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Woman takes up grave task of scaring heck out of kids
Putting the ‘All' in Halloween
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by EMILY BARNES
Carol Land Washeleski turns on the lights in the eyes of a Halloween skull decoration on the lawn of her Waldorf home.
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It's Halloween night, you're trick-or-treating with some friends, you walk up to a large house and you think you're going to get a lot of candy.
Instead, you get a toothbrush and toothpaste.
That's what happened to Waldorf resident Carol Land Washeleski, 54, when she was 11.
"I couldn't believe it …" she said. "I will never forget that feeling of disappointment."
That night she vowed to make Halloween night an experience kids will never forget.
Washeleski later found out the homeowner was a dentist.
"I guess he was trying to take care of the kids," she said.
"This is the one time each year that children get candy, it's not really a good time to hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste. It's what children live for — getting candy."
With that in mind, Washeleski spends about $300 a year and gives out full-size candy bars and toys.
Children line up to take a turn at the Halloween spinning wheel. The wheel will reveal a task the child must complete in order to receive candy, like sing a song or rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time.
Little kids often sing "Jesus Loves Me," she said.
For adults, she has a campfire out front where parents can congregate while their kids roam.
There are lots of lights, fog and music. Not to mention chainsaws.
"My theme is very scary, but not demonic," she said. Clowns, spiders, vampires and more can be spotted among the tombstones in Washeleski's front yard.
"It's beautifully scary," she said.
Halloween night is a production that requires a team of seven people.
The Tennessee native started decorating on Oct. 8 and has worked nonstop alongside accomplice Jose Portillo, 20. With the exception, of the four days it rained during the month.
Portillo assists Washeleski with the climbing and lifting.
"He's the muscle behind this," Washeleski said.
The pair has worked 12 to 15 hours some days. "It's beyond a full-time job," she said.
Washeleski is "very organized and very meticulous as to how it should look and where things should go," said Lois Mammana, neighbor. "I've lived here since 2003 and always notice something new. She's always trying to change it up and make it different. … Seeing it at night when it's all lit up with the fog machine going, it's just spectacular."
For Portillo, this is his first time helping Washeleski.
"I've never seen [all] this before," he laughed. "We don't have Halloween where I'm from. I have to come back and enjoy all of it [on Halloween night]." Portillo is from El Salvador.
Washeleski is proud to have fulfilled that vow she made on Halloween night many years ago.
Four years ago on Halloween she made another vow — a vow to marry her husband, Mike.
And, he made a vow to accept her and her Halloween decorations, she said.
"He's grown accustomed."
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