Winners named in Burbank Civic Pride Committee’s Halloween Decorating Contest

Perhaps lawns and trees dying from the drought are spooky enough for some Burbankers, but for 50 residents and business owners, the Halloween season called for added frights. That’s the number of home and business entries in the Civic Pride Committee’s first-ever Halloween Decorating Contest.

Robert Taylor’s family turned the front of their house in the 1800 block of North Lima Street into a haunt complete with a homemade crypt full of animatronic specters, a mad scientist’s lab with a homemade Jacob’s Ladder — in this case, that crackle of electricity climbing a pair of antennae — and a dancing skeleton jazz band.

“The key part of it is scene-setting,” said Robert Taylor, who credits his brother Richard with much of the artistic work. “We try to create a little story.”

Winners in three categories — residential, youth under 16 and commercial — were announced Friday, along with a special recognition for Preston and Diane Meyer’s annual haunted house at 907 N. California St., now in its 25th year.

The Taylors, who call their display “Taylor Terror Estates,” placed first in the residential category, despite the fact that Robert Taylor wasn’t even going to enter, fearing he couldn’t compete with the “studio people” in the city. However, his two daughters convinced him.

“Even before the awards, my dad was really proud of all of his work,” said Alyson Taylor, his eldest daughter. “He should be proud.”

The commercial category winner was Samuel’s Florist at 921 W. Olive Ave., where a display window is decked out with a creepy, cobweb-covered sitting-room scene from a mystery book. First place in the youth category was the Wyatt home at 841 N. Frederic St., where 10-year-old George decorated with an inflatable dragon, lights and more.

“I feel good,” George, a student at Thomas Edison Elementary, said of his win. “I feel great.”

The Taylors went overboard this year, Robert Taylor said, partly to welcome their eldest daughter home. Alyson Taylor’s birthday is in October and she recently returned to Burbank after graduating from Emory University in Atlanta. She used to get homesick around Halloween, missing the family’s celebrations and decorations.

She said her sister, Sara, 15, is “basically as obsessed with the Halloween house as I am.” They were tempted to go and check out their competition last night, she said, but chose ignorance in advance of the judging so they wouldn’t get disheartened. They’ll go out now that it’s over, she added.

Robert Taylor said the display is his grand finale this year, likely to be followed by a grand Halloween yard sale next October, where he’ll sell off much of the homemade props, animatronics and other items collected over the past 15 to 20 years.

There were a total of 37 entries in the contest’s residential category, seven in the youth under 16 category and six in the commercial category. That’s compared to fewer than 20 entries total in the Civic Pride Committee’s 32nd annual Holiday Decorating Contest last December. The winter contest will be put on hiatus, said Robert Vincent, committee chairman.

He said he felt Burbank residents needed something new to get excited about, and “Halloween’s more universal” than the December holidays. The results far exceeded his goal of 20 entries for this year and kept the judging panel out touring the displays for more than three hours Thursday night, he said.

Winners will be recognized with certificates at a City Council meeting on Monday.

Vincent said committee members expect excitement for the contest to grow.

“I think that, for a first time, we hit a really good number,” he said. “I think as time goes on, it’s going to be a bigger event — that’s our hopes.”

The city of Burbank put out a suggested route for viewing the decorations available online here.

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Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com

Twitter: @chadgarland