Meet the families making their Concord neighborhood the ultimate Halloween destination

Every Halloween, a Concord street transforms into a Halloween wonderland, where each of the 20 or so homes pulls out all the stops to bring spooky magic to life. Homeowners on this block go big—they give out full-size candy bars, hot chocolate, apple cider donuts, and even ice cream as thousands of trick-or-treaters flock here every year.

The street is closed to traffic, the decorations are movie-quality, and the themes range from classic Halloween to unexpected holiday crossovers. Over the years, people have decked out their homes as everything from “Cat in the Hat” scenes to “Peanuts” movie sets, complete with chairs and popcorn, and even a giant pirate ship, complete with costumed pirates handing out gold coins.There’s a lollipop-themed house, where every inch of the yard is covered in colorful, oversized sweets. One home transforms into a graveyard, one is “Frosty the Snowman” themed.

The tradition, which could date back to the early 1900s, is still going strong thanks to neighbors like Eric and Theresa Rosenberger. They’ve lived here since 1997, and keeping Halloween alive was part of the deal when they bought the house—along with some other quirky requests, like keeping the house yellow and the previous owner’s weather barometer in the office. 

“We had to do ice cream on Halloween,” Theresa said. “We thought, well, that’s not such a big deal.”

On their first Halloween, Rosenberger bought around 150 Nutty Buddies, but quickly realized that was nowhere near enough. She sent her husband to the store to get ice cream cones and that became a tradition. They handed out 444 cones and 10 gallons of sherbet the second year—only the orange kind because, as Theresa put it, “It’s Halloween!”

As word spread, more and more trick-or-treaters arrived. One year, the Rosenbergers handed out over 2,000 cones until the pandemic paused things briefly. But they adapted: now they serve orange creamsicles via a creative “slide system” Eric made from water pipes, where about 20 volunteers slide the ice cream down to the kids. This year, they’re stocked with 2,160 creamsicles and 20 coolers.

“People are very clever,” Theresa said.

Down the street, neighbor Kristyn Van Ostern has continued the tradition, too. Since buying her house in 2020, she’s made Halloween a family affair, complete with a movie theme. 

“This year, we’re doing ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’” she said. 

Her family projects the movie on the fence, plays the soundtrack, and hands out hot cocoa and candy, fully dressed to match the theme. Her kids, 11 and 14, help plan the display.

“We just love movies in our house, and there’s so many fantastic Halloween movies that we decided from the beginning that that would be what kept our theme alive throughout the years was to always connect it back to a movie,” Van Ostern said. 

All of this isn’t cheap—Van Ostern and the Rosenbergers estimated they each spend about $2,000 a year on treats alone. But seeing the kids’ excitement makes it worth it. 

“Bringing a little joy to people’s lives is always the right thing to do,” Eric said.