First, there was a Jack-o-Lantern with a candle inside to help identify the houses that gave out candy on Halloween. Then came electric lights, and Halloween fans put up outdoor decorations for Halloween as well as Christmas. Then LED lights made a lot more outdoor lighting possible. With color changing lights and computer synchronization, the Halloween light show became a thing, with the idea of "the more, the merrier."
Brett Foy of Batavia, Illinois, got into lights in a big way. The lights at his home on Ekman Drive grew so big that it has become a phenomenon, and it's raised thousands of dollars for the Batavia Mothers' Club Foundation. In 2020, he even did an extra show in the spring to raise spirits during the quarantine that ran until daylight got too long.
Foy has spent all summer preparing a light show for both Halloween and Christmas. The Halloween show Lights On Ekman will premiere on October 4, in case you want to plan a fall pilgrimage. But there's been a lot of testing of the 68,219 lights and the program that runs them, so we have a video preview of the show.
You can check out the previous Lights On Ekman shows at YouTube.