Winchester Man’s Elaborate Device Safely Delivers Candy To Trick-Or-Treaters

WINCHESTER, MA — Chances are, your social media feed has been full of people getting creative with solving the problem of making trick-or-treating safe during the pandemic. But a Winchester man has gone all out with an elaborate mechanical delivery system that he’s turned into a fundraiser for the Boston Resiliency Fund to help those impacted by coronavirus.

John Downs, of Winchester, is known around town for his elaborate Halloween displays in his front yard. But after taking a few years off, a friend challenged him to make a candy chute like the ones that have been popping up on social media. He loved the idea. “I was like, wow, I can really make this into something that’s going to be an experience that people are going to want to come by every day and press the button and get some candy,” he said.

And an experience it is. There’s a whole lot more than gravity going on here. When you press the button, you hear a chiming sound (eerily similar to an MBTA car when the doors are about to open) and an announcement that the candy is on the way. There are lights and a smoking chimney from a box – about 30 feet away and about 20 feet high – attached to the PVC tube where the candy comes rushing down to a neatly designed tray.

Read more at CBS Boston