Saundra Lane’s spooky array

Ask any of the neighborhood kids: Miss Saundra Lane has the best-decorated house at Halloween. Complete with gravestones, spider webs and ghosts, it’s the terror—and talk—of the town. But it’s nothing compared to how she decorates herself.

Infatuated with the theatrics and fun the autumn holiday brings, Lane has collected pieces for Halloween costumes, decorations and activities all her life.

Lane’s collection begins with a closet reserved for costumes, filled to the brim with outfits both scary and shocking. Between black capes and blood-covered shirts, she pulls out a gothic gown.

“I love this one,” she says. “You can make it what you want.”

Which is how Lane creates her costumes. She builds her looks spontaneously, taking what catches her eye and making it as spooky as she dares.

With wigs ranging in color from black to purple, red to silver, a box full of make-up and prosthetics labeled “injury” and “blood,” creepy contact lenses, and an assortment of bat, spider and ghoul jewelry, she has the tools to create just about anything.

The passion provides Lane a wide selection for her many Halloween festivities, which include sponsorship of Baton Rouge’s 13th Gate and assembling Our Lady of the Lake’s Halloween Ball.