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While some people may just be getting around to carving their jack-o'-lantern for Halloween, Sonia Tribble of Kenai has taken holiday decorating to another level.

"My house is known around here as the Halloween house," Tribble said. "I'll get between 400 and 500 trick-or-treaters, and last year I even had a women tell me she drove down from Anchorage after she heard about it."

Tribble's home -- on Fathom Drive, off of South Forest Drive -- is hard to miss. Hers is the one with a front yard with a gargantuan purple tarantula, impaled heads on stakes, and skeletons at a table eating a dismembered corpse, just to name a few of the decorations.

"I love Halloween, so I have everything from the silly to the scary," she said. "Some of the decorations -- like my 16-foot tall ghost -- everyone can see, but some of the decorations -- like my 'head waiter' with his head on his serving tray instead of his shoulders -- you can only see if you come all the way up."

Tribble said she changes up the decorations every year, and the items already on the lawn only represent a portion of what she will have out for display on Oct 31.

"I put up a little each day, all through the month," she said, "and I have stuff that only goes out on Halloween day, such as electronic things that talk and move, and a big blow up tunnel that has thunder and lightening inside."

Tribble said the volume of decorations she has isn't something that is typically purchased in one season.

"I've got between $4,000 and $5,000 in decorations out there, and some of it is quite old. One little guy -- with the pumpkin head and rats on his shoulder and in his lap -- I've had for 25 years, but if I see something new that I like I'll buy it. I'm almost to the point where my yard can't hold anymore," she said.

Some of the items are things she's made, such as the tombstones for her graveyard. "I made those out of Styrofoam and put the names of my ex-husbands and boyfriends on them for fun," she said.

Many of the ghostly goodies were also purchased from large box-stores, including a few items that were not originally intended as Halloween decorations.

"I got six mannequins from Gottschalks when they closed that I've dressed up and have out there," she said.

Tribble said she tries not to go overboard in regard to how gruesome or frightening her decorations are, since she knows she will get visitors of all ages for the holiday.

"I don't want to scare the little ones or offend anybody, so I'm gory, but without all the blood," she said.

As to why she puts so much effort into the Halloween holiday, Tribble said there are two reasons.

One is she runs a home-based child care business and the kids in her care enjoy it, but also she said she does the decorating to keep the spirit of the event the same as when she was a child.

"When I was growing up, it seemed liked every house decorated or was open for trick-or-treators," she said.

"But now, it seems like less than 50 percent take part in the holiday. I don't want to see it die out, so I try to do my part to keep it alive."

Joseph Robertia can be reached at joseph.robertia@peninsulaclarion.com.