This is what happens when a professional decorates for Halloween

Leigh Maulson's home is both a literal and figurative train wreck. 

Not only is there a life-sized crashed train in his front yard, complete with a ghoulish-looking crew, people can't seem to take their eyes off it, or stop taking pictures. 

Maulson is a professional artist and set and costume designer and for the last seven years, he's been decking out his home near the end of Trevithen Street, just south of the city's downtown every Halloween. 

No one is going to jump out and put the little kids in tears.- Leigh Maulson

"First year I did a Halloween decoration, because it's a little dead-end street, we had four kids," he said.

Over the years, his reputation for creating detailed and sinister-looking displays grew and so did the crowds of trick-or-treaters who come to his front door. 

Gets 200 to 400 kids on Halloween

"Now we average 200 to 400 depending on what the weather's like," he said. "If it's nice weather we get a heck of a lot of people."

Maulson said Halloween has always been his favourite time of year and even though he'll be dressed up in a costume, there's no tricks to his Halloween display.

"Even though it's creepy, no one is going to jump out and put the little kids in tears," he said. "I try to keep it so there's not a lot of scare tactics, so the little kids will come and wander around. Typically on Halloween, they're running around on our front lawn all night." 

Maulson said that he doesn't intend to keep the display. Come November 1, he plans to tear it down and he'll start from scratch next year. 

"It'll be very sad," he said. "Usually these things head to the fire pit or the dumpster. It's a lot of things to stockpile and store so if there's somebody out there that really wants it, give me a call, stop by, come talk to me because otherwise it's going in the trash."