A Maryland couple has abandoned their annual Halloween display of 40 skeletons, saying vandalism has just got too much for them. "It's like a huge void in my life," Cathie Beadel told The Washington Post. "It's like one of your kids leaving home. I can't even hang around the front of the house anymore or else I see the empty lawn and get depressed." The Beadels' house in Maryland between Baltimore and Washington in recent years attracted visitors from around Howard County and even from the District of Columbia and Virginia. Unfortunately, it also attracted teenage vandals who would show up in the small hours to steal skeletons or just smash them. Jim Beadle, a corporate security manager, tried installing motion detectors and sleeping in his truck. But he said most vandals were able to run into nearby woods. So this year, visitors to the house haven't seen skeletons dressed as babies, football players and other outfits. Instead, they have found signs apologizing for their absence. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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