Sheffield mum's army of animatronic ghouls and witches makes Halloween a treat for this neighbourhood
A Sheffield street will be crawling with ghouls and ghosts tonight thanks to one mum’s dedication to Halloween animatronics.
The army of groaning, cackling, twitching robots are standing ready outside Keeley Smith’s home in Adkins Road, Shirecliffe, to give trick-or-treaters on Halloween 2025 a night to remember.
“I absolutely love Halloween,” said Keeley, 35.
“Most of the decorations have been up since the first of October, we’ve just got some last ones to do today.”
And it’s all for a good cause, as Keeley is also asking visitors who drop by for some sweets to donate using a QR code to her son’s football team, Ecclesfield Spartans U10 Reds, to help them buy new kit.
Keeley said: “It’s just grown bigger every year.
“I started about five years ago when I saw this picture of a mansion in Totley done up for Halloween and thought, ‘I want to do that.’
“There are lots of kids around here who absolutely love it. I love getting in American candy as well like green Snickers and candy corn to give out.”
Keeley says she’s especially proud of her animatronics from America. The latest addition this year is a particularly gruesome - a zombie holding a severed head with its spinal cord still wriggling around.
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“I would love to visit America at Halloween and see the way they do it,” said Keeley.
“They do it so well.
“My dream would be to have a whole army of zombies. I love the new one I got this year and having loads of them would look even better, with smoke machines and fog everywhere!”
Front and centre among the horde of ghouls is a placard with a QR code and a bucket for visitors to donate to Ecclesfield Spartans. But Keeley hopes the best treat of all would be if her decorations attracts a permanent sponsor for the team as well, and asks anyone interested to knock on her door.