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Wanda's Handmade Ghost Lights
Wanda's Handmade Ghost Lights
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Wanda's Handmade Ghost Lights
Three Of Them, Glowing In The Dark, Sewn By Hand In An Ohio Loft
Wanda Hoyt, 71, spent 31 years sewing boat canvas and storefront awnings in Circleville, Ohio. She has sewn lighted ghosts every October since 1992. The mill that wove her cloth closed in 2024 — these are the last 306 sets.
“I have loved Halloween since I was five years old, and I never wanted the kind that frightens anybody. I wanted the kind that puts a little magic over a whole street — where people slow down at your yard, the small ones walk straight up and say hello, and yours is the house everybody talks about in the morning.”
— Wanda Hoyt, Tarlton Road, Circleville, OhioThirty-one years of canvas taught her that cloth hanging outdoors wants weight in the bottom. A fine weighted cord is sewn into every hem, so when the wind comes up they swing out and drift back — all evening, like something moving out there on purpose.
A fine, closely woven cloth with the light string running inside the body. The weave itself spreads the light, so the whole ghost glows from within instead of showing one bright spot — a shape that hangs in the dark rather than a lamp in a bag.
Hand-bent armatures in both arms. Set them once — reaching, drifting, beckoning down the walk — and they hold that pose all season. Three ghosts, three different characters watching the street.
Two eyes and one open mouth, cut freehand from wool felt, never traced. The face is the one part no light passes through, so it stays dead black against the glow and reads from the far end of the street.
Steady, slow fade or flicker, on a switch you can reach without taking them down. The flicker is the one people leave on — it moves behind the cloth like a candle somebody forgot to put out.
Low-voltage LEDs that stay cool to the touch, running on button cells hidden in the body. Nothing runs back to the house, so they hang wherever you want them — and float clear with nothing holding them up that anyone can see.
“People assume a loose, gauzy cloth is the premium one. For a lit piece it is the opposite. A close, fine weave is what turns a bulb into a glow — the cloth itself does the diffusing, so you get a whole lit body instead of a bright spot and a dark everything else. That cloth is expensive to weave and almost nobody orders it anymore. Wanda finishes hers the way a sailmaker finishes canvas. I have handled pieces of hers from the late nineties that are still tight in the hand.”
Dale Chambliss · cotton finishing, 38 years, Gastonia, North Carolina- The last of a cloth nobody weaves anymore. The mill in the Carolinas that spun it shut its doors in 2024. Wanda drove down and bought what was left on the shelf — enough for 306 sets, and no more after that.
- Hand-stitched by one person. Every ghost cut, sewn, hemmed, wired, faced and lit by Wanda herself — needle and thread, no sewing machine anywhere in the process.
- A set of three. Made to hang as a group — one high, two lower — exactly the way she first hung them in a Main Street window in October 1992.
- Hanging and glowing in two minutes. Cords sewn on, batteries already fitted. Out of the box, over the hook, switched on before it gets dark.
- Every one its own. Hand-cut faces and hand-set folds, so no two of your three look at the street quite the same way.
Hang them, switch them on at dusk, and watch the light travel through the cloth. If they are not what you pictured, send them back within 30 days for a full refund. One email, no questions.
| Material | Fine, closely woven cloth with a soft sheen, hand-stitched throughout, hand-finished hem with a sewn-in weight line |
| Face | Two eyes and an open mouth, cut freehand from black wool felt |
| Colors | Ghost White or Pumpkin Orange |
| Size (each) | 19.6 in / 50 cm tall, 15.7 in / 40 cm across the arms |
| Hanging cord | 3.9 in / 10 cm, sewn on and ready for a hook, nail or branch |
| Arms | Hand-bent wire armatures — hold whatever pose you set |
| Light | Warm white LED string inside the body. 3 modes: steady, slow fade, flicker |
| Power | 3 × LR44 (AG13) 1.5V button cells per ghost — included and already fitted |
| In the box | 3 lighted ghosts, cords sewn on, batteries fitted, numbered loft card signed by Wanda |
| Placement | Porch beam, doorway, front window, classroom or a low branch |
| Care | Shake once and the folds fall straight back into place |
| Made by | Wanda Hoyt, Tarlton Road, Circleville, Ohio — sewing ghosts every October since 1992 |
| Remaining stock | 306 sets — the final run, from the last of the mill cloth |
The Final Series
The Final Series
Message from the studio:
After forty-six years painting the Blue Ridge mountains from her window, a small stroke this past winter took the steady hand Eleanor Voss needs for the fine detail. She finished her three 2027 series — the American landscapes, the French villages, and the twelve famous-painting cats — in the last weeks the line still held. Every month is printed from an original oil painting. When these are gone, there is no reprint and no 2028.
Free US Shipping
Free US Shipping
Free shipping across the United States
- Delivery time: 3–5 business days
- Each calendar is carefully packed and ships from the US
- Printed from original oil paintings on thick, writable paper
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email support@backroad-goods.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at support@backroad-goods.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (ET) — whether it’s about your order, a gift, or just to say hello.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Hang it in your kitchen, and if it simply isn’t right for you, email support@backroad-goods.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Every month is an original oil painting by Eleanor Voss near Boone, North Carolina, printed on thick coated paper with a twin-wire spiral binding and large writable date blocks. Three editions: American Landscape, French Town Scenery, and the whimsical Famous Painting Cat. This is her final complete series — no reprint.