Spooky inside and out

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, they’re all together ooky, the Bell family.

Long before trick-or-treaters make it up the driveway of the Bell’s Newport Beach home, they know they’re at a haunted house.

The tombstones, the cobwebs and a skeleton draped with a sign reading: “Beware! Enter at Your Own Risk!” make sure of that.

Kathy Bell and her husband, Michael Bell Sr., go all out when it comes to decorating for Halloween, and not just with ghosts and bats.

The couple, who have four grandchildren, embellish their two-story Bayshores home with festive orange lights, pumpkins and animated toy monsters, and play haunting tunes.

Behind that front bedroom window lurks Screaming Grandma, a battery-powered skeleton that proves she is not resting in peace by emerging from a coffin and sitting up.

“I love Halloween,” Kathy said.

It can take her up to a week to unpack 22 boxes filled with decorations.

She enlists the help of Michael, a custom-home supervising contractor, and their two sons and daughter to pull packages from storage.

Kathy, who has owned the Corona del Mar-based children’s consignment store Young Seconds for 33 years, said she shops for friendly Halloween yard and interior decorations everywhere, from 99 Cents Only Stores to Roger’s Gardens, and enjoys getting creative with friends’ donations.

The netting hanging above the kitchen window is a piece of fabric from a friend’s bridal veil.

“We’re not scary,” Michael said as he brushed past a skeleton dangling from an inside light fixture. “We’re old school. It’s more of a presentation of all these decorations we have.”

He had one rule. “No animated characters,” he said, shaking his head. “But Screaming Grandma made it in.”

She’s been screaming on Halloween for 12 years.

Kathy said she always dresses as a spooky spirit, and Michael will sometimes wear a cape. He needs to move quickly to help usher over 100 neighborhood kids in the home to marvel at the decorations.

The Bells said they decorate because they want to help others get into the spirit of the spirits and bring Halloween alive for the community. They enjoy seeing families leave their home having obviously enjoyed the show.

The art of adornment will continue in the coming holidays.

Christmas is twice the Halloween decorations, said the Bells, who have been married for 44 years.

“I love decorating,” Kathy said. “I love to see everybody happy.”