It’s already the talk of the town. Construction is underway at 32 Pleasant St., where architect Tom Saltsman is busy creating his latest Halloween installation in his driveway. Saltsman’s sometimes-spooky, always magical displays have attracted people from around the world.
In the past, Saltsman has built incredible scenes including a dragon breathing smoke, a 22-foot-tall grunting gorilla and an 18-foot-tall translucent walking man. He often transforms the inside of his garage to fit the theme and invites people to walk through.
“This year it’s different, very different,” Saltsman told the Current, while holding back most details. “Some people might think it’s not as big, but it’s definitely very complex.”
The subject is “topical,” Saltsman said, but not political. This year’s installation will be viewable only from the sidewalk.
Saltsman says he has offered one clue — a lighted sign over his mailbox with the number 32, which is the address.
The owner of a design and construction firm, Saltsman has been creating awe-inspiring Halloween pieces for nearly 20 years. It all started when his now-grown daughter was a student at the Coffin School and he created a Halloween experience for kids there.
Each October, passers by on foot and in cars start slowing down outside Saltsman’s home to check on his latest creation. Last year, he built a giant, mythical forest troll in his driveway with an eerie woodland inside his garage. The year before, he designed and built a 20-foot Egyptian goddess with the head of a cobra and body of a woman.
Saltsman works full time and spends dozens of hours in the evenings and on weekends working on his Halloween projects. He came up with the idea for this year’s installation in August and started working on it in September with a handful of regular volunteers including Jill Dearborn and Tim and Katie Sullivan.
Check out these photos by Brooke Trivas Saltsman of some of her husband’s more recent Halloween installations.
