Eric Poteete’s heart surgery put this year’s Halloween display at risk, but family members said the show must go on, pitching in to continue Silver Star Cemetery

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

He has been building these displays for decades, but this year’s Halloween Haunt was in jeopardy.

Eric “Squirrel” Poteete had triple-bypass surgery in early September, and he did not think he would have the strength nor the energy to create Silver Star Cemetery on his property this year.

His granddaughter and her husband had other ideas.

They could do the heavy lifting, they said. All they needed was for Poteete to direct them.

Once again, Silver Star Cemetery (8909 NE 112th Ave., in Vancouver) has come out of its tomb for another year, giving a fun scare to neighbors, visitors from around Clark County, and sometimes, even visitors from around the country.

Poteete’s display has more than 100 pieces of decorations, and oh yeah: “This is nothing,” he said.

This year’s “fun scare” is a little smaller than usual because of his real-life health scare.

Still, there is so much to see. Skeletons hanging off the gutters, witches, a scary dog, a scarecrow, and four large skeletons sitting in chairs, looking like they are having quite the conversation. Plus, there is music and special effects with lighting. And, of course, a fog machine. A scary cemetery needs fog, right?

Poteete has been creating Halloween magic for more than 30 years.

“Before I was even a thought,” said Savannah Keithley, 18, his granddaughter. 

Keithley grew up with these annual displays. She acknowledges that early on in life she was not a fan.

“When I was younger, I hated it. I was terrified,” she said.

But by chance, when she was around 8 years old, Savannah accidentally scared a younger child who was getting a closer look at the display. Savannah was hooked. Scaring others, for fun, was indeed fun.  

She would start helping her grandpa.

Now 10 years later, she and her husband Patrick helped save the day for the 2024 display. 

Poteete was rushed into surgery in early September, undergoing a triple-bypass. After 10 days in the hospital, he was sent home but was told to rest in order to recuperate.

“When I got home, they said I could only lift five pounds,” he said.

With those orders, he decided it was time to shut down Silver Star Cemetery, at least for this year. He posted a message on Facebook.

That did not work for Savannah and Patrick, though.

“We’re doing Halloween,” Savannah said. 

“These kids stepped up,” Poteete said.

The timing was good, too, because Poteete said he needed to teach Savannah and Patrick how he sets up the display every year.

By the way, once the three of them started working on this year’s display, Poteete did not exactly follow doctor’s orders.

“Did not listen,” Savannah said. “He did not listen.”

The obsession he has for his Halloween display was too great, so Poteete did a little more than just direct his young helpers. He was lifting items, moving skeletons, and getting more involved in the project than he should have been, given his situation.

His passion started when he took his own son trick-or-treating and watched a neighbor in a gorilla suit give his son quite the scare. It was so much more thrilling than just getting candy at every door. Poteete wanted to bring that kind of excitement to his own home.

He, too, also started scaring people. He has been known to place a dummy in his display for weeks leading up to Halloween. Then on Halloween night, he gets into the dummy suit and jumps out at unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. He also has “chased” people with a chainsaw. Last year, he dug a hole in his yard, then popped out, in costume, to scare visitors.

“Halloween is his time to shine,” Savannah added, noting this is a year-long project.

That’s true, Poteete said.

“I start thinking about this the day after Halloween,” he said. “I’m at the 50-percent off sales. I’m thinking about props to build.”

The feedback keeps him going, too. People who used to visit when they were children are now bringing their children to his display. Last year, people from the east coast were visiting Vancouver. They saw Silver Star Cemetery on Northwest Haunters Association map and made sure they took in the display.

Silver Star Cemetery, named because the home is in the Silver Star neighborhood, is open daily from dusk until 10 p.m.

“I just love Halloween,” Poteete said.

Note: Feel free to leave your favorite Halloween displays in the comments.