Skip to content

How the contest works

Voting closes at 11:59 PM Pacific on November 2.

  1. Four doors, fourteen divisions

    Pick the door that fits: costumes, creatures, pumpkins, or places. Each door has its own divisions, so a toddler’s costume and a whole-yard haunt are never up against each other.

    Costumes
    Child · Teen · Adult · Together
    Creatures
    Neighborhood-wide creature
    Pumpkins
    Kid-created · Teen-created · Open · Business
    Places
    Whole home or property · Porch or balcony · Door or window · Business · Shared place
  2. Neighborhood Champions

    The entry with the most neighbor votes in each division is its Neighborhood Champion. An exact tie makes co-champions, and each one is honored. If a division has entries but no votes, a neighborhood committee chooses its champion.

  3. The Supreme Relic

    One separate honor for a single place entry, chosen by a Commons jury for the story it gave the neighborhood. It is not a vote count and not a division.

  4. Every entry stays in the record

    Each entry keeps its own page in this year’s record, with its door, its division, and how it finished once the results are published.

  5. Offer a Prize

    Local businesses and neighbors can offer something for the champions. Every offer is reviewed before anything is announced.

    Offer a Prize