For the past few weeks, the house at 10010 Dayton Pike in Soddy-Daisy has been under assault. In September, the scattered tombstones of a cemetery emerged in the front yard. A 12-foot-tall skeleton sprang up as its sentry. Other skeletons began clawing at the home's boarded-up front windows, while more of the undead attacked from a catwalk on the south side of the house.
(READ MORE: What to know about Soddy-Daisy)
For homeowners Adam and Emilie Mullins, the scene is ... exactly what they envisioned.
"We're both really happy with it," says Adam Mullins, a horror-movie fan and collector whose decorating decisions were inspired by a 1992 film from the Evil Dead franchise.
"One of my favorite movies is 'Army of Darkness,'" he says. "It's set in medieval times, and there's a scene of skeletons trying to break into a castle."
They have the house for it. The 2,421-square-foot structure, built in 1946, has a stone facade.
(READ MORE: Soddy-Daisy museum is latest in network of facilities exploring region's history)
The couple moved to Soddy-Daisy from Florida in April 2022 but skipped the Halloween decorating the first year for lack of outdoor electrical outlets.
This Halloween, armed with a power inverter, they're ready.
"We decided we should really do it up this year," Adam says. "We're on a main road. We knew a lot of people would see it. We thought it would be a lot of fun."
While Emilie Mullins is more interested in Christmas decorating, "I myself have always been a big Halloween fan," Adam says.
Please click here to upgrade to a newer browser.
But it was Emilie who kickstarted their Halloween decorating frenzy after she saw Home Depot's July rollout of spooky decor online and knew her husband would like the 12-foot-tall skeleton.
"I ordered it right away," she says. "It was so hard to wait until September to put it out."
With Davey Bones, as they've named him, on standby, purchases of smaller skeletons followed — most at a creepily realistic 5.5 feet tall. They also added a small cemetery's worth of tombstones and a 7.5-foot-tall catacomb archway fashioned from (plastic) skulls and bones.
Adam estimates there are close to 50 pieces total, including fiery skull lanterns, skull lights lining the walkway and skeletal remains half-buried in concrete planters.
The floor-to-ceiling windows in their living room give the couple a panoramic view of the undead marauders outside.
"It's pretty cool because with the blinds open, the skeletons are looking in at you," Adam says. "If you shut the blinds when the sun goes down, the battery-powered lights shine through the curtains so you can see all the shadows of the skeletons. Either way, you know they're out there."
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.