Des Moines’ historic Sherman Hill neighborhood put on a show Thursday night for Halloween revelers.
With the streets closed, the ghouls came out to play. The annual event featured local homes going all-out on Halloween decorations — and performers — in support of their local food pantry.
Thousands of Iowans — some in elaborate costume, others in elaborate layers to weather the cold night — walked the streets for the family-friendly Halloween event.
From massive cobwebs to animatronic werewolves to pirates protecting their precious Harriz/Walz campaign sign, the event offered fun and frights around every corner.
At one house, local zombies took a break every 15 minutes to dance to "Thriller" — and attempt to scare their local photographer.
For more than a decade, the Sherman Hill Neighborhood Association has put on the free event. Instead of a ticket, organizers ask attendees to donate non-perishable food or funds to the DMARC Food Pantry.
In 2023, the event raised more than $9,000 for DMARC’s network of 14 pantry sites across the Des Moines metro.
Sherman Hill is billed as Des Moines’ oldest neighborhood, tracing its beginnings to the 1850s, when the first postmaster of Des Moines, Hoyt Sherman, purchased land at the corner of 15th St. and Woodland Ave. – where the Hoyt Sherman performance venue remains today. Today, the area’s history is showcased at annual “Doors to the Past” walking tours and, during the Halloween season, the “Gaslight & Ghost” tour that meets under a local street lamp and shows off the area’s haunted underbelly.
