For most of her life Shelly Ahrens lived in deep rural Minnesota, where putting up Halloween decorations just didn’t make sense.
“When you’re on a farm isolated in the country you can enjoy them, but no one else is going to see them,” Ahrens said. “But here is a prime opportunity. We’re on a corner, we’re in a neighborhood that enjoys Halloween — we kind of moved to the right spot by accident.”
Ahrens is talking about the neighborhood of Royal Oaks in Woodbury, known as The Haunted Oaks during the month of October. Over 100 houses in the area decorate for Halloween, and no display is quite the same. Residents liken it to a slice of Salem in the Midwest…