The home of Bob and Terri Smith on Gill Street in Punta Gorda is decorated for Halloween, which is a major event in the city's historic district. The cemetery marker belongs to the Paolicelli house next door. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 10-29-2013.
PUNTA GORDA -- The clock is ticking for Terri and Bob Smith and their friends at Peace River Baptist Church.
Every year, the Smiths and some church brethren decorate their house at 123 Gill St. in the Historic District for Halloween.
But you won't find skulls and witches and bludgeoned body parts.
"We are trying to bring a little light to a dark holiday," said Terri Smith.
So they decorate with a blood-less theme. Last year, it was "Star Wars," complete with the movie playing on an outdoor screen.
The home of Bill and Lucy Paolicellii in Punta Gorda is decorated for Halloween, which is a major event in the city's historic district. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 10-29-2013.
This year, the theme is "Pirates of the Caribbean." Members of the congregation, dressed as pirates and manning a replica pirate ship complete with make-believe cannons, will hand out many hundreds of bags of candy, each one with six pieces of chocolate.
They will also give away small brochures, "tracts," with a pirate map on one side and the Bible's most famous verse, John 3:16, on the other.
The Smiths' house, built in 1912 by Punta Gorda's pioneering Wotitzky family and recently restored, is Halloween Central in a city that celebrates the event like no other.
The home of Jeff and Janeen Weiler on Gill Street in Punta Gorda is decorated for Halloween, which is a major event in the city's historic district. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 10-29-2013.
Starting around 5:30 Thursday evening, the district's grid of brick streets with sidewalks will start to fill with trick-or-treaters (and their parents) numbering in the thousands.
"We gave out 2,600 bags of candy last year," said Terri Smith.
Parents from Venice to Fort Myers, and beyond, bring their kids. The sidewalks are full by 6 p.m. and the Punta Gorda Police Department patrols on golf carts. Best behavior is the rule.
"People like to bring their kids here because it is a small, safe area," said Bob Smith. "One family used to come all the way from England" at this time of year to take in Halloween, Punta Gorda-style.
The restored wooden bungalow next door to the Smiths, which dates to 1920 and is owned by Diane Williams, carries out the pirate theme. There, bottles of water will be handed out so the trick-or-treaters can wash down their candy.
The Smiths have been decorating for more years than they can remember, and have been doing themed displays for about six years.
On the other side of their two-story house, at the corner of Gill and West Marion Avenue, Bill and Lucy Paolicelli have a more conventional display, with mist, ghoulish sounds, spiders, webs, skeletons and a "cemetery" with an inflatable stone archway.
At the corner of Gill and West Retta Esplanade, Jeff and Janeen Weiler, who live in a restored 1895 house, have an extreme display of bones, zombies and fake giant rats. There's even a convertible car stuck through the second floor with the unfortunate driver impaled on the peak of the roof.
Peace River Baptist is not the only church in on the fun. First United Methodist, in the heart of the historic district, also welcomes revelers with treats, no tricks.
