Last year, the Jakobsson family’s house scared the neighborhood – and 600 children.
On Halloween, they invite you to a folk party in the garden in Örby.
– We don’t know what to expect, says Susanna Jakobsson.
At home with the Jakobsson family, there are no skeletons in the closet – but they are all strewn on the lawn. Ghosts sway in the trees and a zombie sits in the driver’s seat in the car.
– We have always had our garden under some form of renovation. Our mounds of earth invite you to look like small tombstones and graves of various kinds, says Susanna Jakobsson.
The garden is a ghost town
What started as a kind and peaceful Halloween party indoors, turned during the pandemic into something completely different. Together with her children and husband Patrik, the holiday has turned into a folk festival – with several thousand visitors.
– We don’t know what to expect. It will surely end with panic buying in the nearest grocery store, says Susanna Jakobsson.
Start planning in August
The Jakobsson family starts already in August and brainstorms ideas for the Halloween party. From the outside, it may look like the entire family budget has been spent on the decorations, but it is actually the opposite. Most of it is leftovers from something they built in the garden and the family re-dyes old sheets for the ghosts.
– I can’t say an exact amount, but a few thousand Swedish kroner per year. Most of it goes towards the purchase of the candy, says Susanna Jakobsson.
Last year, roughly 400 bags of sweets were sold before seven o’clock. This year, the number has increased considerably when a thousand candy bags are now hidden in a scary barrel in the garden just in time for Halloween itself on Thursday.
– I don’t think I would dare to stop now considering what we invited to. If we were to choose mischief instead of candy, I think we’ve made it a bit easier for us, says Susanna Jakobsson.