A Nightmare on Linden Road

In Dan Sapanara's ghastly visions, a man hangs by his neck from a tree, still twitching, a rotten little imp lolls on a block and a demonic clown uses a wraith as a target for knife-throwing practice.

Yet Sapanara, 58, isn't headed for a padded room in a fitted straight jacket. Everyone who passes his front yard in Mineola sees his visions too. For the past 26 years, Sapanara and his two sons, David and Eric, have been decking out their lawn with ghosts, skeletons, and a multitude of other macabre props, setting the stage for a big All Hallow's Eve performance.

A traditional Halloween bounty is the reward for those willing to brave the horrors of Sapanara's lawn. About 50 or 60 kids each year make it to the doorbell in spite of the bank of fog Sapanara pumps from two fog machines and the casket laid along the front walkway, whose "occupant" occasionally gives the lid a kick from the inside.

"We go through a lot of candy," Sapanara said. "Everybody has a good time."

Homemade tombstones stick up from the lawn like broken teeth, their inscriptions short stories of their unfortunate occupants: "Lester More, Shot Six Times With a Forty Four"; "Here Lies Bret, He Welched on a Bet"; and for comic relief "I Told You I Was Sick."

Halloween night on Sapanara's lawn sees live action too. A masked Sapanara makes appearances as characters like Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street horror films and Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, wielding a real buzzing chainsaw, no less. "We take the blade off," Sapanara said assuringly. "You've got to have a little bit of safety."

A neighbor across the street, Joan Genova, and her two children, are big fans, getting a box-seat view of Sapanara's collection of effects each year.

"They put on a big show, they scare everybody; it's great," Genova said. "They're very respectful of the young kids though."

Sapanara and company downplay the horror for youngsters, but not so much they kill the thrill. When asked if the show scared her, Nicole, nine, proclaimed her denial before her mother coaxed a confession.

"It is pretty scary," she admitted.

Onlookers line up on the low wall on Genova's front lawn for the show every Halloween night. Sapanara's notoriety has even rubbed off a little. "Everyone knows where we live because of our Halloween neighbors," she said.

"Yeah," her daughter said, grinning. "I live across the street from Freddy Krueger."