This was something my dad used to do when I was a kid. Next year when the kids will remember the person in the scarecrow, it will actually be stuffed, and I'll be hiding somewhere else!
View from a little further away, my husband was hiding behind the screen door controlling a spider that dropped from above ๐
[Image description: nighttime view of the front door of a house decorated for Halloween. A scarecrow sits on the porch with a large spider hanging above. In the foreground is a dark hooded mannequin, with swirling fog.]
My wife opened the door to hand out candy wearing a plague doctor mask. The kids weren't scared unfortunately, but at least surprised.
Oooh, you can try what I've done before. Leave the front door open with the interior dimly lit and her hiding in a dark room beyond. When the kids come, she steps from the darkness into the dim light, and it's a pretty good effect with a masked costume.
[Image description: a dimly lit red room, with a dark masked figure with horns standing in the doorway beside a table draped in black with a vase of dead flowers. An illusion of hands pressing through the wall is projected onto the wall beside the figure.]
Wow, I respect the effort. The hands on the wall are a nice touch. It looks like you have a great time with these setups. Nice work!
I really do, Halloween is a close second for my favorite holiday. I like to diy-ish the decorations, especially using stuff I've grown (the straw here was actually dried garlic stalks), and I'm slowly adding stuff year to year with the eventual goal of being that house.