It happens every year on a dark, foggy night before All Hallows’ Eve.

As in a touch of black magic, creepy skeletons appear to rise up from the ground at 19 Pine Ave. in Haunted Hometown, 2 miles north of Tamaqua.

They take on new forms and merge with large, spooky creatures in a dance of the macabre at the end of a dead-end street.

Reigning over the scene is Mistress of the Dark Kandy Kleppinger Kraemer, floating in character among a colorful, spine-tingling panorama.

“Every year I’m someone different,” she said. “I was Lily Munster and Winifred Sanderson. One year I was a queen. I’m always the head witch.”

Lurking somewhere in the background but unseen is master technician Mark, her husband.

Could these strange events be attributed to restless spirits at what once was Native American hunting ground? Anything is possible.

The tradition of Midnight Meadows was born five years ago during pandemic quarantine.

But the expertise that launched the spectacle dates back decades ago.

“We were actors in the Clamtown Haunted House,” said Mark. “When that closed, we did the Owl Creek Haunted Hayride. We did a lot of volunteer community work.”

Those events helped to fashion the Kraemers’ imaginative style.

But their individual expertise is what adds to the aura and makes everything happen.

Detail-oriented Mark will soon retire from a career as a truck mechanic and technician.

Kandy, on the other hand, is accomplished in theater arts, music and drama.

“This will be our first year for the full walk-through,” said Kandy, alluding to a designated path which allows brave visitors to step among the tombstones.

When it comes to hauntings, the Kraemers have perfected a technique over the years.

They tap into some people’s fear of otherwise normal items. For instance, the display includes a large collection of creepy baby dolls.

“I like to tell a story,” said Kandy, a registered nurse.

Midnight Meadows is a yearlong planning adventure that then requires many weeks of work.

“We begin on the first weekend in September,” said Kandy.

The goblins are carefully chosen and placed. The skeletons are creatively positioned for maximum effect. Same for an inflatable black cat that reaches 20 feet high.

The entire scene is then illuminated in tiny orange lights with an all-encompassing veil of purple LEDs.

The Kraemers’ own children are now grown, but the hauntings continue for the delight of all.

“We enjoy the look on people’s faces. We love it,” said Kandy. “We love the nostalgia of it.”

“And to see the kids say ‘Wow!’” added Mark.

For that reason, the Kraemers turn Halloween into two separate nights.

“We’ll do it on Oct. 25 for Tamaqua and Rush Township’s trick or treat. But I always hand out candy on Halloween, the 31st.”

For the Kraemers, the end of October is the culmination of many weeks of planning, strategizing and building.

Afterward, much time is spent on carefully disassembling the production, putting skeletons back into their graves.

“So, no, we won’t be doing Christmas,” said Mark.

In the meantime, the experience of Midnight Meadows is certain to last.

Top witch Kandy makes sure it’s memorable and that Halloween fulfills a promise.

“For one night of the year you can be whoever you want with no judgment,” she said.