Halloween houses: 1,000 pumpkins in Lindenhurst, horror in Melville

Halloween has moved beyond wearing costumes and trick-or-treating on Oct. 31. Families have made it a seasonal event to convert the exterior of their homes into a haunt. Here are three Long Island families that decorate to the extreme.

Lindy Pumpkin House

497 N. Indiana Ave., Lindenhurst

HOURS 7 to 10 p.m. nightly 

When James Cameron, 51, of Lindenhurst, moved from an apartment to a house he was excited because he finally had a place of his own to decorate for Halloween.

"When looking at the house, the left side of the yard is the pumpkin patch. We also have our famous pumpkin pail archway leading up to our door," Cameron says. "On the right side of the front yard is our spooky graveyard and if you go around to the side, we have a path leading to our witch section which blends into our forest."

The display contains more than 1,000 pumpkins. Cameron even wears a pumpkin suit on Halloween night.

"People love taking pictures in the illuminated pumpkin pail archway, which has 14 arches filled with 500 pumpkins as well as our pumpkin pail wall with 192 pumpkins," Cameron says. "The pumpkins took on a life of their own. We started with a few and then it just kept growing."

The family accepts donations for Give Kids The World Village, a charity which sends sick children on trips to Disney World.

"Every year, we give out full-size candy bars on Halloween night. Last year, we had 750 trick-or-treaters," Cameron recalls. "We really get a kick out of the people who come by and enjoy it. It inspires me to keep going."

Harrington Avenue Light Show

69 Harrington Ave., Lindenhurst

HOURS 7 to 10 p.m. nightly

For the past five years, Nick Matsis, 52, of Lindenhurst has established a reputation for putting on a nightly Halloween light show in his front yard.

"There are 20 different animatronics running with a light show synced to music," Matsis says. "People can drive up in their car, tune into 104.7 FM and see the lights move to the music, which also plays outside the house if you press the lit-up button." 

Spread across the lawn are devious creatures like zombies, werewolves and a carnival fire breather, as well as known characters like Darth Vader and Jack Skellington.

More than 15,000 bulbs make the lights dance all over the house, and a screen on the garage flashes Halloween graphics. But everything is relatively tame.

"It’s not too scary," Matsis notes. "There are a few surprise elements like an animatronic spider that shoots water on people when they are not looking. But nothing is too terrifying."

Matsis spent months initially building the system and then put it up in a week making its debut at the end of September.

"Living today is different from when I was growing up," Matsis says. "Now everybody is doing their own thing with their face down in their phones. When they come here, they take a break from all that and to collectively enjoy the display."

Handmade Horror House

86 Chateau Dr., Melville

HOURS 4 to 10 p.m. nightly 

Growing up, Megan Plapp, 46, of Melville, was a big fan of horror movies.

"I always loved the scary stuff," she says. "Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy it because you can be anything you want to be for a day."

Since 2010, Plapp and her husband Chris have handcrafted a haunted display on their front lawn.

"My husband is handy and creative," she says. "I simply like making stuff. It’s my outlet." The Plapps have a unique approach to building their display. They like to break it down into a series of 11 scenes, including one featuring Jason Voorhees from "Friday the 13th," a scary cemetery and an enchanted forest. New this year is a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"-themed scene featuring a butcher shop with the infamous Leatherface.

"He’s my new favorite," Plapp says. "We try to add onto each scene every year then put in a new one."

Warning: This house is not for the squeamish.

"We don’t have anybody jumping out at you, but our display is very gory," Plapp says. "It may not be suitable for younger children because we have a lot of dead bodies, severed heads and blood."