Halloween On Brook Street In Brookline: 'It's Like Disney World'

BROOKLINE, MA — Each year, as the ghouls, and princesses, and dinosaurs take over Brookline there are a few streets that are closed off to cars to accommodate the little monsters from Beals Street near Coolidge Corner, Ackers Ave near Fisher Hill reservoir park, Russet Road in South Brookline to Brook Street in the village.

Brook Street, for those in the know for the past dozen years, has been synonymous with animatronics, a pirate ship and the Mistretta family.

Ron and Geri Mistretta have lived on Brook Street for the past 42 years. About 15 years back Ron decided to up the Halloween decoration game on the street that had always been a good one for Halloween.

"He's a tinkerer," said Geri as she holds a wicker basket full of Twizzlers and fruity candy Wednesday night.

This tinkerer created a whole world of wonder. He transformed the front lawn into a pirate ship inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with, ahem, skeleton crew, sea monsters, and other scary ghouls.

Trick-or-treaters would often be too scared to make it all the way up on the porch to ask for candy. That became a sort of rite of passage, said Ron. And they would know it wasn't real, but they would look at it and stare at it and study it, he said. That tickled him.

"My hope was that it fueled their minds and creativity and gave them ideas about what's possible," he said as he watched the smaller children climb the steps of his porch without hesitation Wednesday night.

That's new.

Two years ago Ron said was his last year for the Pirate ship.

It just got to be a bit too much. Each year he'd add another element to the ship and the story until it was hundreds of pieces large. Ahead of a move, they decided to donate the entire rig to a non-profit.

They'd hoped to donate the ship scene to the Town of Brookline. Ron even volunteered to teach an animatronics class at one of the schools. But after Brookline's Rec department came out and looked at just how many pieces there were, they passed.

"I was really disappointed that Brookline didn't take it. It's been such a staple every year on the street," he said.

He ended up putting it on Craigslist. The Town of Andover, in the end, came and carted it off.

Last year when the hordes of monsters and pirates and princesses came to brave the house with the pirate ship and found it gone, Ron and Geri told them the ship had sailed.

They got cards after that Halloween from former trick-or-treaters thanking them for keeping it going for so many years.

This Halloween as children dressed as ninjas and warriors and, yes, pirates pounce up the steps no one asks about the ship.

"It's almost haunting right now. I can still hear my pirates talk. I miss it in some ways," said Ron. But it is somewhat a relief, he says remembering how he would take the entire day and set it up day of and take it down four hours later.

Police advise that drivers watch out for the little ones darting in and out of the sidewalk and road crossing in search of the sweet stuff. And if you're headed out as a trick-or-treater remember to look both ways and bring a flash light.

Halloween On Beals Street In Brookline: 'Mayhem. But Fun'

Photos by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff