Ten years ago, Carol Cassell set out to create a map of the homes in her neighbourhood that were getting into the Halloween spirit.
An avid cyclist, Cassell travelled around Transcona in the fall. She’d pass by houses with elaborate decorations and spooky signage that she felt would often get missed or overlooked.
“I’m like, ‘There are amazing houses here, but nobody knows about them,’ so I created a map, and I shared it with the community, and they really enjoyed it,” Cassell said. “So I just kept doing it.”
Cassell continued her cartography through the pandemic, expanding the boundaries to encompass all of Winnipeg.
“There are a lot of people who are really excited about being able to go around and look at all these great decorated homes, people who are enthusiastic about Halloween,” she said.
To help spread the word about the homes and their locations, Cassell created a Facebook group called, “Winnipeg Halloween Map.” Over the last decade, the Facebook group has grown to more than 26,000 members, with nearly 1,000 new people joining just this week.
Cassell said she starts with a blank map every year around mid-September and adds houses accordingly, based on submissions by group members and homeowners.
Those who want to be added to the map must submit a photo of their decorations and a description, along with their address. It then gets pinned to the map with either a pumpkin pin – which means it is moderately decorated – or a skull and crossbones for more-decorated homes.
“So no one is driving to the other side of the city for a particular house and ends up disappointed,” Cassell said.
But Cassell’s cartography doesn’t stop at spooky season – she also creates a map for Christmas lights and decorations across the city.
“I would say the Christmas map is bigger than the Halloween map, with how it’s followed and how many people submit, and how many people go out looking at Christmas lights,” she said.
Interested Halloween homeowners or those who have already started stringing their Christmas lights can reach out to Cassell by email: mappingwinnipeg@gmail.com