HALLOWEEN DECOR AT CITY'S OLIVER HOUSE

JACKSON -- A witch with a gleam in her eye, black cats with arching backs and jack o'lanterns with evil grins, all stare out at visitors from a packed curio cabinet in the home of Robert and Lisa Friedrich.

There are dozens of Halloween decorations stuffed into the approximately 5-by-2 foot cabinet, and many of them will be on display from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Oliver House, 224 E. Adams St.

The display is sponsored by the Jackson Heritage Association, which restored and furnished the Victorian-era home. Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for children.

The Friedrichs collect all kinds of holiday decorations, mostly German made in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, but they have a special fondness for those associated with Halloween, Robert Friedrich said.

Lisa Friedrich's favorite is a witch head lantern, which was one of the first items in the couple's holiday collection.

The lantern, which Robert said was made in Germany around the turn of the century, is about the size of a softball. Made of composition, the witch has a long, hooked nose and large, upturned chin. Over the eye holes is thin paper, which would glow when a candle was placed inside.

"These lanterns are very popular among collectors," Robert said.

The couple have many pumpkin-shaped lanterns, which really are jack o' lanterns. Robert opened one to show the blackened inside where it had once caught fire from a candle.

All have the same paper eyes as the witch. Each has a different expression. Some smile innocently, one looks like it is singing, but most look mischievous with arched brows, down-slanted eyes and devilish grins.

In addition to the lanterns, the Friedrichs have many vintage candy containers with a Halloween theme.

One three-inch container had a red devil head that served as its lid.

"These aren't Hobby Lobby decorations," Robert Friedrich said.