entering natick sign

entering natick sign

Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Eat
  • Summer Camp
  • Private Schools in Natick & beyond
  • Public schools, sponsored by Sexton
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters
  • Sports schedule & results
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Events
  • Kids
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Beyond Natick
  • History
  • Government
  • Seniors
  • Natick Nest
  • Fire & police scanner
  • Natick snow plowing services
 
Needham Bank, Natick
 

This Natick Halloween display is a house of horrors

October 29, 2020 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Third-generation Natickites Jess and TJ Dillen don’t scare easily. In fact, the only thing that can make the siblings tremble is rain around Halloween. The two have a sizable investment to protect in the form of over 100 zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and ax murderers that hang out on the front lawn of their 118 Pond Street home every year.

Apparently it’s a nightmare when the scream team of life-sized figurines gets wet. But not even rain will stop Jess and TJ from sharing their passion for Halloween with the community. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the two just bring their display of scary-but-sensitive souls inside, and then set it back up later for the enjoyment (or to the horror) of all.

Natick Halloween, 118 Pond Street

 

TJ, a power company worker with a side gig as a picker, is constantly adding to the collection. What’s in the front yard on any given Halloween is only the tip of the iceberg. “We have so many there isn’t enough room in the front yard to put them all out,” he says. “We usually have gargoyles on the roof, but we just got the roof replaced. The roofers said don’t put anything up there because of the warranty.” Sorry, gargoyles. Maybe next year.

No matter, between Beetlejuice, the creepy conjoined twins, the scary clowns (you knew there had to be scary clowns)—and the smoke machine and projector show to lend atmosphere to the horrifying scene—you won’t even notice that pristine roof. Or the freshly mulched landscaping. Or the overall prettiness of the three-story home. The Addams Family mansion it isn’t. You’re at 118 Pond Street Manor, and they keep up appearances here.

Natick Halloween

 

TJ also keeps up an active search for all things hideous. He most recently bought a collection in New Hampshire from a former World Wrestling Foundation grappler. Everyone in the home clean-out and junk removal services field knows TJ will pay top dollar for the right piece to round out his collection of the macabre, the grisly, and the gruesome. The emails about blood and gore for sale don’t stop. (mrtman64@gmail.com, if you want to do business.)

The Natick High School grads seem to be something of an inspiration in the neighborhood. “A boy across the street buys stuff we sell at our yard sales and has his own display now. I don’t know if you noticed on the way here, but the whole street is decorated,” TJ points out.

Natick Halloween

“Over the past few years a lot more people on Pond Street have been getting into it. I think it’s great,” says Jess, a teacher in a childcare center.

About 1,000 trick-or-treaters each year agree. Jess and TJ aren’t sure what numbers to expect this year, but they’ll be ready. “We’re designing a candy chute,” Jess says. “Everything else is canceled. We didn’t want to cancel.”

Natick Halloween

 

The two put a lot of thought into how they would handle designing the display during a time of pandemic. They wear masks and keep socially distant on their jobs and in their everyday interactions. They decided there was no reason for their monsters to do the same. “We decided on no quarantine stuff,” Jess says. “Our display is about forgetting all that stuff and just having fun.”

“We love doing this,” TJ says. “We talk about it 9 months of the year. We take a little break from it after Halloween. But it’s a passion.”

“We like to give back to Natick, ” Jess says. “It’s just our way of doing that.”

MORE PICS…

Natick Halloween

 

Natick Halloween

Natick Halloween

 

Other neighborhood displays:

pond st halloween 2020

 

pond st halloween 2020

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

Filed Under: Holidays

Comments

  1. Dennis McCormick says

    October 29, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    Thank you for the reporting. The annual display is amazing, and now we know the artists behind the curtain. Much thanks to the Dillens, true spirits of Natick.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Tip us off!

Please send news tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

If you’d like to contribute $ to support our independent journalism venture, please do….

Advertisements

Categories

  • Animals
  • Art
  • Bacon Free Library
  • Beyond Natick
  • Books
  • Boston Marathon
  • Business
  • Camps
  • Charity/Fundraising
  • Community
  • Construction
  • COVID-19
  • Education
  • Election
  • Embracing diversity
  • Employment/careers
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Fashion
  • Fire
  • Food
  • Gardens
  • Government
  • Health
  • History
  • Holidays
  • Housing
  • Kids
  • Letters to the editor
  • Media
  • Military
  • Morse Institute Library
  • Music
  • Natick Election 2022
  • Natick Historical Society
  • Natick History Museum
  • Natick Mall
  • Natick Nest
  • Natick track
  • Neighbors
  • Obituaries & remembrances
  • Opinion
  • Outdoors
  • Parents
  • Police & crime
  • Real estate
  • Recycling Center
  • Religion
  • Restaurants
  • Schools
  • Seniors
  • Shopping
  • South Natick Dam
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Theater
  • Town election 2021
  • Town Election 2023
  • Town Meeting
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vacation
  • Veterans
  • Volunteering
  • Voting
  • Weather
lion publishers
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Get our email newsletter

* indicates required
Our newsletter is free, though we gladly accept contributions to support our work.

Most Read Posts

  • Tree-mendous defense at Natick's saddest basketball court
  • New MBTA schedule encourages Natick to party on
  • Natick Center Historical Walking Tours coming up
  • Walk this way for a cultural experience on the Cochituate Rail Trail
  • Natick ready for Community Preservation Committee member applicants

Click image to read The Swellesley Report

The Swellesley Report

Upcoming Events

Sep 27
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Sober in the Suburbs speaker event

Sep 28
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Speaker: Meteorologist Harvey Leonard on extreme weather

Oct 1
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Opening celebration of Little Free Diverse Library of children’s books

Oct 13
8:30 am - 10:30 am

Dedham Country Day School Classroom Observation Day

Oct 14
9:00 am - 1:30 pm

55+ Health and Wellness Fair

View Calendar

Pages

  • Letters to the editor on Natick Report
  • Natick community gardens
  • South Natick Dam Park (Charles River waterfall/spillway)
  • Guidelines for Natick Report letters to the editor
  • Natick election 2023—guidelines for promoting candidates and ballot questions
  • Natick’s 2023 Boston Marathon charity runners
  • Natick, Massachusetts libraries
  • Comment Policy
  • Bacon Free Library in Natick, hours for winter 2023
  • Morse Institute Library in Natick—hours for winter 2023
  • Resources for seniors in Natick, Mass.
  • Natick Report corrections policy
  • Scenic Roads in Natick
  • Where to stay in Natick, Mass. (hotels, inns)
  • Private Schools in Natick (and beyond)
  • Natick Summer Camps (and beyond)
  • Where to eat in Natick, Mass: more that 70 dining options
  • Natick, Mass., history
  • Natick government
  • Natick No-Nos
  • Embracing diversity in Natick
  • Where to worship in Natick
  • Kid stuff (sports, clubs, activities in Natick, Mass.)
  • Contribute to Natick Report
  • Natick Little Free Libraries
  • Natick public schools
  • Natick obituaries, September 2023
  • Where to sled in Natick, Mass.
  • Natick COVID-19 & vaccine news
  • Natick’s zip code & post offices
  • Natick charitable and community action groups
  • Top 10 things to do in Natick, Mass.
  • Natick Arts/Entertainment
  • About Natick Report
  • Advertise on Natick Report
  • Natick rules: Chickens yes, roosters no
  • Natick Election 2023, political candidates advertising
  • Natick election 2022—candidate interviews

© 2023 Natick Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login