Dedicated Halloween Display Creator Finds Purpose and Raises Charity Funds

A resident who dedicated months to constructing a Halloween display at his home stated that the extensive effort “keeps me out of the pub”. Tommy Kelly’s property, situated on Wisbech Road in March, Cambridgeshire, is decorated with “25 monsters and ghouls” and attracted approximately 500 visitors on October 31 of the previous year. This marks the eleventh consecutive year that Mr. Kelly, aged 50, has organized the display, and he expressed his ambition to collect over £1,000 for charity through this year’s initiative, a sum that would represent his highest fundraising total to date. For the current year, his exhibit includes a zombie figure with “toxic waste” emanating from its mouth into a drum barrel, alongside numerous other animatronic ghoulish characters. Mr. Kelly recounted: “We’ve got new neighbours – on our first meeting I was putting the finishing touches to a Ronald McDonald effigy wielding a bloodied pickaxe. “They seemed OK about it.”” He mentioned that the construction of his “really scary house” involved “lots of putty, latex, staples and pins”. He further stated: “People are very much on board with what we’re doing. They love it, children love it. “We only get positive comments.”It keeps me out of the pub. We just love having a laugh.”” Donation pots have been affixed to the garden fence, allowing visitors to contribute any loose change. Mr. Kelly observed: “We have noticed that the physical cash contributions have gone down dramatically – I don’t think people carry loose change these days,”. He continued: “However, we did a quiz at the local pub over the road to raise extra revenue, plus online donations are going really well, so we are nearly at £700 already and are expecting big crowds on the 31st”.” Mr. Kelly noted that numerous local businesses participate, providing sweets, financial assistance, raffle prizes, and snack items for trick-or-treaters. He confirmed that all funds collected are donated to the March Rotary Club, which utilizes them to back its ‘Kids Out’ initiative, designed to enable local disadvantaged children to experience daytrips to nearby attractions.