Skeletons come out for charity at Halloween homes

The outside of Laura Mcmullan's house has been decorated with a variety of creepy characters

Skeletons attending a music festival and strange creatures emerging from the fog on a front lawn – it must be almost Halloween.

Among those decorating their houses this year are Laura Mcmullan from Crewe, Cheshire, and Anthony Jackson, from Craven Arms, Shropshire. Both are fundraising this year, with visitors able to donate to support the chosen causes.

Ms Mcmullan, 34, said her annual displays had started out with "a few Halloween bits" and gradually built up over the years.

Mr Jackson, meanwhile, said he enjoyed putting a smile on people's faces with his handiwork featuring a skeletal posse in various poses.

In Crewe, donations will go to the children's ward at Leighton Hospital, and Ms Mcmullan said she had so far raised more than £200 since the display went up at the end of September.

The display has been boosted by her partner, who works at a local recycling centre, and occasionally brings home bits and pieces that he has come across to build up the gruesome set of props already purchased.

As the spooky scene has grown, so has its popularity.

"We've had a lot of people on the front most nights since it's been out," Ms Mcmullan said.

Ms Mcmullan's display includes a silhouette of the Sanderson sisters from Disney's Hocus Pocus as well as a giant skeleton

People take photos of their families posing in front of the scene, she added.

"On Halloween night, our house is just packed with people on the front."

A fog machine, lighting and music all add to the effect, and it was the creation of new things for the display that had led to its popularity, she said.

Her four children love Halloween as well.

"They don't want to come in they love it that much," she said.

And it is not just Halloween - she also enjoys decorating the house for Christmas.

"We have Santa's sleigh, reindeer, the lot," she said. "Last year we even covered our grass in a big snow blanket and we had a snow machine and we've lights to go with music – pretty much everything you could get for Christmas."

Anthony Jackson's skeleton band are putting on a concert on his lawn on Dodds Lane

In Shropshire, Mr Jackson said his skeletons took on a different activity each year – last year it was gardening, in 2025, playing in a rock band.

His bone ensemble can be found playing drums and guitars, transforming his garden into a chilling festival stage.

"They're obviously going to be one of the best bands you've ever seen," he said. "They've not got much meat on them though."

He added: "One of them has had a bit too much to drink, I think, and one's deciding to go to the little boy's room as well."

Mr Jackson's skeleton posse undertake a variety of activites as part of his display each year

Although he has put up displays for about five years, this will be his third time fundraising.

He said he had so far raised hundreds of pounds and people had been generous.

"Each year has just got bigger and bigger. We try and make a lot of the things as well, not just buy things," he explained.

"I've also got a partner who does like to buy things as well. So it's not just me."