By Timothy Appling
As the sun slipped below the horizon and street lamps cast menacing shadows over the homes of Fairmount on Halloween evening, the charming bungalows and stately foursquares took on a ghostly glow. Scores of children dressed as monsters, superheroes, witches, and princesses, scurried from door to door collecting their sweet rewards. At the same time, and for a few days afterward, the residents of Fairmount were engaged in a kind of “trick-or-treat in reverse,” casting their votes to determine the neighborhood’s favorite house of horrors. There were many homes appropriately decked out in spooky style, but in the end the clear winner was 2120 Hurley Avenue, the home of Jennifer and David Harman.

2120 Hurley

The Harmans are very recent arrivals in Fairmount, having only moved into their 1922 Craftsman style bungalow a mere six days before Halloween. Nevertheless, they managed to create in that time a terrifying tableau which captured the most Facebook votes. Jennifer, who has an MBA and a degree in chemical engineering, described the scene as “sort of a spider/ghost/pumpkin theme.” There were spooky webs and dangling light-up spiders in the yard and on the porch. Strings of ghost lights illuminated the walkway. And there were jack-o-‘lanterns everywhere. A blacklight, strobe light, and fog machine also helped to create an alarming ambiance. Mirage, a cocker spaniel in a yellow-jacket costume, also got in on the fun.

Some may have mistaken him for a bumble-bee. But both Jennifer and David are Georgia Tech alumni, so he was definitely a yellow-jacket.

The Harmans moved to Fort Worth when David took a job with Lockheed Martin. They settled in Fairmount because they like the neighborhood feel and enjoy sitting on their front porch greeting neighbors. They also like to stroll down to Magnolia and visit establishments such as The Bearded Lady. Having previously lived in a similar area near downtown Atlanta, they came to feel at home right away. Being chosen Fairmount’s favorite Halloween attraction has earned the Harmans a gift certificate from C.C.’s Touch of Nature, sponsors of Yard of the Month.

Just down the street at 1936 Hurley, the home of Annette Pittman-Crevellaro and Christian Crevellaro took second place in the Halloween decorating contest. Annette is a student and Christian works for an architectural firm. They have lived in Fairmount about four years, but moved to their present address only a year ago.

Garnering the third highest vote total was the home of Melodye and Jeremy Trest at 1720 Fairmount Avenue. Jeremy is finance manager for Park Place Mercedes and Melodye is a homemaker. They also moved to our neighborhood about a year ago, but have deep Fort Worth roots.