Brookwood Drive no longer a Halloween attraction for Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI)- It’s a disappointing time for residents who love to find those houses decked out for Halloween on one particular Cape Girardeau street.

A popular display is no more after the man who put it together was harassed into taking it down, saying it caused stress to the neighborhood.

Kevin Groves is no longer doing his Halloween display, saying the spirit of Halloween has just left him.

The famous display of decorations and lights was a must-see for many Cape Girardeau residents with nearly 5,000 patrons visiting the neighborhood every year.

“I mean I just couldn’t believe that many people it affected,” said Groves.

But with a crowd that large, in a condensed area, neighbors were no longer fans of the display. That caused Groves to have to shut down the display.

“So I think this year it just…Kind of let it go by and then maybe see what the future holds,” he said.

Groves says his heart aches for the animals in need this year.

“I feel bad that I don’t have a donation box out for the animals this year,” he said. “We’ve always raised, and people have been very giving.”

Cape Girardeau resident Hannah Beaton says she and her daughter Evelyn have walked by the display in the fall since Evelyn was a baby.

“We frequented it at least, at least three times or more a week because of my little one, and now I don’t know, we’re trying to hit the blocks around it now because that was our favorite thing to do, so we’re very sad,” said Beaton.

Beaton says she hopes there will be a compromise soon for the display to happen again in the future.

“I hope that whatever problems they’re going through that they try and figure them out and they can come back together and do it for the community because I think it was a great thing,” she said.

But Groves says he doesn’t have an idea just yet of how to make that happen.

“I don’t know what the answer is but for right now, it’s not going to be,” said Groves.

Groves says he wants to take this time to come up with new ideas for a different display, and in a place, everyone can enjoy it in the future.