From the outside, it looks like a normal house. But once visitors step inside, it is obvious that someone in this house takes Halloween very, very seriously.

For the past 10 years, Keith and Melissa Jackman, of McCandless, have been decorating their two-story home for their annual Halloween party.

"It really is Keith's thing," said Melissa Jackman. "I'm just the enabler."

According to Mr. Jackman, that first party 10 years ago was fairly small, and he decorated only the living and dining rooms. "It's progressively gotten worse or better, depending on the way you look at it," he said.

This year, Mr. Jackman and his team decorated the entryway; living, dining and family rooms; the kitchen; the basement and the double garage. Mr. Jackman has been accumulating the decorations for 10 years.

Melissa Jackman buys most of them on sale after Halloween, Mr. Jackman said, spending about $200 a year.

Mr. Jackman chooses a different theme each year, then fashions decorations around it. "Sometimes the theme will be driven by whatever decorations Melissa picked up the year before," he said.

About a month before party day, Mr. Jackman begins to sort the decorations. He researches ideas on the Internet, comes up with others on his own and begins decorating about two weeks before Halloween.

Two days before the party, things kick into high gear. "I have friends who help, and my brothers help as well," he said. The Jackmans even flew Mr. Jackman's younger brother, Kirk, in from Florida to decorate and to celebrate with them.

"I am glad I was able to be here," he said. It is Kirk's first year in Florida, he said as he helped the other Jackman brother, Kevin, decorate the steps leading to the basement.

This year's theme is a penitentiary, so every room has jail decorations.

The decorating team started with a 300-foot roll of black plastic that they fastened to the ceilings. Next, wall coverings with artificial bricks were attached to various walls, and small jail cells were constructed in the corners, fake prisoners chained inside. "Where do you want these?" asked Kevin Smith, Mrs. Jackman's friend and co-worker, as he carried fake chains into the living room.

The kitchen became a butcher shop; last year's glow-in-the-dark wall coverings were used in the basement.

The day before the party, Mr. Jackman was still struggling with ideas for the garage. "I can't put anything on the ceiling because we have to have the door open," he said.

The group planned to work into the wee hours of the morning to prepare for more than 50 guests Saturday night.

Mrs. Jackman's family also pitched in with preparations, and they watched the couple's boys, Ryan, 3, and Cole, 5. "My sister took off Friday so she could take the boys; then my mom helps out," she said.

The couple limits decorating until the boys leave for their aunt's house. "Cole is at the age that some of the decorations actually scare him. We have to be careful," Mr. Jackman said.

Costumes also are crucial at this party. "Someone didn't dress up one year, and he wasn't invited back," Mr. Jackman said. "I figure if we are spending all this time decorating, people should be able to dress up."

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