By Steve Powell

spowell@marysvilleglobe.com

MARYSVILLE – Nobody wants to meet The Grim Reaper (death).

But it’s OK around Halloween time, as long as it’s in fun.

That’s what it’s all about for Theresa Ramey, whose 18-foot-tall Grim Reaper lurks over her front yard with his long-bladed scythe in hand.

“I love the expressions of the kids,” she said.

Ramey said her Grim Reaper used to haunt an area near Green Lake in Seattle. But she was able to get it free on Craigslist.

“That started it,” she said. Now the front yard on 75th Street is decorated with everything you can imagine: Skulls, a zombie house, a mummy, ravens, human skeletons, a horse skeleton, a dragon skeleton, a witch brewing skulls, gravestones, a huge spider and a web.

Ramey said they have so much stuff it takes her a month to decorate the yard. Much of the stuff she’s gotten at garage sales, online or her family of five has made it.

“It takes up the whole carport,” she said of storing it when it’s not in use.

On Halloween night, the entire family dresses up in costumes, and they open up their home for a haunted house. They have fog machines and scary music. There are even actors in costume in the yard.

As for the haunted house, which is free, they are flexible.

“It can be spooky or not,” she said, adding characters won’t jump at you if you don’t want.

Ramey said each year more people come and her family makes it more elaborate. “We love Halloween,” she said.

For details, go to Marysville Grim Reaper on Facebook.