“A lot of neighbors when we first started setting it up were like, ‘We were afraid you weren’t gonna do it this year,” said Chad’s wife, Amy, since the lawn art and LED lights didn’t go up until Oct.

“Whenever I see stuff, I just take pictures and get ideas,” said Chad, whose children – Natalie, 15, and eight-year-old Owen – also take part in the five-year-old tradition.

“I like Halloween, and it’s fun, and it’s scary, and it’s my favorite holiday,” said the second-grader as he held up a pair of Uncle Charlie and Hugz the Clown dolls sold exclusively at Spirit Halloween.

This year, Chad said, Owen literally sprinted through the parking lot of the seasonal store on opening day, then begged his parents to take him back week after week.

He often curls up there at night to watch Halloween videos, no matter what time of year.

“You gotta’ do something different every year,” said Chad.