According to a study done byLombardo Homes, Utah was ranked the number one state in Halloween decorations. Luckily, there are a few apps that can help residents of Utah Valley navigate which houses they should visit to maximize their time in the Halloween season.
One such app is called theFrightsMap.
Weston Hamilton, one of the houses participating in the app, explained a bit more about how it works.
'Basically what it is, is haunts around the country can be professional yard haunts, walk-through haunts, whatever, if you visit the house, you can say you loved it with the pumpkin icon. It's just a fun, interactive way for hunters to kinda come together. It also helps people find the haunts they want to go see,' Westin said.
Weston and his family have been sharing their decorations with the community for more than 25 years.
'My dad took me past the house that's just down the street there. He had like cool props, like Dracula lifting his arm up and down. It really inspired me, and I thought maybe I could do something like that in the future. So I got to work pretty much that season the first time I saw it, just with ice cream buckets, just random cardboard boxes, cutting faces out, putting lights in them. And over the years, it just started getting more and more progressively bigger and bigger than over the years. I started seeing a trickle of visitors here and there. I know a lot of people just talk about it in the valley itself. And I've had people actually tell me they come from like Texas, Arizona and stuff to see this in October. So it's crazy how big it's gotten,' he said.
Weston shared that although he takes donations, he has spent more than $25,000 of mostly his own money for decorations to create a free, family-friendly attraction for everyone to enjoy.
'Halloween night has always been a special time of the year for me, so I'm glad that I could do this for the community, and I'm stoked that it's gotten so much attention,' Weston said.
Hamilton's Halloween Treatis just one of the many free places that can be found in Utah valley on the fright maps app.
Emily Hamilton, Weston's sister, helper and co-host of their youtube channelGhoul Foolswhere they cover everything Halloween and spooky, explained why people should check out houses like Hamilton's Halloween treat.
'We're going to have special decorations. We're going to have treats, we're going to have toys for the kids. And you can also do a scavenger hunt. We have a QR code. This is a family-friendly haunt. It's for everyone. Just come enjoy the lights, the projections and just all the haunts,' she said.