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Haunted · Willoughby

Halloween of Yorkson is the best Halloween block in Langley

One short street in Yorkson, both sides, nearly every house decorated, and a Viking longship parked on a front lawn. If you see one thing before Saturday night, make it this.

A full-size Viking longship with a striped sail on a front lawn, lit blue, with a house behind it
Photo: Hey Langley
Where
209A Street near 84 Avenue, Yorkson (Willoughby), Township of Langley. It's on the map.
When
Dusk until about 8:30 pm. Halloween is Saturday. Check their Facebook page before you head out.
This year
Vikings
Cost
Free. It's a street.
Best for
Everyone. Mostly decorations, with the odd jump scare.

We have driven a lot of Langley this month hunting for houses for the haunted map. Then on Thursday night we walked one block in Yorkson and it stopped being a contest.

Halloween of Yorkson is a single short stretch of 209A Street, and nearly every house on both sides of it is in. Not a pumpkin on the step and a cobweb in the shrub. Whole yards, lit, fogged and built out. This year’s theme is Vikings, and someone took that seriously: there is a full-size longship on a front lawn, striped sail up, skeleton crew at the oars and a serpent curling off the prow. A winged dragon stands guard right beside it.

From there it just keeps going. A wizarding house with banners over the garage and a flying car crashed into the tree. A giant eye projected across a garage door. A Pumpkin King taller than the eaves. Gremlins in 3D glasses. Two skeletons belted into a car for what looks like a long trip. A horror-movie yard with a little shack on Elm Street and a Camp Crystal Lake sign. A witchy House of Oddities that deserves more time than we gave it. We were there a good half hour and still felt like we rushed the back half.

The crowd is half of it

The street was packed with families, and so many of them were having the best time. Kids in costume running ahead to the next yard, parents stopping for photos at every other house. It felt like the whole neighbourhood had turned out, and a good chunk of the rest of Langley with it.

Our favourite moment had nothing to do with the decorations. One little girl was already welded to her dad’s leg before we even reached the witch. Then the witch moved. It got us a little too, honestly, but she went straight up her dad like he was a tree. Hilarious and sweet at the same time. Sorry, little one. You were braver than you think.

Before you go

  • Parking is the hard part. We spent longer finding a spot than we’d like to admit. Park a few streets over and walk in, and keep clear of driveways and the no-parking signs. These are people’s homes.
  • It gets busy. Thursday was already shoulder to shoulder in spots, so give yourself time and a bit of patience.
  • Little ones: it’s mostly lights and big props, but there are a few moving surprises. Hold hands near the witches.
  • Be kind to the yards. Stay on the sidewalk. Somebody put a lot of work into that graveyard.

Everything below was shot from the sidewalk on Thursday night. Tap any photo to see it bigger.

The Viking longship, sail up, skeleton crew aboard
A winged dragon standing guard by the walkway
A giant spider on the porch roof
School-house banners and a crowd at the wizarding house
A tall ghostly wraith in a glowing graveyard
Green tombstones under a red and blue roofline
A grinning skeleton among the headstones
A reaper with a glowing ribcage
A giant eye projected on a garage door
The Pumpkin King, taller than the eaves
A ghost bride in the tree and skeleton dogs in the leaves
A spider with a light-show body
Two decorated yards side by side
Gremlins in 3D glasses
A marshmallow giant, a reaper and a jack-o'-lantern
A skeleton climbing out of the lawn
A row of glowing pumpkin-head buddies
Two skeletons belted in for a road trip
A giant skeleton reaching over the street sign
A giant skeleton swinging skulls on a chain
Lit cages in the windows, full of bones
BOO, ghosts and a pumpkin patch of inflatables
A slasher-movie yard in purple light
Striped suits and a sandworm in the fog
A masked villain and a werewolf in the fog
Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake
A giant red spider climbing the front of a house
A spooky tree and its cast of characters
The House of Oddities apothecary
A red-eyed undertaker with a tray of skulls
A grim reaper with glowing red eyes
A stack of inflatables and a line of little ghosts
Welcome to the Home for Lost Souls
A tall ghost in blue light
An orange ghost under the string lights
The street's own sign: Halloween of Yorkson

To the neighbours of 209A Street

Whoever started this, and every house that keeps saying yes to it each October: thank you. This is the best community Halloween effort we’ve seen anywhere in Langley, and it isn’t close. You absolutely rocked Halloween.

If your favourite house isn’t on the map yet, add it. And give the Yorkson pins a thumbs up while you’re there.