In a matter of seconds, vandals threatened the spirit of Halloween for Federal Way resident Vince Stansbury.

Around 5 p.m. Oct. 18, Stansbury was home when he heard commotion outside his residence, in the 32000 block of 6th Avenue Southwest. He later discovered his house was egged and his Halloween decorations destroyed.

The incident left Stansbury upset and disheartened. Though he has no children, the Federal Way resident annually goes all-out in decorating his house so as to give neighboring kids something to look forward to during the Halloween season.

“I always remembered, when I was a kid, going to that one house that did it up to the nines,” he said.

Even in shambles, Stansbury’s yard cannot be missed. Several toppled and broken gravestones are strewn about. The equipment used to keep the items upright are exposed. Large witches hanging from the front door and an oversized “beware” sign dangling from his porch appear to have escaped an unfortunate demise.

Stansbury originally thought about discontinuing his annual tradition.

“I’m almost tempted to take my candy back to the store,” he said.

But after more consideration, he decided to restore his work and make the best of what’s remaining.

“I’m going to go ahead and rework what I have,” he said. “I’m not going to ruin it for everyone else in the neighborhood.”

Stansbury said he will continue as though nothing happened and will even add the rest of his spooky decorations as Halloween approaches. Fog machines, spider webs and speakers will become part of the scene.

Stansbury annually commits several weekends and $500 to $600 to showcasing his Halloween spirit. He has decorated in this fashion for the past five years, he said.

What he finds most disturbing is that the vandalism happened in broad daylight, he said. Neighbors said their homes and property were not disturbed. Stansbury said he does not feel the attack was personal.

He filed a police report and is offering an undisclosed reward to whomever has information about the vandalism to his property. He asks that The Mirror be contacted.