Spooktacular Night At The Movies Comes To Haunt Halterbreat Court

HERNDON, VA — Something strange has appeared at 2508 Halterbreak Court in Herndon. Under black skies and in crisp autumn air, Mary Mireles has once again filled her lawn with Halloween decorations.

“Halloween is just a special time to spend quality time with others,” she said. “Kids and adults stop by to visit daily.”

Like last year, Mireles is using the holiday display to raise money for the South Lakes High School band program. What’s different this year is that she’s also raising money for those in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas who have been impacted by the recent hurricanes.

“The urgency is now to help those in need,” said Mireles, a native-born central Floridian. “I want to help those close to me and those afar. I am offering family and corporate matches to make a bigger impact to help those in need.”

The Mireles family will help provide a 4x donation match on $2,500 to a max of $10,000. After $10,000, they will work to provide a 2x donation through their corporate matching funds up to $50,000. Funds will be split equally with those impacted by hurricanes (via Samaritan’s Purse) and with the South Lakes High School Band Boosters. Donations can be made at GoFundMe.

“The entire band program is thankful for the generous donations from friends, family, neighbors, music lovers, and small businesses in the South Lakes community and beyond,” said Tom Lee, the vice president of fundraising at SLHS band boosters. “The financial gifts enable the band to attend band competitions, parades, and team building activities, while learning from specialized musical instructors. Instruments, uniforms, and electronic equipment also require replacement after years of use.”

The theme of this year’s display is “A Spooktacular Night at the Movies” and will include skeletons dressed up in costume to welcome and entertain visitors. They'll also encounter some of their favorite characters “Harry Potter”, “Ghostbusters,”, “Mars Attacks”, “Beetlejuice” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“Halloween is just a special time to spend quality time with others,” Mireles said. “Kids and adults stop by to visit daily.”

Related: Halloween Display Guide: Check Out These Spooky Houses Around NoVA, Fredericksburg

Every night, Mireles updates the display, which will be completed on Oct. 31. On the weekends, she has to take everything down and put it back up, so the lawn can be mowed and the edging done.

Trick or treaters will have to navigate a long path through “Nockturn Alley” and will come across some unexpected scares as they walk up to the front door for their final treat of a full-sized candy bar. All scares are PG.