needs time to build.
“We never heard back,” Taylor says.
And so, Taylor’s display has been open every night this month, with 400 people showing up the first night by his own estimation. He has reservations from 25 special needs groups to come during the day throughtout the season, during which he will make special allowances to open the display.
“We haven’t had one city official come,” Taylor says. “It has been absolutely successful.”
The display is in its full glory this year. It includes about 25 different animatronics that range from 6 to 12 feet tall, each with “their own scene.” There’s the 12-foot headless horseman and a 7-foot werewolf. Forty speakers emit sounds of a rainstorm, with cracks of thunder.
Taylor’s even trenched 400 feet of yard to install his own fog system.