In Wedgewood, the Halloween season doesn’t begin with the faint chill of fall or the first pumpkin spice latte of the year. It begins when Nada Leandra hauls out her bins. They’re stacked high to the ceiling in her garage, filled with enough cobwebs, props, and lighting to turn her corner of Fort Worth into a haunted wonderland. And she starts early. “Labor Day weekend,” she says with a grin. “If people can decorate for Christmas in November, I can decorate for Halloween in September.”
For Leandra, Halloween isn’t just a holiday. She’s a self-proclaimed “Halloween-obsessed” Fort Worth native who’s turned her lifelong love of all spooky things into a community celebration that neighbors have come to expect and adore. Families drive by slowly, windows down, kids pointing in awe at the glowing skeletons and ghostly tableaux.
“It’s my favorite thing,” she says. “To watch people slow down, smile, and wave. It’s the fun of it. It’s not just for me. It’s for everyone who passes by.”
That same spirit of joy and a deep desire to do good led Leandra to enter “Face of Halloween,” a nationwide competition hosted by Colossal in partnership with the Starlight Children’s Foundation. The contest, now a staple of the spooky season, raises funds for Starlight’s mission to deliver happiness to seriously ill children through toys, games, hospital wear, and more. It’s hosted by horror icon Jamie Lee Curtis, a fitting patron saint for the season of screams.
“When I found out about it, I thought, ‘What is this? How did I not know about this?’” Leandra recalls. “It was the perfect mix of everything I love — Halloween, charity, and community.”
The competition allows entrants to showcase their “Halloween spirit” through photos and stories, not just costumes, but entire lifestyles dedicated to the art of the haunt. Leandra’s profile is a scrapbook of her greatest hits: elaborate yard setups, safe-for-work office costumes from years past, and snapshots that capture her creative transformation each October. And she’s not doing too shabby. As of press time, she was in the quarter finals. But she needs your vote to win, which would be a dream come true for the Halloween fashionista. The voting for semi-finalists ends on Thursday, the 16th of October at 7 p.m. PDT.
“I’ve been doing this since I can remember,” she says. “I’ve never worn the same costume twice. I’ll repurpose pieces, mix them up, but I always go all out.”
Among her most memorable looks? “Valak, the demon nun from ‘The Conjuring’ universe, that one was a good time,” she laughs. “It was disgusting face paint, painful contacts, tooth paint. Just gnarly.”
Another year, she reimagined her never-worn high school prom dress, a beaded black gown, into a Nordic-inspired evil queen. “It’s all part of the fun,” she says. “You can make something scary out of anything.”
For her, the contest isn’t about winning fame or fortune, though the prizes are tempting. The “Face of Halloween” winner receives a photo shoot for Rue Morgue magazine, a meet-and-greet with Curtis and fellow horror favorite Matthew Lillard, and an “unlucky” $13,000 cash prize. “If I won, that money would go straight toward my kids’ college tuition debt,” she says. “It’s terrifying in its own way, so it feels on theme.”
Still, Leandra’s favorite reward has already arrived: the support she’s received from her community. Voting in the contest is free, though donors can purchase votes that translate directly into funds for the Starlight Foundation.
“It’s been amazing to see people rally behind me — friends, coworkers, neighbors — and know that their votes are helping kids who are facing real-life frights,” she says. “It’s a frighteningly cool thing to be a part of.”
Her love of horror goes beyond her front yard. Leandra is also involved with Fort Worth Community Cinema, helping with programming for “Weird Wednesday,” a monthly event at the Near Southside’s Preservation Hall. The evening pairs a night market featuring local artisans, vintage vendors, and macabre crafts with a surprise horror screening.
“It’s pay-what-you-can, and all the funds go back into preserving the hall,” she explains. “We’ve had everything from seventies classics to modern slashers. I’ve been doing the 31 Days of Horror challenge for three years now, and I never miss my favorites — ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and ‘Scream.’”
At home, Halloween is a full-family affair. Leandra and her four kids take turns choosing candy themes — chocolate, sour, or bubblegum — and helping run the trick-or-treat station.
This year, she’s upping the ante with a blacklight tunnel that trick-or-treaters must walk through to reach her front door.
“You’ll have to brush past things. It’s sensory, creepy, but fun,” she says. “I promise, we’ll tone it down before dark so we don’t traumatize the little ones.”
Whether she wins the national title or not, Leandra’s already Fort Worth’s unofficial Queen of Halloween, a title earned not through scares but through heart. Her yard is her canvas, her costumes her art, and her cause, bringing light to others through the season of darkness, her truest expression.
“It’s all about joy,” she says. “It’s about fantasy, about letting people be whoever or whatever they want for one night. It’s about bringing people together. That’s what Halloween has always been for me, community through the magic of a good scare.”