I love bicycling around Southeast Portland and viewing the creative Halloween displays. I’ve mapped many of them so you can enjoy them, too.
These fun, festive, and spooky sites cluster largely around and near the Foster-Powell neighborhood. Many include photos to give you an idea what to expect.
Map icons for 2026:
- orange pumpkin = display larger or more detailed, shows exceptional effort, has uncommon feature(s), or has thematic depth or sensory pizazz even if relatively minimalist
- purple pumpkin = smaller or less elaborate; may have stand-out characteristic(s) even if minimalist
- green marker = smallest/least elaborate but still fun!
Below the map are my reviews of some of the displays.
My opinions and tier system are highly subjective and subject to change. The photos are your best guide. Halloween displays are works of art and speak differently to each of us.
My Halloween Display Reviews
I first reviewed some of the haunted Halloween displays in 2025, and occasionally update as time permits. Some sites will remain similar, some will evolve, and some could disappear like a poltergeist into the foggy night. I greatly appreciate the love and work that go into them, and I enjoy different things about each one.
Most giant skellies in one place
Post Mabone (SE 78th at Ogden). Dramatically lit in a range of vivid colors at night, and also impressive during the day. A ton of effort goes into this site; I believe the very enthusiastic creator told me the display has over 100 skellies. On Fridays from 6 to 8 PM, fog, music and even bubbles (bubbles!) create an even more festive and spooky atmosphere.
In mid-September 2026 I biked by while many of their flowers were in bloom and much of the display was already up. It’s not every day that you get to view Post Mabone and a giant dino skelly lurking behind sunflowers. Maybe even while streaming Post Malone and Swae Lee’s Sunflower. I’ve visited again since then to experience it at night with the effects.
One of the skellies climbs dangerously close to the edge of their roof. I worry that it’s going to fall and break a bone.
Best multi-yard experience
Nightmare on Taylor Street (SE Taylor near 80th). I initially saw this one only during the day; and one of the organizers, Carrie (fitting name for a horror enthusiast), insisted I come back to see it later at night with all the lights on. I did, and it was well worth it.
The animated display of creepy dolls on playground equipment was deliciously creepily executed. I slightly worried that one of the dolls just might try to execute me. I believe that display is by Tim Marino, a.k.a. Timmy Tumbles, who initially catalyzed a coordinated Halloween presence on those blocks.
I believe one of the houses also has a walkthrough experience, but I didn’t catch that. There are a few beautiful assortments of pumpkins right along the sidewalk, skellies in tutus, and a disturbing character lurking just behind a fence that gave me the creeps.
Spookiest atmosphere
Shadows on Center Street (3667 SE Center). This Halloween display doesn’t try to impress with huge inflatables, massive skellies, and big flashy lights. But it makes great use of a not-that-large yard, more subtle but still colorful lighting and shadows (hence the name), fog, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, corn husks, and music, in a cohesive fashion. Relatively minimalist, while also incredibly detail-oriented.
If you allow yourself to just stand and take it in for several minutes, first on a broader scale and then noticing the finer details, you may find yourself wavering between peacefulness and eerie anticipation. What else, unseen, might also be lurking in the shadows?
The creator of this site really gets into their “builds.” Take a close look at some of the jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows. As of 2026 there’s something different about the fog and laser lighting that’s even spookier.
I also really like Skelecrewe (SE 46th between Insley and Harold). Numerous details like a cauldron that both steams and bubbles, spooky dynamic lighting, and an assortment of chilling items add up to create a truly haunting atmosphere. Take time to appreciate the finer touches and look alongside the sidewalk as well. This relatively compact but highly detailed display is also partially nestled amidst greenery, giving it a more enclosed, intimate and creepier feel, especially if you catch it on a night with few other visitors.
Best display for people who appreciate thematic depth
Haunted Ancient Egypt (SE 67th and Mitchell Court). These creators really took the theme and ran with it. If there’s a trope related to ancient Egypt, they included it. The display features custom-built mini pyramids, a giant hieroglyphic-inscribed tomb (updated with a modern touch of psychedelic lighting), scarab beetles, mummy bandages dangling from skeletons, a giant cobra, and cat skeletons in sphinx-like poses. Even a few skellies hauling a giant mummy casket. They even have hieroglyphic translation tables. I didn’t have time to see if any messages are inscribed on the tomb.
Review from 2025, when their theme appeared to be toxic waste horror: If you’ve enjoyed B-horror movies like “C.H.U.D.,” but wish they could have had giant spiders and skellies, you’ll love this one. Bonus points for spotting the character that’s “knee deep” in hazardous toxic waste. Extra bonus points if you know both things that “C.H.U.D.” stands for without googling it, and you’re even more likely to appreciate this display. Is it just sci-fi horror with some very dark humor, or are they also intending deeper social-environmental commentary?
Creepiest Clowns
Grim Reaper, Creepy Clowns and Friends (SE Rhone at 70th) was already impressive in 2025, featuring a horrific array of menacing characters. Even a dead body wrapped up in a bloody burlap sack, perhaps awaiting a spot in the adjoining haunted graveyard.
The 2026 display features more creepy clowns and more hauntingly dangling sacks. Stop back again in December when they’ve switched over to their Christmas display.
If you’re near Lents Park, check out Turn Back Now (SE 88th near Insley), which has a very creepy and hungry-looking clown, alongside other large lurking creatures.
Most twisted displays for dark humor enthusiasts
Two Halloween displays jump out in this category. The first is Dead Dolls (SE 70th, just north of Rhone). As a child, did you ever cut the hair off a doll or melt your army men with a magnifying glass in the sun? Well, that doesn’t hold a candle to this display. Imagine any dangerous sharp object. Chances are, there’s a doll mutilated by it in this unusual assortment of misfortune.
The calamity is set against the backdrop of a charming home with lovely flowers and greenery, creating an unsettlingly ironic juxtaposition of horror and beauty somewhat akin to that of Midsommar.
It’s only about half a block from Grim Reaper, Creepy Clowns and Friends (SE Rhone at 70th).
The second display in this category is Nightmare Nursery (SE 51st near Kelly). It’s as though someone ordered a bunch of dolls from the Island of Misfit and Macabre Toys and lovingly displayed them on bookshelves.
Best safety message
Pumpkin Acres (SE Schiller between SE 139th and 140th, just west of Powell Butte). This Halloween display is a bit removed from other displays, but is worth a separate trip if you have the time and energy. While it’s wonderful at night, you could see it during the daytime and also do a fall hike at nearby Powell Butte.
Anyone of a certain age will likely remember their parents warning them to be careful with a popular lawn darts game. Well, nothing drives it home like seeing some skeletons suffering the consequences of not listening to their parents. See them set an example of how not to play lawn darts, along with enjoying a vast array of jack-o’-lanterns, gravestones, and other skeletons behaving more safely.
Best repurposing of kids’ bicycles, and creative use of roof space
Skeletons on the Roof (SE Holgate at 73rd). A skeleton sitting on the fence greets you as others playfully ride bicycles on the roof. Another is busy painting the chimney. This house also has a great winter lights display each year. The house also boast one of the most interesting custom-designed gates I’ve seen, featuring outlines of four prominent Pacific Northwest mountain peaks carved from wood.
Largest Halloween graveyard display
Davis Graveyard (8703 SE 43rd Ave) is a distance from the other entries on the list, and is a bit outside of Southeast Portland in Milwaukie, just south of the Springwater Corridor Trail. However, it’s a large and well-established display worth a separate trip. It boasts a large collection of gravestones including humorous, celebrity-inspired, and heartwarming inscriptions and tributes. There are also some fun and spooky special effects on weekends.
Oddest juxtapositioning of otherwise completely unrelated things
A few small items in a large yard on SE Brooklyn near 67th include skeletons hanging from the necks of pink flamingos. That gave me a chuckle.