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Halloween queen: Strasburg woman goes all out for trick-or-treaters
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By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com
STRASBURG -- If Queen Street had a queen of Halloween it would be Judy Ritenour.
Actually, she'd be the monarch of any holiday.
As it has been for the past 44 Halloweens -- barring two years ago when she had a bad case of shingles -- her stately two-story white house is costumed.
A row of skull lights line up in the flower beds on each side of the steps leading up to the front porch.
A skeleton bride is to the left of the front door. She sings a macabre version of "Here Comes the Bride." Her tuxedo-clad groom stands on the opposite side of the door.
All manner of pumpkins, ghosts, witches, bats, spiders, scarecrows and skeletons hang from the ceiling of the wide front porch, which is trimmed in green, orange and purple lights. A pumpkin and ghost are on one flag hanging from the porch; on the other is a witch stirring a cauldron.
There is an inflatable black cat and two displays of lights in the shape of spider webs. A green witch is affixed to the front door, and the storm door has stuck-on skeletons, scarecrows, pumpkins, a mummy and the like.
Among the new special effects this year are a floating ghost, a crystal ball with a talking witch and a small dancing witch.
"Some of that stuff will scare the kids to death," Ritenour said. "I've had as many as 250 trick-or-treaters, but it's fun. I enjoy doing it. The kids enjoy coming."
Two large blow-up displays will go in the front yard as it gets closer to Oct. 31, said Ritenour's daughter, Sheila Ritenour-Fultz, 56.
"Everything talks or moves, and last year, Mom dressed up like Elvis," Ritenour-Fultz said.
She and sister, Monica, 51, spent last weekend setting up the display for their 79-year-old mother.
"We decorate every single holiday," Ritenour-Fultz said. "Christmas is the special one."
At Christmas, Ritenour has come in second and third in the town's Christmas decorations contest, and she is hoping for a first-place finish this year -- holiday music is piped onto the porch with speakers.
Trick-or-treaters will be greeted by spooky sounds over those same speakers.
"It's beautiful at night -- all the purple lights," Ritenour said.
She moved into the house in 1966.
"We decorated that year for Halloween and for every occasion since then," Ritenour said.
Her mother "loves to do it," Ritenour-Fultz said.
"We just took down the Labor Day stuff," she said. "We will take this down and put up the Thanksgiving flag."
The orange lights will stay up and will be joined by scarecrows.
"My dad used to do all this with my mom, and since he's passed, my sister and I now take that over," Ritenour-Fultz said.
The family decorates his grave, and puts up a tree there at Christmastime.
Her festive decorations are appreciated by the people in town, particularly the children, Ritenour said.
"If it adds to their enjoyment, it's twice that for us," she said.
Next-door neighbor Sonny Anderson certainly doesn't mind the decor.
"I moved here in September last year, and it's been something new every season," he said as he sat on a chair on his front porch, a scarecrow sitting on the chair next to him. "She decorates for every occasion, and it's always beautiful. My wife and I love it. Them girls do a fine job."
It is great to see Mrs. Ritenour and her daughters carry on such a fun tradition. Halloween is all about the kids and I guarantee that children from miles around can't wait to go trick-or-treating at this house.