In New York, residents take Halloween very seriously!

Par Gabriel Goldberg 3 November 2026 2 min read

In New York, residents take Halloween very seriously! Just look at my photographs: stairways become sets, doorways turn into little stages and skeletons move in outside the houses. As someone who loves discovering a city on foot, I love this way of bringing imagination into everyday life. Particularly quiet neighbours Brick façades and iron railings already have plenty of character. Add pumpkins of every size, yellow flowers and dried corn stalks, and the scene becomes almost theatrical. A skeleton beside a stairway, another standing by a door: each entrance has its own personality. I even took a photograph with one of these particularly quiet neighbours! Further along, a huge colourful spider clings to a façade. On a door, a sign reads “Out of candy”. No sweets left! That detail captures trick-or-treating, when children in costume ask for treats. Halloween falls on 31 October; my early November photographs show decorations still in place. What I like is this combination of spooky fun and warm colours. You slow down, spot a detail and smile. In New York, Halloween does not stay behind closed doors: it comes out to greet you on the pavement. “Out of candy”: a door announces that the sweets have run out. An entrance wrapped in dried plants. Pumpkins, yellow flowers and a skeleton on a stoop. A brick façade in autumn colours. Pumpkins and autumn decorations around a tree. A stairway decorated with squash and flowers. Gabriel Goldberg beside a skeleton. Skeletons flank a doorway…