Edinburgh mum is talk of neighbourhood with spooktacular Halloween house

Edinburgh homes have been transformed for Halloween this spooky season

With Halloween just days away, Edinburgh residents have been busy decorating their homes to welcome local children who are out guising this year. Leanne McCallum’s house on Sighthill Drive is the talk of the neighbourhood every Halloween, with her spooky props and decorations including Michael Myers and scary It clown Pennywise, raising money for charity for the past five years.

People who pay a visit to her Halloween home leave a donation, raising thousands of pounds for charity, with this year being the third in a row that the Sick Kids’ Hospital has benefited. Visitors come from all over, with the local nursery even turning up to see the spooky front garden.

Leanne said: "We started it for our kids about eight years ago. My youngest is 10 so she was two then. It’s kind of escalated. We started with a wee window display and every year it’s grown arms and legs. It goes mad, the kids get involved and there is lots going on on Halloween day itself.

The McCallums' spooky Sighthill homes receives lots of visitors every year at Halloween.

"Last year we gave out 700 sweets. They literally queue down the street. For the past five years we have done it for charity. We raised £700 last year for the Sick Kids. People just come by and donate. They come from all over, we have had people from Fife, Biggar. It’s good fun, but it does cause a jam outside on the street!

"We have a hanging zombie this year and my husband, who is a joiner, has boarded up the windows and built a frame for hanging things from. He loves it too. The kids are all involved too now as they are a bit older. It’s all set-up for this year really, with just a few things to add. It looks better at night as we have strobe lights and a smoke machine.

"It’s all for a good cause. The girl from the Sick Kids loves Halloween so she loves coming down. It’s good for the community as well. Everybody knows it as the ‘Halloween House’.”

A nearby street has been in the Halloween mood since the beginning of the week, with four homes in the one block of Redhall Gardens all decorated in advance of Halloween on Monday. One of the residents there in the spooky spirit is Colin Pettie, who hopes kids really enjoy this Halloween following the pandemic.

Pennywise (left) and Michael Myers (right) are just two of the spooky characters on display at the Sighthill Drive home.

He said: “To be honest we don’t normally do it, but we have got the wee granddaughter who is at the age – two - where it is perfect. It’s the first time she has been able to go out and trick or treat. So it’s for her and the local kids to enjoy. My wife has made 175 bags of sweets for the kids this year.

"We are looking forward to it, it’s a big deal. It’s been great to see so many neighbours decorating their homes too. With the kids missing Halloween parties and trick or treating because of Covid, they missed out on so much, it’s good to get back into the Halloween mood and have fun.”