The colossal Halloween displays of these Marblehead locals would make Hollywood jealous. Here’s what to expect this year.

The inspiration behind the viral sensations dates back nearly two decades, when Saltsman was commissioned to transform a hallway at his daughters’ school into a themed exhibit for a Halloween fundraiser. From raiding pirates to Harry Potter wizards, the school’s exhibits have grown steadily larger each year, said Saltsman, who has worked in theatre.

In the years that followed, accessories passed the imagination, spilling out of school and into her personal life. Now they take center stage outside his door, must-see North Shore attractions perfectly timed for the arrival of Halloween.

With a team of hands-on volunteers, Saltsman begins building his projects in his garage in early September. But the final, highly-anticipated reveal comes just days before the kids embark on a sleight of hand.

The Globe caught up with Saltsman to get a glimpse of the gruesome spectacle people can expect to see bloom from his residency this year and what goes into the making of these supernatural sights.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

What makes these attractions special?

Theres kind of an element of things appearing. I’m more about this feeling that something has appeared rather than a set. The dragon looked like it landed from the sky, like the spaceship [I made another year]. Or the ghost ship was brought in by a high tide. It’s all kinds of things like that. And that [years] it’s kind of the same thing. The more he can interact with the house and the garage, the better.

I would say the colossal scale is always something captivating. People seem to like it when these things move.

What can we expect from the upcoming project?

It’s basically an Egyptian theme. It’s something I really wanted to do because they’re so rich in all sorts of mysterious and interesting stuff, and it can be incredibly colorful. I really wanted to do this before COVID. When COVID hit I just came to the conclusion that I didn’t really want people to come onto the property so that’s when I did the gorilla and the walking man.

There are many possibilities when you think of Egypt. There’s a lot of ruins and there’s sphinxes and pyramids, and there’s all the stereotypical stuff, but I kind of wanted to bring it more in the sense of Egyptian mythology. My creature is still a creature, but it’s basically a god or a goddess, and the goddess happens to be a little-known goddess, but it’s a cobra-headed goddess that relates to the protection of graves. And therein lies the kind of secret world that she will essentially take you into.

What went into the planning and construction of the Egyptian theme?

There are many elements from other years. There is a kind of constructed perspective and there is a kind of surprise. I think most people don’t realize there’s an inner element to it. They just think it’s something else in the aisle and so with that, what I create in the aisle still has to have some interest and not feel repetitive. And then I like to explore with ideas of things I can do with movement that are quite interesting and engaging.

There are all kinds of materials in these. I usually start months in advance looking through dumpsters and projects to see what’s extra and what’s scrapped. We have our own carpentry workshop, so we have materials that pass through there.

How big is this year’s project?

It’s probably shorter than the gorilla, but not by much. I mean, the tip of this thing, it has like a decorative top that goes up at least 25 feet or something or 20, maybe 23 feet. Most of this thing is sitting about 80 feet away. Then he has a series of reels that are all unrolled in front of the garage, then he takes over the whole interior, the interior of the garage had to be completely built.

What does the interior of this year’s exhibition look like?

I like that there is actually a story. Meretseger, which is the name of the goddess I built, was a goddess who represents silence, desert and death. She was the guardian of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. As a guardian of the graves, it’s just that every grave was stolen, basically. It was just an ongoing thing happening. They kind of ended up using the Valley of the Kings to hide a lot of tombs because people were stealing from them all the time. And even there they were also stolen. This god was therefore the protector of the tombs. As you enter her coils, you enter the world of what she protects. And so this inner world is a tomb.

Do you think this project will stand out from the others?

They are all quite different. You don’t want to be like the Seinfeld episode that people wish they’d stop doing the show. It’s a little hard like that. It’s a bit overwhelming for me too, because it’s a lot of work. But this one is pretty good.

I just do things that I like to do. I’m glad people can see it and are excited about it. I think it’s amazing. It’s amazing how vast and expansive this can be.

Shannon Larson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @shannonlarson98.