Alyson Hannigan is bringing a little Sunnydale to her front yard this Halloween, and she has the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer props to prove it. The actress recently gave fans a “little graveyard tour” of her Los Angeles home, showing off a collection of spooky set pieces from the beloved supernatural series, including a cross tied to one of Spike’s most memorable scenes.
In a video shared on Instagram, Hannigan explained how the decorations ended up in her possession. The production’s set decoration department used to lend her pieces for Halloween, but when the show wrapped, she was apparently welcome to keep them.
“One of the benefits of being on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that set dec gave me a bunch of Halloween stuff,” Hannigan explained. “They used to loan me things for Halloween and then when the show was over, they were like, ‘Just take it all.’”
That arrangement has paid off spectacularly. Hannigan’s yard features several tombstones, including one bearing the name Ariel Jane, whose epitaph says she died in 2000. The actress admired the piece while acknowledging that it has accumulated some wear over the years. Some of the cemetery props may even be recognizable from the show’s opening credits, which featured the cast running through a graveyard.
The biggest surprise for Buffy fans, however, was a large metal-and-wood cross sitting among the decorations. Hannigan knew viewers might recognize it but couldn’t remember exactly when it appeared onscreen, so she invited her followers to identify it.
They didn’t disappoint. Fans pointed out that Spike, played by James Marsters, draped himself across the cross in the seventh season after getting his soul back. The moment is associated with “Beneath You,” an episode that helped establish the painful consequences of Spike’s decision to seek redemption.
For longtime viewers, seeing that particular prop sitting in someone’s Halloween display is a strange reminder of just how much history can be hiding in a television star’s backyard. The cross wasn’t simply a spooky decoration. It was part of a pivotal moment in Spike’s story, and Hannigan has been holding onto the real thing all these years.
She also showed off an open casket with a skeleton climbing out, another relic from the series. According to Hannigan, the piece was used during the first season in 1997, making it nearly three decades old. She warned that it was fragile before enthusiastically declaring her affection for the creepy prop.
“It’s so gross, it’s so creepy,” she said. “I love it!”
Fans were just as excited to see the pieces preserved and displayed rather than forgotten in storage. Some thanked Hannigan for sharing a piece of television history, while others joked that she might need to secure the decorations before fellow Buffy devotees decide to pay an unexpected visit.
With Halloween approaching, Hannigan’s graveyard tour offers a fun glimpse into the afterlife of a long-running television production. Most people have to settle for store-bought skeletons and plastic tombstones. Hannigan can decorate with the actual pieces that helped bring Sunnydale to life, including a cross that still carries some serious emotional baggage for Spike fans.
