Tour brings Halloween spirit, sense of community

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Get ready to see some of the best decorated Halloween houses in St. Clair Shores at the fifth Halloween Tour event.

Jessica Krutell, director of the Halloween Tour, said it is a family-friendly, self-guided tour through 20 of the best-decorated houses throughout the city of St. Clair Shores. The map is created by the Halloween Tour board and they provide the addresses as well as the date and times.

During the event hours, which are 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, some of the houses will feature special effects, scare actors, fog and much more to create a spooky experience for people to enjoy.

“Basically, it’s a way to expand Halloween over (more) than just one night and feature some of the talented residents of the city as well as giving back to the community,” Krutell said.

Krutell said between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. are the kid-friendly hours, and there are no monsters, goblins or ghouls out during that time.

There are some different houses included each year but members of the board who decorate their houses appear each year, Krutell said. After applications close on Oct. 9, the board members will tour the houses and pick the ones that will be a part of the tour.

“We do try to switch things up, but ultimately it is a contest and we go around and judge the houses and the displays with the board to choose our favorites,” Krutell said. “Looking for different things like uniqueness, creativity, good lighting, (a) mix of store-bought, handmade.”

Featured houses will get a sign that tells guests that they are a featured home on the St. Clair Shores Halloween Tour, said Carrie Dimmer, a board member of the Halloween Tour.

There are rules for residents looking to participate as featured houses. Dimmer said no decorations are allowed on the city easement. There can be nothing political or religious, no additional fundraising or advertisements and nothing that could be construed as controversial or offensive included. Residents must be available the two nights of the tour and lights must be visible from the street. The Halloween Tour board is also not responsible for damage or theft to personal property, Krutell said.

This is not a trick-or-treating event, and Krutell also said if they hear of any foul or inappropriate language or actions at the houses, that bans that house from future tours. This includes any scare actors hired for the event.

“There can be actors, it’s just if we get wind that actors are being inappropriate or saying crude remarks or any of that sort, that’s going to basically blacklist that house for the future,” Krutell said. “We want to make sure it’s an all-ages event.”

Guests are reminded not to go on featured houses’ lawns or go behind fences unless invited. Don’t touch anything including props, actors and other things.

“It’s a thing out of respect to not go tromping through someone’s front lawn,” Krutell said.

People enjoy the event and Krutell said she encourages those touring the houses to visit the local shops around the city as well. She also said they see thousands of people over the two nights. Dimmer added they’ve had party buses consecutively for two years.

“Where people have made this a weekend event with their friends and take a party bus around,” Dimmer said. “We’ve also had people who have came to our houses that have drove as far as an hour away.”

She said it’s really cool when they know people are driving long distances to enjoy the event.

“Gives you a little bit of excitement knowing you’re doing something good for the area,” Dimmer said.

Both Krutell and Dimmer would like to say the event does generate revenue for the city.

“I think that it was a really good starting point in building a stronger sense of community within St. Clair Shores as well because this event has kind of snowballed and started other similar events and activities too that are also started by residents,” Krutell said.

Michael Miller, a co-founder of the Halloween Tour, said they host the Halloween Tour for the love of Halloween. He explained it’s to bring the Halloween spirit back to the city like it was when they were kids.

“You don’t have to be a kid to have that (feeling). You can be an adult to have it, too, and we want to provide that to them,” Miller said.

Dimmer added she thinks this event has brought trick or treating back to the city as well.

“I’ve been a resident here for 10 years,” Dimmer said. “The amount of kids that used to come through my neighborhood 10 years ago when I moved into the neighborhood versus now since we’ve had this event the last five years has literally quadrupled.”

Miller said the most important rule is to come out and have fun.

“Come out — enjoy it,” Miller said. “Get involved. Laugh and scream.”

To apply to be considered as a featured house on the tour, message the Halloween Tour on Facebook or email scshalloween@aol.com. The board requests the name, address and a photo of the display in the application. If a current photo of the display is not available, one from a previous year is fine.

Those participating as guests are encouraged to share their photos from the tour by using the hashtag #scshalloween. The Instagram page for the event is @scshalloween.