We have all seen the footage of manic fans fainting at the mere sight of the King of Pop, and we all (though none of us will admit it now) begged for those Michael Jackson jackets -- be it the 'Thriller' or 'Beat It' version -- while we sat and watched that Motown 25 Special (watch below) 800 times on our old Betamaxes. But a Washington, D.C., woman, featured in The Washington Post, has taken her love for Jackson to a whole new level. And, unfortunately for her neighbors, it ain't pretty.
It all started a year ago on the day Jackson died. Jewel Lewis-Hall has been working on her makeshift Michael monument ever since.

She started with just one photo on the porch of her house. Then she added another. And then another. And soon there were 25.

Over the year, she and her daughter, Maxcine Lewis, continued to add Jackson "memorabilia" (a bunch of cheesy hand-painted crap) to the porch. There were roses, beaded gloves (there is no word on who they belong to) and stuffed animals, because nothing says Michael Jackson like a stuffed elephant.

On rare occasions (thank God), neighbors and passers-by are treated to a television placed on the front porch that plays Jackson videos and concert footage.

The entire house has now become a shrine for the entertainer, and one can't walk two steps without bumping in to some needlepoint or Lite Brite rendition of Jackson or his brethren.

In an interview with the Post's Joe Hein, Lewis-Hall's husband was asked what he thinks about the shrine. He just smiles. It's a long, long smile. Translation: I'm so sick of this sh*t.

Either way, it's clear who's the king of this castle: Michael Jackson. "He knows I'm crazy about Michael Jackson," she told the Post. "He just really doesn't have a say-so," her daughter adds, laughing. "If he told her to pack this stuff up, he'd have to leave."

Strangely, this mother-and-daughter team wouldn't describe themselves as obsessed. They say their feelings for Jackson are much deeper. They have loved him for years.

Oh, did I mention they never met him or saw him perform in person?

Still, they claim they have history with him (even if it is only in their minds).

As a little girl, Maxcine secretly wished that her mother would meet Jackson and marry him and that he would become her stepfather. They would then live happily ever after at Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

On one of Jackson's long-ago visits to Washington, Jewel sent a letter to his hotel inviting him to services at her Jehovah's Witness congregation.

They feel tied to Jackson, and their porch is how they stay connected with someone they still can't quite believe has died, but on the bright side, " I can sit right here on my porch and, Bam! I can see him," Jewel says.

Lewis-Hall, who works nights cleaning Senate office buildings and days serving food at Anacostia High School, has been accumulating her collection for years. Lately, though, she's put her Jackson memorabilia fest in overdrive, collecting all things Jackson. She buys old albums and posters at flea markets and T-shirts at department stores. "Every time I get a chance, I go and buy $50 worth," she says.

After guessing that she has 100 Jackson photographs, she takes a visitor inside and easily shows that she has much more. As she leafs through the photos, she displays the excitement of a kid showing off prized baseball cards: "Look at Michael!" she squeals. On the walls, pictures of Jackson (and several of President Barack Obama) share equal billing with photos of children and grandchildren. On the turntable, (yes, turntable) Jackson's 'Dirty Diana' is playing softly.

The Lewis-Hall family has owned their D.C. home for 13 years and seem to bask in the attention their Porch-o-Michael attracts. They say none of their neighbors have ever complained and that almost all of the feedback they've received has been positive. Between me and you, I'll file that under hard to believe.

But God bless them. I'm sure now that the anniversary of his death is over, they will be about the business of taking everything down, right? "No," she says, "I really can't see myself taking it down," she says slowly, as if the thought made her sad. "If anything, I'll get more stuff. Better stuff."

Somewhere, if you listen veeeery quietly, her neighbors are weeping...and not for Jackson.

See more of the Lewis-Hall home, here, and mourn the loss of Michael below: