You can blame the new East Boothbay traffic jam on the neighbors and a gaggle of scarecrows.

A few days ago, these neighbors got together, made a few scarecrows, set them out in front of their houses and immediately triggered what traffic experts call a “gapers’ block.” Drivers began to slow down to gaze at the neighborhood’s Halloween display lining Ocean Point Road.

Holly Fulmer didn’t think it would get this big of a deal when she emailed her neighbors suggesting they all make scarecrows and set them out for Halloween.

“They said they didn’t know how to make scarecrows. I told them it was easy. So I just bought some straw and set it out in our driveway. Then I told them to stuff the shirt and pants and rubber bands to close off the cuffs,” she said.

“All of a sudden, these scarecrows took on the distinctive personality of their families,” she said.

Fulmer started the project when she put out a pair of rocking chair scarecrows with grand kids on their laps. Across the street, the Miller family, John, Jessica and little Pauline, made a scarecrow family. Next to them was a couple of cheering Boston Red Sox fans disguised as scarecrows, courtesy of Wayne and Sue Keene.

Down the way, famed artist Tony van Hasselt and his wife Jan set out a scarecrow disguised as an artist working on a watercolor. Up the hill, Bill and Jo Haney, who love to snorkel underwater, pulled out their wet suits and goggles, stuffed them with straw and sat a pair of scuba scarecrows in front of their home. Note the blue fish drifting by.

Stan and Karen VanSpanje, who are working on their old house, crafted a house painting scarecrow on a ladder, then found an old skiff to use as the setting for a row boating scarecrow. Alan (Scrimpy) Lewis thought a scarecrow should be dressed out as the skipper piloting the ship. Other neighbors quickly added a dozen other scarecrows to the display. 

Not only did the neighborhood’s display slow traffic, some motorists just parked their cars and took photos.

“They are quite a car stopper,” said Liz Bridges.