Village’s giant leap from tranquil to terrifying

They’re lurking behind lamp-posts, crouching in tree-tops and prowling the streets — as Halloween looms, hundreds of ghouls, gargoyles and long-legged nasties have begun to invade a remote West Cork village.

The horrible host began to gather last weekend and, as the days passed, more mammoth monstrosities, including a huge dragon, a giant man-eating spider and a nightmarish sea-monster, clambered their way onto the streets of Leap.

Over the weekend, it’s warned, this normally picturesque rural village will be bursting with everything from a Witches’ Dance to a dire display of stomach-churning bugs, skulking skeletons, and cadaverous critters, along with the usual array of blood-soaked, axe-wielding, gory figures straight from your worst nightmare.

For the third year in a row, the hugely imaginative homemade Halloween figures which have made the Leap Scarecrow Festival such a success, are being created by a mix of local artists and village residents who are not artists by profession, but simply interested in catching the eye of visitors to the village.

Last year, more than 1,000 fascinated onlookers crammed the streets over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

The long Halloween holiday period came early to the tranquil village, at the head of Glandore Harbour.

The fun is already underway, having kicked off last night with ghost-story telling in the Leap Inn.

Today brings the launch of the Sea-Monster into the bay and a day of judging of what is expected to be up to 500 entries.

Results will be announced in the Harbour Bar from 9.30pm.

A Witches’ Dance will take place on the streets tomorrow while families visiting the area are urged to come dressed up in Halloween costumes, as there will be prizes for the best.

Rita Ryan, chairperson of the festival organising committee, said as awareness of the Scarecrow Festival increases, entries for this weekend have been flowing in from all over the West Cork region.

To encourage contributors, she said, the committee held a scarecrow-making workshop in the village hall over three weekends across September and October: “Some of the artwork that has been produced is absolutely incredible.

“It is amazing what people can make — it seems we have a lot of very artistic people in the area.”

She came up with the idea of the ghoulish festival three years ago after seeing a display of scarecrows in Co Tipperary.

“Originally people thought it would never work here, but it has really taken off,” she said, noting that families, retirees, and students have all allowed their imaginations run wild in their contribution to the festival.

Meanwhile, after a week of displaying the ghouls, the traditional burning of the scarecrows is scheduled to take place in the yard area of the Leap Inn from 9pm on Sunday week, November 5, followed by a raffle.