In 2017, Nate Taylor found a three-word offer on Craigslist for free Halloween decorations. Nearly a decade later, that secondhand collection has become a local attraction that drew an estimated 18,000 visitors last October and led to a legal dispute with city officials in Michigan. Taylor, a 49-year-old part-time DJ and stay-at-home father, spends weeks setting up detailed Halloween displays outside his Cape Cod-style home near Kid’s Creek Park in Traverse City. Known as Dead Ends on Spruce, the annual attraction features 25 moving Halloween figures, called animatronics, ranging from 6 to 12 feet tall. They include a 7-foot werewolf and a 12-foot headless horseman. The display also uses 40 speakers to play sounds of rain and thunder, along with a custom fog system that runs through 400 feet of trenches in the yard.
It took three truck trips to bring everything home.
The display began when Taylor answered a classified ad from a local resident who was downsizing after a divorce and giving away 20 years’ worth of holiday decorations. After bringing the decorations home, Taylor tied a tarp to a large tree branch in his 40-foot-wide yard to protect items that were not made to withstand the weather. After three attorneys offered to represent him for free, Taylor’s legal team sent a formal letter asking city officials to explain their plans for enforcing the rules by September 18. Taylor said about 400 people attended opening night, and 25 special needs groups had booked visits throughout the month. Taylor expects the total number of visitors to reach nearly 25,000 by the end of the season.
As the father of two children on the autism spectrum, he said that options for neurodivergent children and young people during the autumn holiday season are often limited in the region. “I’m not into blood and gore or jump scares,” Taylor told Realtor.com. He added that his goal was to create an event that is “easily accessible and free” to the local special needs community. “We have never charged a dime, not one, for any ticket,” he added. “We never heard back,” Taylor said. “We haven’t had one city official come,” Taylor told Realtor.com.
“Really, ma’am? You want us to take this? Taylor recalled asking in an interview published by Realtor.com. Over the years, he added more covered areas, built a graveyard with headstones, and began running the lights and sound systems throughout the evening. Taylor created the attraction to give families and children with special needs a safe place to enjoy Halloween for free. After receiving no further response from local officials, Dead Ends on Spruce opened as planned for the October season. “It has been absolutely successful.