Park Slope goes all out for Halloween with some of…
Park Slope mother and father could swear by Montessori toys and natural snacks — but come Halloween, it’s all plastic fangs and sweet corn on the Brooklyn neighborhood’s tree-lined streets.
And in this storybook model of spooky suburbia, where every stoop tells a story and every shriek of laughter echoes off the brownstones, there’s one significantly haunted block locals are prepared to crown the most enjoyable — eleventh St. between Prospect Park West and eighth Avenue.
As early as 3 o’clock in the afternoon on the scariest night time of the yr, the first wave of trick-or-treaters might be seen flocking to the strip’s choice of show-stopping shows.
Park Sloper Sally Krause (proper) brings the scary to her Brooklyn block on Halloween eve in an elaborate witches’ costume. Stefano Giovannini
The vibes at 606 eleventh St. had been pure Halloween concord — guitarists Camp Childers and Mike Coon dueled over spooky film riffs on the steps as youngsters gawked, grooved, and took turns petting Inca, Childers’ schnauzer sidekick dressed as a bat.
“People in Park Slope are more enthusiastic about Halloween than any other holiday, I think,” Coon told The Post, as toddlers started lining up for sweet.
“We’re always completely out by 5:30 because there are so many kids trick or treating,” he added. “We can never get enough candy to prepare for Halloween on this block.”
“Our neighbors with the dinosaurs out front got the whole ball rolling. They started the tradition of decorating on this block,” Childers explained.
He was speaking about Marcel, Cheryl and Jack Van Ooyen, father, mom and son who created and embellished the “Jurassic Park Slope” stoop, full with a towering T. rex, stegosaurus and brachiosaurus guarding their entrance steps.
Cheryl and Marcel Van Oonyen are identified for their annual shows at 594 eleventh St. between Prospect Park West and eighth Ave. — this yr’s theme is Jurassic Park. Stefano Giovannini
Outside 594 eleventh St., the John Williams’ “Jurassic Park” theme blared from audio system as youngsters gawked at the life-sized dinos — and grabbed sweet from the Van Ooyens, who had been decked out as park rangers.
“We’ve been decorating our stoop for 17 years,” Marcel told The Post, noting that every yr they do a different theme. This yr, the household favored the pun, “Jurassic Park Slope.”
About three years in the past, he and his neighbors took issues up a notch — getting a allow to shut the block to vehicles and let the ghouls roam free. “Now, it’s turned into a big, fun block party,” he said with a beaming smile.
Father-son duo Stephen and Roman Barr served up some graveyard humor in entrance of their home at 634 tenth St. in Park Slope. Stefano Giovannini
“Building our decor every year is so rewarding when you see how excited the families here get and the children’s reactions,” Cheryl added.
“When ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ was released this summer we knew we had to do this for Halloween 2025. We started building the dinosaurs in our living room last month. We might make Santa hats and put them on the dinosaurs for Christmastime decorations,” she said.
The household constructed their dinos from scratch — beginning with wood frames, layering on chicken wire, panorama cloth and spray foam to give them that scaly, lifelike pores and skin.
The block of eleventh St. between Prospect Park West and eleventh Ave. is a top draw in the town for its Halloween shows and trick or treating. Stefano Giovannini
The Van Ooyens even recycle their creations — this yr’s T. rex was beforehand a giant rat, a “Game of Thrones” dragon and more.
“There are so many kids in Park Slope, and they love dinosaurs. So many are dressed up as them this year,” he said, including that the theme labored out completely.
Across the road at 597 eleventh St., the Iarussi household went full nautical — with swirling tentacles, a shipwrecked vessel bearing a lifebuoy labeled “Park Sloop,” and a stage jutting off the steps where the crew greeted trick-or-treaters below.
The scene has develop into so big, the block now shuts down — turning into one big social gathering, neighbors say. Stefano Giovannini
They dressed the half, too — as pirate princesses, sea captains and mermaid goddesses.
“We’ve been doing this for seven years. We were inspired by our neighbors, the Van Ooyens,” Adam Iarussi told The Post.
His daughter Laila Iarussi, and her good friend Lexi Bonfils, got here up with the concept to have an underwater sea tentacle theme with a sunken ship.
“That was like July 28,” Adam said, noting that the household often plans their Halloween decor months in advance every yr.
Much of the exercise on the block facilities around 597 eleventh St., where the Iarussi household is thought for their severe dedication to Halloween adorning. Stefano Giovannini
“We locked down the concept then and started sketching about it and thinking about it. We started working on it the weekend after Labor Day.”
Last yr, they made a giant Beetlejuice-inspired show. The yr before, it was Barbiecore.
“It’s always a big family art project,” Deborah Iarussi said, including that it’s also their method of assembly “all the kids on the block” who come up and down the road all October — just to see the updates on their decor main up to Halloween.
For spooky season-loving Slopers, decking out the entrance steps isn’t just ornament — it’s custom, said Vivien F., proprietor of the favored Park Slope Living social media feed.
The Iarussi household poses in entrance of their Park Slope home. The annual event is a “big family art project,” mother Deborah told The Post. Stefano Giovannini
“It means a lot to our community and all the neighbors who put in months of effort into spreading cheer,” she told The Post, asking to keep her last title non-public. “Our strong neighborhood, lovely structure and leafy streets make this the best neighborhood to have fun Halloween in.
In latest years, she’s began placing together the neighborhood’s Spooky Stoops Map — a information to the most decked-out properties in the world, just like the one at 634 tenth St., where father-son duo Stephen and Roman Barr served up some graveyard humor — plastic skeletons lounging at a desk, sipping “eyes-cold lemonade” (yes, with faux eyeballs) with a signal that read, “Raising money to raise the dead.”
Stephen and Roman Barr hawk their scary brew to passersby, out in entrance of their Park Slope home. Stefano Giovannini
“We like to tease. We’ve been doing witty displays like this for three years. Our first one was skeletons eating a box of Life cereal. Last year, we did a Gaba-Ghoul set-up with a skeleton eating pasta. Every year, we’ve been making something food-related. Every October, we walk around and brainstorm,” Stephen told The Post.
“I thought of this idea on the bus with my dad. I thought maybe we could do something with lemonade and eyes and this popped into our minds,” Roman explained.
“We didn’t use food dye, it was food d-i-e,” the pint-sized punster joked.
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