If you drive through Airdrie's Windsong community, you might notice a life-sized ship manned by pirates straight from Davy Jones' Locker.

This year, the Pittman family decided to kick things up a notch for Halloween. Instead of the ol' jack-o-lantern and cobwebs, they built an entire pirate ship on their front lawn transforming their property into a bone-chilling masterpiece. The hand-crafted ship is decorated with skeleton pirates, treasure chests, canons, skulls mounted on torches, and lights of almost every colour.

"We put over 200 hours into building it this year," says Matthew Pittman. The community also came together to help with the project.

"The ship itself was not that expensive because a lot of it was donated by people in the community. We posted ads on VarageSale and the 'Cool Giveaway Page' looking for people that had taken down fences and materials they no longer needed."

Matthew and his wife Jessika only spent a total of $200 on materials for the project. All other materials were donated by local community members.

The Pittmans however, are not the only family getting festive this Halloween. "The four houses, one on one side and two on the corner, we're all really good friends," says Pittman. "We've all helped and decked each other's houses out."

On Windridge Road you can find differently themed homes: Spider Mansion, Lonely Ghost, Pumpkin Patch, Monster Mash, Wicked Witches, Bone Yard, and of course, Pirate Cove.

Why put so much time and effort into a Halloween decoration of this magnitude?

"Halloween's not like it was growing up... you grow up and everybody did it and everybody had sweet displays. Then it slowly died off and kids miss out on that. Not as many people give out candy and most complain about it. That's why I do it, I'm a big kid and I do it for the excitement it brings to kids. It keeps Halloween alive," explains Pittman.

Since the ship dropped anchor at 162 Windridge Road, many people have been stopping by to snap photos and take in the ghoulish delight. For the optimal viewing experience, visit the ship after sunset to see it completely lit up.

If you plan on visiting 162 Windridge Road, please drop off a donation for the Airdrie Food Bank and leave it in the yellow bin on the Pittman's porch.