Halloween is often a holiday that just comes and goes. Kids dress up and gather free candy, but after the night is over, no one thinks about it again until 12 months pass. For the Eskew family, however, this holiday holds a significant place in their hearts.  Most know this house located in Willow Bend Circle, off of Carley Road. The Eskew’s are known for handing out full size Hershey candy bars, and for their full set of characters dressed in costume to fit their theme for the year. They are known for their desire to go all out and make this night special all for the kids.

“The kids are so excited and are so fun when they see what we are, and that we give them a large candy bar,” said Karen Eskew, mother of former Har-Ber students .

This tradition came about from Mr. Kim Eskew and his brother, who were extremely poor growing up in Piggott, Ark. They thought it was amazing to be able to go out on Halloween night and get a real treat, something they did not normally ever get.

“Halloween night is fun, fun, fun. We love handing out candy and interacting with people,” she said.

The preparation to make this night a success every year begins the night Halloween is over. All family members and friends have helped in pulling off these extravagant set ups.

“Our five children, my mother, my sister, who typically flies in from California to help me all week, her husband, nieces, and nephews have helped when we have a large cast,” said Eskew. The costumes to go along with the theme are all ordered and in hand by June, so they know the quality meets the standard.

Friends amongst the community also help to donate props to make the setup complete.

“Shipley Motors donated semi trucks for our Transformers theme, and Camaros from Travis Tollette, and I got a great deal on Cinderella’s full size carriage one year for our Disney theme, from Ray Dotson, owner of Ozark Mountain Carriages,” said Eskew.

The Eskew family has seen an array of themes throughout the years, such as the Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Avengers, Disney, Star Trek, and Transformers. Each year it is exciting for kids all around to get to see what they are.

“It is hard for me to pick my favorite theme, but my husband was Bumblebee for the Transformers, and stayed up for five hours on dry wall metallic stilts. That was an amazing costume; no one could believe it. I really enjoyed Disney for the younger kids. It’s so much fun that we will be repeating that theme soon,” said Eskew.

The full size Hershey chocolate bars the Eskew hand out are a hit for kids of all ages.

“This year I have ordered 1000 bars since it is on a Saturday night. Last year we gave out right at 950 candy bars, and that was just to kids, so with parents we have around 1200 in our front yard throughout the night,” said Eskew.

The excitement of the kids as they enter their lawn makes all the preparation and work well worth it.

“We’ve just been excited when we have met people, and they name off what we have been in the past years and they say that this is their favorite house, and that they want pictures of us with their kids,” said Eskew.

The year the family was Disney made some kids who will never get the opportunity to go to Disney get a small glimpse of what it’s like.

“We tried to get really legit costumes, so getting their picture made with the Disney characters or princesses was a really big deal,” said Eskew.

The whole process in making this night so extravagant goes back to the kids, and giving them something they might not receive very often.

“It’s hard for me not to think about the two Eskew boys who would of been equally as excited if they would have received it a long time ago when they were growing up. We have been so blessed in our lives and this is honestly one of the most fun nights of the year for us to give to others,” said Eskew.