A Swindon family of six claim to have the scariest garden in the town after terrifying visitors on Halloween night.
Candice Pridden from Ferndale, her partner Josh and their four children went all out this year to decorate their front garden.
The spooky display consisted of clowns, cobwebs and body bags as the Swindonians celebrated the spooky season.
After creating displays in the past, the decorations are now becoming a tradition for Candice and her family.
“Josh and I have loved Halloween because we get a chance to have fun and interact and speak to people,” she said.
“Covid and the rain have prevented the last few years from happening so we were gutted as we really love doing it.
“The plan is to do it annually now as I have four children who are all involved and will be involved for years to come so it’s a real family activity.”
The 34-year-old decided it was the right year to bring the tradition back from the dead after the whole gang had enjoyed themselves last time.
“We chose to do it again because we had a really good response in 2019 when my son dressed as Pennywise the Clown,” said Candice.
“He hid around the garden and scared people and they really enjoyed it so we even stuffed the costume this year and left it out."
Candice aims to have the scariest garden in Swindon and tried to ensure for 2023 with another jumpscare.
“We had a zombie head looking over the sweet pot but that was actually my partner and we made him look like one of the statues,” she said.
“As people crouched down to get the sweets, he would jump out so it was really cool and the visitors really enjoyed the display.
“Our target audience is adults and children over the age of eight years old and we want to be the scariest garden in the town and, if not that, the most entertaining.”
The family celebrate each of the seasons but nothing comes close to their joint love for October 31.
“My house is very Christmassy but we don’t do the outside due to the cost of running it and at Easter, I cut out 1,000 bunny footprints for a street egg hunt,” she said.
“There’s nothing quite like Halloween though and I am not scared easily as my 13-year-old son loves horror films.
“I stand at the end of the driveway and watch the reactions which is a real feelgood feeling for me.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel