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We are located in Sumner, Illinois which is a small rural town with a population of about 2800 counting
the inmates at the local prison. They are probably some of the most upstanding citizens that we have. Our family
has always decorated for Halloween. When my wife and I first got married in 1993 and bought a house in town Sumner,
I remember my first Halloween in the house and giving out treats to all the TOTs. I walked around the neighboring blocks
and was amazed at how many people didn't have their porch lights on to signify that they were handing out candy. We
decided then that we would make sure that we would put more effort into Halloween and give out more candy than what, in this
small town, is the norm. The first prop I tried was a bubbling cauldron that ended up making a big mess on the front
porch.
The next year (1994) I put a speaker in the
tree playing spooky noises. The little TOTs imaginations went wild. Then I met someone that had the same interest
as I in Halloween and had seen their previous Halloween setups in their yard and found out that they had just moved
a few houses down from me on my street. We became fast friends with the King-of Halloween and the rest of the patients
at the Inyart Insane Asylum. They turned me onto the Halloween Monster List and I saw their haunt. It was awesome. They had
a nice yard haunt and I wanted to try some of the projects.
In 2003, my wife and I
built some ply wood tombstones and made my first functional prop. My first prop was a toe pincher coffin with a jig
saw inside to make the lid bounce. We frightened several TOTs with this thrown together prop and was instantly hooked.
In 2004, my wife and I made a few more plywood stones and made a hang man that kicks
his legs triggered by a motion detector. I had several people comment about the flayler and had several repeat visitors
bringing loved ones to check it out. Due to techincal difficulties, it only lasted a little over half the night.
I also seen a need for more control because of kids continually tripping the prop over and over and over.
In 2005, my wife and I really got ambitious about building new props. We ended up building a Monster In a Box, Acid Spitter, Cemetery Fence, modified The Hanging Man, built an Archway, built
a Tombstone Pop-Up and bought several other static props for the yard. I also
made several foam tombstones. All the props worked great. The only snag was the Monster In the Box died on the
last TOT to leave our haunt.
In 2006 we purchased our first major haunt prop.
His name is Uncle Mort and he has been a great addition to the cemetery family.
We have had several good scares including one peetastrafy when he jumped out of his casket. We also made the Trash Can Trauma and Flying Crank Ghost props. With addition of some more creative lighting we have some better pictures this year.
In 2007, we had been sooooo busy that we really didn't have any new props but I found time to work on an illuminated sign for our haunt. We had 128 tots
for Halloween night which is the most we have had since we first moved out here.
In 2008, I redid
the Raven Skeleton to make a new Welcomer to the haunt. Also we had a neat looking bed frame that gave me an idea for a rack and my wonderful wife had an idea for American Gothic Zombie Farmer and Wife. I think they turned out pretty well. We ended up with 90 TOTs this year. The numbers were down but I think
it is because the neighboring cities had their TOT on the same night. The weather was perfect for fog.
In 2009, I built a
coffin for Frank to rest in and also created a stockade to set in the yard. I think the final count for TOTs that year was just a tick over 100. We keep hoping
to have more visit but maybe next year.
This year (2010), my work
had me so busy that I had little time to create anything new. I have tons of ideas, just not the time to bring them
to life. My cousin sent me a couple of props to help keep things new in the yard. Creepy Cathy was a wonderful
addition to the haunt this year. We only had 90 TOTs due to the Harvest Festival uptown. We had hayrides by the
house all TOT night but I dont think all of them stopped. Anyway, thanks to all who made it out this year.
Next year, We plan to make our haunt bigger and better and
hope the weather cooperates. Wish me luck and I want to wish everyone a......
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