Longboat Key's Halloween spirit shows up in decorations

Happy haunts abound on Longboat Key this year, from smiling scarecrows to ghastly graveyards. 

The spooks range from sweet to scary, but even the most spine-chilling scenes could be some of the least sinister things you’ll see in the strange year that is 2020. Use this guide for a Halloween tour of Longboat Key, if you dare. 

Longbeach Village has the highest quota of scary sights, with multiple houses bringing some skeletons out of the closet and onto the yard for the neighbors to see. 729 Fox St. has a whole graveyard set up and a grisly guard dog with double the skeletal fangs. The longer you look, the more spooks you’ll spot, but linger too long and the ghost in the tree might start plotting to make you part of the display, too. 

The Little Free Library on Fox Street is out of commission for now, and it looks like the resident librarian hasn’t been out in a bit. Getting out of there might cost an arm and a leg (and another leg, and maybe a body too). 

In Spanish Main, a few wraiths writhe in the wind while their scarecrow neighbors smile benignly at 836 Spanish Drive South. The season’s bases are well-covered, with scary skeletons, a smiling scarecrow and both a spooky witch and a friendly one, who’s keeping a witchy watch on the mailbox. 

At 556 Spanish Drive N., the scarecrow on the porch is dressed for the season — and for the times. A scarecrow-sized mask covers his felt face and tucked up on the porch that way, he’s definitely social distancing. Maybe 2020 is the scariest spook of them all. 

Throughout the island are spirited displays not tied to homes. The Paradise Center has a glowing black and purple tree with York mints hanging from the limbs. Donna Blaney, who sits at the front desk, usually has a candy bowl, but the dangling treats mean fewer hands in the same place — the ongoing pandemic is certainly spooky. 

Near Whitney Plaza, three ghosts twist from a tree. It’s unclear who put them there or who they’re trying to haunt, but they’ll make you jump as you drive down Gulf of Mexico Drive. 

On the beach by Beach Harbor Club (3806 GMD), there's a Halloween tree with shells and spooks twisting in the wind, plus a black spiderweb. The brittle branches make the spooky tree a good Halloween display, unlike its cheerful Christmas counterpart.