Guernsey Press

Graveyard pops up in garden for Halloween

WITH HALLOWEEN here, the Guilmoto family have been busy making their clos a whole lot eerier, transforming their front garden into a pumpkin-littered graveyard.

Published
Paul and Ally Guilmoto have transformed their front garden for Halloween. (Picture by Sophie Rabey, 26211651)

Paul Guilmoto jokingly says he has been offering the headstones out to his neighbours’ other halves and has had a fair few takers so far.

He and his wife, Ally, have been celebrating Halloween since their children were born, about 20 years ago, and for the last six the pair have been transforming their front garden.

The display has been growing year on year and is now an informal community event with Mr Guilmoto estimating over 70 trick-or-treaters came to the door last year.

‘We’ve been doing it every year since the kids were small,’ said Mr Guilmoto, ‘It’s a bit of fun and we like any reason to celebrate, there aren’t enough in this world. The smiles you see on the kids’ faces when they come to the door and get their goodie bag, it’s all worth it. We get plenty of kids from round and about the area, we have the estate just over the wall as well, and people have come to know where we are over the years.’

Mr Guilmoto says they have recently bought a light projector which displays lightning on the front of the house.

‘The parents used to come with the kids to the door and now you see them letting the kids come up the path and the parents stand back and watch the projector. All the kits we have collected in dribs and drabs over the years and we always try to buy local. Back in the day me and my wife would go to St David’s and places like that but more and more it is only available off the internet. All the headstones we have this year unfortunately had to come from there.’