Sharing the Scare: Arlington family goes extreme for Halloween

ARLINGTON, Wash. — For some, Halloween night is one of costumes and candy.

But for others, like Brandi Smith, it’s the best night of the year.

“Every year it gets bigger and bigger,” says Smith.

Her family has spent several thousand on decorations over the years for their Arlington home.

“We might have spent a couple thousand just this year,” says Smith, who’s on a mission to make others love Halloween too.

In 2020, she created the online website ‘Snohomish County Holiday Maps.’ It was designed to be an interactive map where families could plan out their trick-or-treating during the pandemic.

“I thought, well, I’ll put together a map and people can show their houses if they are still going to be handing out candy,” says Smith.

From that year on, the site has continued to grow, with even more submissions.

The map tracks an assortment of fun, from where to find the biggest Halloween displays to which homes are handing out king-sized candy bars. Anyone can submit their address online and earn a spot on the map.

“It was just supposed to be Arlington,” says Smith. “But even that year, I was getting messages from people in Marysville and Stanwood, like ‘Hey can I add my house to the map?’ Sure! The more the merrier.”

This year, the map has about 1,200 submissions, with about 50,000 users, estimates Smith.

Her online efforts are working to make each Halloween a bit sweeter than the year before.

You can view the Snohomish County Holiday Map here: Halloween Activity Map 2024 - Google My Maps

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