Every year, hundreds of trick-or-treaters and their families from all over the Gulf Coast region migrate to a house on Alabama Street in Elberta.

People come from as far as Pensacola, Bay Minette and Mobile to get spooked by the elaborate decorations, costumes and tricks at the Halloween House. And its owner, Jena Hawsey, embraces her home’s creepy reputation.

In fact, she and her husband Alvin bought the home because of its Halloween potential, Hawsey said.

“When my girls were younger, we were actually trick-or-treating in this area, and I told my husband because of the way the house was set up and the color of it that this would probably be the best Halloween house ever,” Hawsey said. “About 10 years later, it came up for sale. I had to have this house because I could just see the Halloween stuff.”

The Hawseys purchased the house in 2004 and slowly began to add more and more decorations every Halloween.

“Every year, we try to add a little bit more,” Hawsey said. “It started out with my husband and I just doing a few things on the porch, and people would come up and just take little snapshots, and every year, there has been more and more people.”

Now, more than 500 people show up every year, and a police officer is assigned to direct traffic in front of the house.

Hawsey’s birthday is Sept. 26, and she said Alvin allows her to celebrate it by buying new Halloween decorations from her birthday until Halloween.

“He loves to see me happy, and he knows this really makes me happy,” Hawsey said. “The first time I got him to help, he fell in love with it. Ever since then, he’s been so motivated that I wonder if he’s more motivated than I am.”

The couple spends more than $300 on candy each year and more on new decorations, Hawsey said.

“We try to make things and reuse things,” she said. “But there’s a whole lot that we have spent.”

And in two years, Hawsey said they plan to decorate the back yard, too. The goal of expanding and changing the decorations is to make people want to revisit every year, Hawsey said. And although she tries to make the house creepy, she said her goal is to make the experience family friendly and not too scary for young children.

“We don’t terrify anybody — it’s for all the kids,” Hawsey said. “I love to see their little faces; I love to hear them giggle and laugh after they’ve gotten a little scared or something. Some of the kids are just fascinated.”

Hawsey said Halloween is her favorite holiday because it is a community event. She likes the other holidays, but something about Oct. 31 is special, she said.

“Christmas is too frilly for me,” Hawsey said. “I am a Christian, but Halloween is just so much more exciting and more fun for the community because you get to interact more with everybody, whereas Christmas is more immediate-family oriented. On Christmas, I actually hang a couple of lights and a few of those big ornaments so people don’t think I’m on the satanic side.”

Recently, a teacher at Elberta Middle School was teaching her class about landmarks, and she asked the children what their favorite Elberta landmark was. It was unanimous: the Halloween House. Hawsey said the teacher came to the house one afternoon just to tell her the story.

Many people in Elberta stop or drive by throughout the month of October to see what is new and to look around, Hawsey said.

“I’ll come home, and people will be walking in the yard. I love it,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me a bit. It makes me feel good that they want to see it. I just want everybody to come and enjoy it. I don’t care how old you are — you’re never too old for Halloween.”