A mum-of-five has turned her Halloween-loving brood into a real-life Addams Family. Every July to October, 36-year-old Sarah Adams – yes, that’s her real surname – decorates the family home with horror dolls, cobwebs and pumpkins for Halloween.
Sarah, from Banstead in Surrey, says she is letting loose her “inner child” by converting her home into a house of horrors for four months every year. During the family’s favourite time of year, spooky movies run non-stop on their TV, surrounded by more than £4,000 worth of decorations.
Sarah, her partner Sam Cullip, 37, a plasterer, and her five children who share her Adams surname – Alfie, 17, Jamie, 14, Kobie, 10, Bonnie, seven, and Archie, five – love dressing up as the Addams Family and look strikingly similar to the macabre TV clan.
And after Halloween is over, does the family celebrate a traditional Christmas? Not quite... In November, the family creates a spooky Christmas, complete with Chucky – the serial killer doll from the Child’s Play slasher film franchise – who has a cute festive hat and candy cane.
Explaining that she missed out on Halloween when she was younger, Sarah said: “Halloween was never really celebrated at home or generally in the 90s. So when I had children, it was my inner child coming out. “I’ve got a good excuse with the kids that I’m doing it for them, but in the weirdest way I’m doing it for myself as well.
“I’m making my inner child very happy with all the decorations. I also see myself as a cool mum – maybe a bizarre mum, too – that has the Christmas tree up already and puts Halloween decorations on it.”
Sarah’s love for Halloween and all things horror was born when she saw Chucky on screen for the first time aged five but growing up, she felt she was missing out on the fun. “I would love to tell my teenage or child self that everything will be fine and that you deserve to have celebrations like Halloween eventually,” she said.
The Addams and Adams families don’t just have their last name in common – Sarah reckons her personality is similar to Morticia Addams, her daughter Bonnie resembles Wednesday Addams and her partner Sam has lots in common with Gomez Addams. She said: “I’m very black and white as a person. I don’t show that many emotions, like Morticia, but at home I adore my kids over everything – they are my whole life.
“Sam is more romantic than me, he is like Mr Addams in that sense. And my daughter Bonnie, she’s Wednesday 100% because of the way she looks.”
Her partner of 10 years, Sam has known Sarah for over 15 years, and supports her passion for horror and Halloween. She said: “He came home the other day after driving around for hours trying to find a Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas for me.”
Sarah now has hundreds of pieces in her spooky collection that she estimates is worth about £4,000, with most coming from America through her friends or bought in the UK at TK Maxx, Asda or Sainsbury’s. She said: “I love Rae Dunn decorations, because they’ve got nice writing on them. I probably own £1,000 worth just of those.”
And should the space in her three-bedroom house run out, she confesses she’d rather move than get rid of any of her eerie decorations. “I just love decor and making everything look pretty. I got hooked on it and no one can ever change my mind from it.”
To see more of Sarah’s Halloween displays on Instagram, visit @the_adams_family_home
