Explore your own neighborhood or seek out an unfamiliar destination, keep your camera handy, and enjoy the journey
Decorating for fall is a fundamentally optimistic act. Whether you are celebrating a bountiful harvest, anticipating spooky Halloween hijinks, or simply defying the disappearing daylight, we can all unite behind the fantasy that winter will never actually arrive.
Or we can pretend that skeletons are smiling because they are happy to see us. (Right?)
Combine our friends’ and neighbors’ creativity with Central Illinois’s fickle autumn sunshine (or changeable clouds), and you just may find yourself spending an entire afternoon and evening driving around aimlessly and stopping to take pictures whenever the inspiration hits.
We have a variety of articles highlighting more permanent — or more predictably photogenic — aspects of our area:
- 10+ Places to See Fall Colors in Champaign-Urbana
- Where to Take Fall Family Photos in Champaign-Urbana
- Where to Instagram in Champaign-Urbana
This post is a little different — it’s about the ephemeral, the temporary, the unexpected.
The spiders?
Even when a business sets up a Halloween display, it’s somehow … extra. Questions flood your mind: Did the skeleton take that cape from a vampire? Why is there an empty space on the bench? Will you be late for your dentist appointment if you stop to take a selfie?
Honestly, we couldn’t help but notice that the skeletons are out and about in our yards living (?) their best lives this fall. Do you remember the Urbana tableau below from 2022?
Look what they’re up to this year — mazel tov!
Here are some more skeletons doing what they do best. Just skeleton, thank you.
Did someone say tall? Tall is definitely popular again this year.
Tall or short or in between, there’s nothing like a good Halloween inflatable (or two, or many) to dress up the neighborhood.
Halloween decor does seem peculiarly suited to our older neighborhoods, maybe thanks to the larger trees and greater resulting evidence of decay.
Finally, enjoy a few more of our favorite spooktacular houses.
We leave you with these lounging ladies back on Vine Street in Urbana — where the trees hang low over the sidewalks, the crows are gathering, and Halloween is almost here.
We hope these photos have given you the itch to Go Out and Look at Things, whether during the day or after dark.
Because winter is coming.
Know a Champaign-Urbana area house we should add to this post? Send info/pics to social@chambanamoms.com
More information on Halloween in Champaign-Urbana
Halloween Events and Activities | Haunted Houses and Where to Get Scared | Where to Trunk or Treat | Champaign-Urbana Area Trick-or-Treat Hours | Halloween at Zoos near Champaign-Urbana