For the last 13 Halloweens, Mick Vanbeek has been decorating his 1964 Pontiac Hearse with his niece Holly and taking it around Clifton Springs and Curlewis to the delight of local trick or treaters.
Mick and Holly, 11, begin decorating the Hearse about two weeks out from Halloween and have established somewhat of a cult following in the Bellarine town for their above and beyond effort to mark the occasion.
“About a week before, Holly and I get together and go over what we want to do and start to do the outside first,” Mick said.
“Some years we have the coffin on the inside, some years we have it on the outside. A couple of days to go we start doing the inside.”
The date, October 31, has grown in popularity in Australia over the years
“It was the best one ever and definitely the biggest one I’ve ever seen,” Mick said.
“We had hundreds of people. My niece and I have been doing this since she was a baby. We’ve had in the car since she was in a baby seat.”
The drive culminates at Baybrook Avenue in Curlewis and at the skate park, where excited trick or treaters flock to see Mick’s latest car decorations.
“I’m probably a big kid at heart,” he said.
“I just love it for the kids and love to see the kids’ smiles. I think it’s a good thing and they get out and have a bit of fun.
“Holly said to me ‘oh no, there’s 365 days to go before the next one’.”
