Halloween Village

At first glance the Halloween Village Series appears to be one big happy village collection. However, if you look closer you’ll notice it is divided into four different themes. It gives collectors more opportunities to build a collection that suits your personal taste. I call them the Really Scary theme, the Contemporary Children in Costume, theme, the Haunted Farm theme, and the Spooky Carnival theme! In my opinion, the Really Scary, Haunted Farm and Spooky Carnival themes are easily intertwined. The Contemporary Children in Costume theme on the other hand doesn’t seem to fit as naturally into the Scary and Carnival themes but does work well with the Rural Farmland theme and fits in perfectly with the Snow Village series. My guess is some parents are not comfortable with the Scary theme displayed for small children to view. Therefore, Department 56 created the Children in Costume pieces that are not scary at all but instead very cute and accurately depicts what Halloween feels like today. It also overcomes the possibility of giving the little ones nightmares! Smart. Very smart.

So let’s discuss each of the four themes. First and most impressive is the Really Scary theme, filled with witches, bats, ghosts, skeletons and other creatures of the night that pass for the living dead. These pieces are highly detailed, many are animated, have multi-colored lighting, ghostly music and haunted sound effects. In my opinion, this theme was designed with teenagers and adults in mind. A good example would be my three teenage children. When they were younger they loved the North Pole village and still do. But as they get older and have now entered their teenage years all three decided it was too childish to favor the North Pole. So my oldest daughter encouraged me to collect Halloween instead.  I instantly fell in love with pieces like the Dead Creek Mill, Dr. Lunatic’s Laboratory and Rest in Peace Tombstones.  Life is funny. As my children, oops sorry, I mean young adults, try to disassociate themselves with anything related to their youth, I on the other hand long to recapture and embrace mine.

To make the Halloween Village more appealing to all age groups Department 56 created a second theme within the Halloween Village series. These pieces represent what the children of today might experience when they hit the streets trick or treating. These charming pieces look great on their own and easily incorporate into the Snow Village. They also fit together well with many of the other Halloween pieces. 1031 Trick-Or-Treat Drive, Jack’s Pumpkin Carving Studio and Mickey’s Haunted House are much less frightening yet still capture the essence of Halloween through the eyes of a child. Buildings like these are the key to this part of the series and really take this part of the series to the next level. Children in full costume, likely hand made together with mom or dad. Try to remember traveling up one side of the street and down the other. Gathering as much candy that would fit in their plastic pumpkins. Running home to dump the loot making sure your brother or sister wouldn’t get it and then heading out again for more. All the children in the neighborhood knew what houses had the “good” candy.  Those homes might be visited several times that night if the rest of the neighborhood didn’t produce the right goodies. Ah, the good ole days. How times have changed. It is with this thought in mind try to picture the quaintness of the Caramel Apple Stand, Building Fort Frightful and Creative Carvings. How they lived in your childhood. Even if not exactly, they are all amazing renditions of what Halloween feels like and felt like in years past. These cute pieces are filled with realistic details and ooze with Department 56 charm.

As for Haunted Farmland, if you have ever visited an old barn at night as a kid I think you would agree it’s a pretty scary place indeed. Remember there are very few lights to fill a truly dark country night.  Even though I was born in Brooklyn, NY and consider myself a city boy my family and I did live in upstate New York for many years in just such a place. My best friend lived across the street from my home. It was only 100 yards or so door to door but it was the longest 100 yards you could ever imagine after the sun went down and it was country dark outside. Chipmunks moving through dried leaves sounded like Big Foot coming after me. It was rare sight to catch me walking from my friend’s door to mine after 10PM. I was running! Terrified the creatures of the night would get me! Years later I asked my friend why he didn’t come to my house and hang out at night more often to give me a break once in a while of dealing with my imagination. Turns out, big tough country born and raised best friend was more afraid of the dark than I am! So for those of you that may not be familiar with what I am talking about trust me. It is very easy to understand the powerful affect of pieces like the Haunted Barn, Spooky Farmhouse, and the Haunted Windmill.

When it comes to the Carnival pieces, I’m in love! The first time I saw them was in a Halloween Village layout in a Department 56 store in a Mall near my home. Sadly, it has since gone out of business. Victim of the poor economy I suspect but the small 2’ x 8’ Halloween layout blew me away with Ghostly Carousel, Scaredy Cat Ferris Wheel, Spinning Pumpkins and Swinging Ghoulies drawing me into them. Watching their every movement and listening to the sounds for over an hour. I was amazed how much the professional designers could fit into a relatively small space and still create a breathtaking display. The store manager was kind enough to let me take pictures and even some video with my small digital camera at the time. You can see these photos and video clips in the photo gallery section of the www.HolidayJoyMagazine.com website. The carnival pieces are what drew me in. It just reminded me of what a carnival would look like if it was sponsored by ghosts and skeletons!

Other awesome pieces that deserve mention are the Spooky Schooner, Phantom of the Organ, Mummy Mischief, Haunted Outhouse, Grim Reaper, Lazy Bones, Rickety Railroad, Grimsly Manor, Halloween Dance, Haunted Mansion and all the incredible haunted trees and lighting effects. The list goes on. Fact is I have never seen a Halloween piece I didn’t like. That’s probably why I have at least one of everything Halloween in my private collection. These pieces are brilliantly designed, full of life (so to speak), and a good investment. They are everything the casual décor buyer or the hardcore collector wants in a collectible piece. So, if you were on the fence, wondering if you should start collecting Halloween Village, the answer is a resounding Y.E.S!  You will not be disappointed.

Don't forget about the "All Hallows Eve" pieces from the Dickens Village series the Victorian gothic style "All Saints Church" and "Theatre of the Macabre" as well as Boo Mansion from the Time To Celebrate collection. These pieces are equally haunted and highly detailed. They fit in well with the Halloween Village series. I especially love the Horse Drawn Hearse from the All Hallows Eve series.

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