Is this the creepiest crawliest Halloween decorated house in Liverpool

A Liverpool couple have created what has to be the city’s creepiest crawliest Halloween decoration … a giant six-foot furry tarantula crawling out of its web next to their front door.

The super-sized spider climbing up the outside of their house in Aigburth has been attracting plenty of attention since it took up residence at the weekend.

Nicknamed Hairy Mary, the creature has even got its own fan club of passers-by who’ve been overcoming any fears to have their photo taken in front of it.

The massive arachnid, which took four days to make, is constructed from expanding foam and drainpipes, all wrapped in fake fur.

It’s been a huge Halloween hit, and the husband and wife behind it say they couldn’t be happier that it’s putting a smile on people’s faces.

“Everyone’s been beeping their car horns and stopping to tell us how much they love it as they’re walking by, it’s just had such a positive response which is why we did it,” she explains.

“We did wonder if people might find it a bit scary, especially little ones, but so far they’re just fascinated by it and we get such a buzz from doing something everyone can enjoy.”

The pair, who want to stay anonymous, moved into the Georgian house in May 2020 and began a major renovation project during lockdown.

Plans for a gigantic spider were first drawn up in October last year but then they were overtaken by building work and their Halloween decoration had to be scaled down.

“We ended up doing a small display with a few pumpkins which people seemed to like, so then we did an Elf on the Shelf one for Christmas with 29 elves and that’s when the decorating idea really started to take off.

“Before we moved here we used to live in an apartment in the city centre so we didn’t have a front door, and we weren’t in a community like this.

“Once we did our elves display we were getting anonymous thank you cards through our door and people were saying how much we’d done for the community after such a terrible year so that encouraged us to keep going.

“The house is so theatrical so it’s perfect for this kind of decoration and I have a creative job so it’s given me an opportunity to upscale my ideas. It’s like having a huge canvas and anything’s possible.”

Made in their back garden, the spider was given its crawling appearance thanks to the drainpipe legs with junction parts to raise it up.

They then covered it in brown fake fur with silver flecks, and added sprigs of spruce sprayed dark brown in its mouth and eight pairs of eyes. It was attached to the wall and draped in white web, with decorative ‘flies’ trapped in its lair.

The couple say once this Halloween is over, they’ll be packing it away for next year, although it could find itself with some company.

“Maybe it’ll get some friends next year. We keep setting the bar higher and people say, ‘we can’t wait to see what you do next’ so now the pressure’s on!”

By Dawn Collinson

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