Maricopa Halloween Champ? – Do we have a champ this year? I mean, there’s a LOT of enthusiastic Halloween decorations out there this year, especially in MY neighborhood. But, if you’re a “Stranger Things” fan, this ONE takes the cake.

One of our Maricopa neighbors decorated her new home with a Demogorgon from “Stranger Things” and entered into a dream horror contest she hopes to win.

Maricopa Halloween Champ?

Nikki Moran decorated her house at 45613 W. Keller Drive in the Meadows neighborhood, just as she has in the past, to match the family’s horror-themed costumes.

It took her a couple of months to create her Demogorgon, the infamous creature from the NetFlix hit “Stranger Things.” It is currently on the prowl in their front yard for the community of Maricopa to enjoy and take photos of.

She started with the face, using a bunch of duct tape and latex paint and making the teeth out of clay. Then, Moran purchased a 12-foot skeleton from Home Depot, using it as a frame for the body. She wrapped it in shrink wrap, used a heat gun to suck it to the skin, then painted the body. The skeleton came with a light that glows from inside the chest, giving it the right amount of spooky vibes.

Continuing with the “Stranger Things” theme, she is also planning on adding a portal on the garage and trying to create Floating Max.

Generally, Moran decorates in September, but she’s a bit behind this year. Seems, it was difficult for her to get the wrap around the skeleton since it kept showing the frame. She also didn’t want to damage the skeleton while painting it.

Creating the head took her 15 hours, a couple hours here and there to fully complete it. It didn’t set well a couple of times, so she took it down to fix it. Moran loved turning on the light for her Demogorgon once they placed it in their front yard.

Nikki has lived in Maricopa for seven years and her and her family JUST recently moved to a new house. So, her family got to work decorating it with spooky decor and black-painted walls.

Maricopa Halloween Champ?

Nikki says she enjoys the horror theme for all holidays. For Christmas, they have skeletons hanging up lights and a “Nightmare Before Christmas” tree. She creates her own costumes, props and decorations.

Ever since Moran was little, she’s been drawn to everything horror. She even has horror tattoos. “Everything about it since I was little; I’ve loved horror movies,” she said. “It’s just kind of ingrained in who I am, I guess.”

It’s difficult for her to choose a favorite horror movie. However, some of her favorite characters are Sam/Samhain from “Trick ‘r Treat” and Jason Voorhees played by Kane Hodder from “Friday the 13th.”

Moran entered the Face of Horror contest after a friend sent her a link to it. At first, she thought it was cool but didn’t think she had a shot at winning.

She models horror outfits and was featured in a magazine once, but she mainly does it for the cool pictures.

One lucky winner for the Face of Horror contest will receive $13,000, a two-night stay at the house portrayed as belonging to the “Silence of the Lambs” serial killer Buffalo Bill, a walk-on role in an independent film and a chance to go “head-to-head” with Hodder in a photoshoot for Rue Morgue Magazine.

It’s a multinational magazine that covers horror fiction from reviews to news to events encompassing books, video games, films and more in the horror genre.

This contest has been running for the past five weeks and operates in rounds.

So far, she’s made it through all five rounds and been first in her group category every time. It ends in a few weeks and she’s hoping to survive the last few rounds.

Moran’s never done anything like this before. This contest is important to her to gain exposure and more experience within the horror community. All the support she’s received for the contest means the world to her.

“I didn’t think I’d get as much support as I have,” she said.

Voters can give a free daily vote and/or purchase $10-$100 worth of votes to support Moran and the Andrew McDonough B+, pronounced be positive, Foundation. This foundation honors a 14-year-old student-athlete from Delaware who died in 2007 from AML leukemia.

According to the foundation’s website, the mission is to “provide financial assistance to families of children with cancer,” “fund research to find cures for childhood cancers and advancements in treatment protocols,” “increase awareness of childhood cancer and advocate for increased research funds” and “spread the B+ message,” which is, “It’s not a grade. It’s an attitude.”

“At this point, I know that I have raised thousands of dollars for the B+ Foundation, which feels really, really amazing as well,” Moran said.

She hopes her Demogorgon makes people feel “any type of way” whether it’s scared or excited.

“I hope it makes them feel in the spirit, in the season,” she said.

She’s noticed many people don’t seem to decorate for Halloween anymore. She would love to bring back how it used to be in her childhood, when most homes participated in Halloween.

“I feel like my kids deserve that and when they have kids, they deserve that too,” Moran said.

She’ll be leaving the Demogorgon up a little bit after Halloween for Maricopa and those who travel from other areas to see. Then, she’ll work on decking the yard with horror for Christmas at their new house.

“This neighborhood has never seen our extreme decorating for the season,” she said. “I hope they appreciate Christmas as much as they have Halloween.”

For Face of Horror, Moran appreciates “any and all” support she’s received and hopes to gain more momentum, win and make some “really, really great contributions” to the B+ Foundation.