ALTAMONT — On a recent afternoon less than a week before Halloween, a group of friends were hard at work on ironing out the kinks in their plans for this year’s elaborate decorations at 145 Main Street in Altamont.

The home of Jeff and Jackie Gregory has become a must-see for trick-or-treaters and the unofficial centerpiece of the village’s festivities. More than just decorations, the group builds a stage set and and its members play characters that bring the scene to life.

Each year the decorations have a theme. Past themes have included The Walking Dead, Star Wars, a UFO crash, Jurassic Park, Toy Story, Scooby Doo, a Michael Myers insane asylum, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Last year, Jeff Gregory said, he spent four hours dancing in costume on top of the pirate ship.

This year’s theme is the classic video game Mario Kart. The display has Rainbow Road, Warp Pipes that lead to other worlds, and bleachers beside a lighted racetrack.

Besides the Gregorys, the design masterminds include Guilderland High School technology teacher Max Corbett and science teacher Curtis Snyder, as well as Snyder’s brother, Sean Snyder. 

“Our neighbor graciously allowed us to use their driveway as a racetrack,” Jackie Gregory said.

One by one, Corbett, Jeff Gregory, and Curtis Snyder tried out one of the go-karts that they will use on Halloween night, speeding along the sidewalk that winds around the house, which is located on the corner of Main and Grand streets.

As Snyder roared down the side street and veered onto the sidewalk, Corbett called out to him, “There’s no brakes.” Snyder put his heels to the ground, groaning, “My hips are cramping up so bad,” and then rolled facedown onto the grass as the others all laughed.

The group will be the only ones riding on go-karts. Neighbor kids have been asking if they can try them, but she tells them no, said Jackie Gregory, whom the others call “OSHA” after the government agency that enforces rules about workplace safety.

Curtis Snyder said there will be hot lava running down the front steps. “Will there?” Corbett asked drily, with some skepticism. “I have to make it,” Snyder replied.

Their biggest worry this year is rain. A little rain is OK, Jackie Gregory explained, as long as it’s not a storm. They paused to check the extended forecast, noting with satisfaction that the chance of rain for Halloween night had decreased dramatically over the past day, from more than 80 percent to below 50.

Corbett has already made a fire-breathing head of the villainous character Bowser that they hope to place on the porch roof, if the weather holds. One of them said they will need to ask “OSHA.”

“They love to have fire,” Jackie Gregory said, “and I’m always the one who vetoes it.”

Corbett explained that he uses propane, which doesn’t fully burn but just blows away into the air. There is no fuel and no embers to land on people. It is the same fire system used in pyrotechnic displays at concerts or at the Dragon at the Harry Potter section of Universal Studios in Florida, he said.

Emma, a giant fire-breathing T-Rex skeleton at the edge of Corbett’s own property on the Altamont-Voorheesville road, is a beloved local fixture. 

The group started doing these decorations in 2015, taking a break for several years during COVID.

Their commitment is impressive. They have taken down at least three trees and several hedges to make room for their displays. The year of the UFO, they dug up one tree and laid it down on the lawn to make it look as if the spaceship had crashed into it.

“I’m holding onto that tree for dear life,” Jackie Gregory said, pointing to a lone red maple at the edge of the lawn.

“We just find garbage and make things out of it,” said Corbett. He explains that their Star Wars display included a 20-foot-tall AT-AT Vehicle. He said he drew it in CAD, scaled it down, and then “built it out of deck boards, cardboard, and other doodads.” Sean Snyder also made a giant Jabba the Hut head that year and was himself featured in the display, frozen into carbonite. 

This year’s Warp Pipes from Mario Kart started out as culvert pipes that Jackie Gregory’s cousin happened to have.

The Gregorys initially started out decorating the inside of their home, back when all of their friends and neighbors had children. The Gregorys themselves don’t have children. Once the kids all grew up, they moved the decorating outdoors, Jackie Gregory said.

They try to pick themes with a lot of characters, since they have many people who help out on Halloween night. “There are just so many great movies,” Corbett said. He complained that the group doesn’t usually decide on a theme during the summer, when he has plenty of time.

The Gregorys said they all go out to dinner to talk about ideas. Jeff Gregory remarked that alcohol helps their discussions.

Because trick-or-treaters like to pause in front of the house and have their picture taken, Jackie Gregory said, recently they’ve tried to incorporate a photo op.  

This year, when they’re not watching the grownups go-kart, kids will be able to climb up the steps onto Rainbow Road and stand on a platform and stand inside a large green pipe to have their picture taken.