Jennifer Harrison loves sharing her excitement for the holiday season. She loves over-the-top yard inflatables and plastic skeletons posed in silly ways.
The 54-year-old native of Hampton Roads has a reputation among friends and family for driving around the region to survey homes, looking for the best decorated ones.
She has specific routes. And a custom license plate spelling out “LYT RYDR.”
Harrison last October launched and has since maintained an interactive online map that catalogues the region’s best decorated homes for Halloween. The map, which is hosted on Google Maps, has amassed over 1,000 individual entries and over 120,000 views online.
“I’ve always loved Halloween. I just love it, I can’t explain it,” Harrison said. “It’s like I get a rush. I just love looking at people’s displays, everybody’s is different.”
While she takes submissions through her Facebook page, she said that only makes up a fraction of the entries. Most of the homes featured on the map were first visited by her.
(In the map above, black pins are labeled “must-see” houses. Don’t see a map? Tap here.)
Homes appearing on the map show up as colored pins. Harrison is able to denote entries from last year and “must-see” houses with that setup.
“They have to have like at least 10 inflatables in their yard with lights,” Harrison said of the “must-see” homes. “Lots of skeletons all over the place, lights everywhere and those big 12-foot things that come from Home Depot.”
Harrison, who works in the office of an animal and pest control business and lives in Portsmouth, said the map started off as a spinoff of a regional Christmas light map first created by Hampton Roads real estate agent Sam Sansalone in 2018. Harrison said she assisted the creation of his map before her son suggested that the same people who go overboard for Christmas may go overboard for Halloween.
Harrison has memorized some of the more prominent addresses of the homes she’s catalogued. By the way she talks about the homeowners, it’s clear her holiday decoration cartography has led to some friends.
“Everybody thinks I’m crazy, but they love it,” she said.
John Buzbee, 757-879-7421, john.buzbee@virginiamedia.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/15/halloween-map-hampton-roads/

