A WOMAN, who brings joy to hundreds of children in York each year, is ready to open her home to the community this Halloween.

Lynda Starkey, 74, who lives at Camellia Cottage in Kingsway West, Acomb, has transformed her garden into a creepy Halloween grotto to give children of all ages a chance to celebrate Halloween.

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Last year, more than 400 people attended Lynda’s event - with some travelling over an hour despite torrential rain all day – and this year, she is expecting even more attendees.

The Witches’ Den – which is open from 9am until 9pm on Halloween – is a free event which features a variety of Halloween zones and games for children of all ages to enjoy.

Highlights include the jelly dip (where children will reach their hands through jelly to reach chocolate coins), the Witches’ Den, hanging snakes, and Lynda’s favourite – the Barbie zone.

The Barbie Zone - featuring hanging goodie bagsThe Barbie Zone - featuring hanging goodie bags (Image: Alice Kavanagh) The event, which takes Lynda and her handful of witchy helpers a total of two months to set up and prepare for, is funded entirely by donations and Lynda's own spending.

Each year has a different theme, with this year being focused on ghosts and next having an alien zone planned.

The white pumpkin, next to coffin and chest goodie boxesThe white pumpkin, next to coffin and chest goodie boxes (Image: Alice Kavanagh) The décor, in addition to games and zones, features pumpkins, lights, and includes a white pumpkin – which serves as a tribute to those who have passed away – and a teal pumpkin that shows the fact that they accommodate for children with allergies.

Lynda first started hosting Halloween events to honour traditions in her hometown of Buxton in 1986 – first hosting 120 children for apple bobbing, before bringing the event with her upon moving to York.

A picture of Lynda's first event in BuxtonA picture of Lynda's first event in Buxton (Image: Lynda Starkey) These days, she develops her ideas from driving around and looking at other people’s décor. According to Lynda, her Halloween den fills a ‘need’ in the area with other houses in the street also choosing to decorate – turning Kingsway West into York's ‘Halloween Street’.

On the den itself, she said: “My motto is 'caring is sharing and sharing is caring' and events like this helps the children to realise that not everyone is out to make a profit.

“This is magic – what I’m trying to do is produce a bit of Disney magic for the kids who may not have the chance to go to Disneyland.”

A favourite zone - the Witches DenA favourite zone - the Witches Den (Image: Alice Kavanagh) Deputy witch Tracey Deacon praised Lynda for her efforts saying: "Each year, she just does more and more."

Lynda and her ‘coven’ also praised past visitors for their politeness and great attitudes, saying that they’d never had any trouble and even the teenage attendees were just ‘big kids at heart’ who loved the decorations.

She also shared the story of parents, who had attended in their childhoods and were now able to bring their own children along to the event.

The hedge outside Lynda's home, which is decorated and has lights for the eveningsThe hedge outside Lynda's home, which is decorated and has lights for the evenings (Image: Alice Kavanagh) In addition to her Halloween den, Lynda also runs a Christmas and Easter event with similar interactive decor – something that Lynda does both give back to the local community and ‘so they don’t think that I’m a real witch’.

The Witches’ Den can be found from 9am-9pm on Halloween at the top end of Kingsway West.