Halloween vandals try to spook neighborhood

FAIRFAX, Va. — Halloween is a big deal for the kids in many neighborhoods across the region. But in one Fairfax County community, thieves have made this year a bit disappointing.

Thieves stole the 6-foot-high blown-up pumpkin that Janice Dixon has put out on Stonington Drive for the last 13 years.

“It’s terrible,” she says, pointing to the area in front of her house where the pumpkin had stood. “Every Halloween , every little kid in the neighborhood couldn’t wait for us to put up that pumpkin.”

She says many of them used to get their pictures taken in front of it over the years.

Up the street, in front Vicki Palazzo’s house, right next to huge blow-up balloons of Frankenstein, Dracula and other decorations, signs warn potential vandals that a security camera is watching. Palazzo says they have had thefts of both Halloween and Christmas decorations before.

“This is really sad, because it’s really just for the kids,” she says.

She says her husband put up the cameras after frustration over past thefts.

Several nearby neighborhoods have had similar thefts, but Dixon says they won’t let this ruin their Halloween.

“We sit outside with a fire pit and have a boom box with music playing and we greet everybody,” Dixon says.

She says on Halloween night, the street will be crawling with trick-or-treaters.

Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up