Thieves ruin a Halloween tradition in Magnolia neighborhood

SEATTLE -- Thieves have stolen thousands of dollars' worth of Halloween decorations, ruining a tradition in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood.

For the past 12 years, Tom Canning has decorated an alley behind his home.

We aren't just talking about a few little items here and there -- he would deck out the entire alley.

It included animatronic witches and zombies.  He even dressed up and would walk around with a chainsaw.  It was a huge hit for the kids in the neighborhood.

"It made me happy and excited and I love to have the people enjoy themselves. I always like to scare people because it's the one day you can get away with it and then I go back to watching comedies and a nice and easy life," Canning said Thursday.



A neighbor, Robin Whipple, says her three kids couldn't wait for Halloween to come.

"Growing up in Magnolia, that was one of their favorite memories, was having Halloween out here and the alley was a central part of it," Whipple said.

Tom kept the decorations on a property in Poulsbo.  On Oct. 15, he went to go get the items and found that someone had broken into a truck he kept everything in.  The thieves got away with thousands of dollars' worth of equipment.

"A little sad, but we will still have Halloween. We will still fun, still give out full-size candy bars," Canning said, smiling.